Lulu 11 y.o. Pom has gone over the Rainbow Bridge to meet Jojo

Glynda - sending lots of love and positive vibes your way friend. Kim

Okay, so where do I start? :confused:

About a month after moving into our new home, Lulu and Jojo were not eating with their usual vim and vigor and just not acting right so I put them on a Lysodren holiday. They've been off for quite a while now and still not eating like an uncontrolled cushdog. I took them in for a stim test and blood glucose test on Wednesday. Glucose was good and Lulu's stim results were pre 2.2 and post 9.2 and Jojo is 2.4 and 8.4.

I had my rescue vet do the stims because it's half the price of the specialist. Unfortunately and despite the fact he claims to treat cushdogs, he is clueless as to how to monitor treatment. He told me it was not necessary to restart the Lysodren and to have another stim done in six months. I tried to explain that the normal lab reference ranges are irrelevant in monitoring treatment but he didn't get it. :D I gave up but plan on giving him some reading material because if he is treating cushdogs, he needs to get with the program and follow protocol. Actually, I think he needs to take some major continuing education on endocrine disorders.

I'm going to call the IMS and ask for direction because neither dog is eating with enough unbridled passion for me to feel comfortable with doing a mini load or restart maintenance at an increased dose. I'm also not sure that despite having been off of Lysodren for almost two months that Trilostane would be a good idea either. My concern was if I didn't get their post cortisol under control, diabetes could rear its ugly head so was happy to hear that blood glucose was good. I delayed doing senior panels until I got the results of the stim tests because if post stim levels were high enough (in the 20's), the usual blood and urine abnormalities would be evident. I'm thinking that I'll take them to the IMS and have that done in the next week or two.

I took the two Maltese boys on Wednesday too to have senior panels and xrays to check their hearts. Both were worse which I already knew as both have been coughing more. Jasper is the worst and despite adding more and more meds, the heart has gotten larger and the trachea is being compressed (trachea stenosis). There was a marked difference in the size of the heart and the changes in the trachea when comparing imaging done in June to the new xray so I am worried. He's on enalapril, theophyllin, lasix and have just added Pimobendin. Buster's heart condition has worsened and we've put him on full blown heart meds now. Both boys had a UTI with crystals so both are on antibiotics.

That's it for now except that as soon as I got home from the vet's office, I couldn't find Jasper, who had been barking at the neighbors big dog behind us. I've never been inside the maze of foliage on the back fence so I was unaware that there are vines everywhere. I was concerned that he had found a hole in the fence and had gotten out but I found him still on our side of the fence with vines wrapped around his neck strangulating him. Had I found him minutes later, I have no doubt he would have been dead. The adrenalin kicked in and I have no idea how I managed to rip the vines off of his neck but when all was said and done, my knees gave out and I couldn't stop shaking. I had major oral surgery on Monday, was taking some pretty stiff drugs and was told to not do stuff that required that I drop my head down. My head was definitely down and I found out why I should keep my head up. To say I was woozy would be an understatement and the congestion after that was very painful. Jasper was very quiet for about ten minutes and then came back to life. The poor guy has already had problems breathing and I'm hoping the vines didn't do more damage. I thank God that I found my boy in time.

Oh, Glynda! How scary for you and Jasper! :eek: Bless his heart, bet he had no idea what had gotten hold of him and was scared to pieces! I am so glad you got home and found him when you did. Is he showing any increased distress with his breathing since this happened? That couldn't have been good on the trachea!

I had a cat once who got his head stuck in one of the little diamonds formed by chain-link fencing. He must have been running from something and run smack dab into the fence and couldn't get back out. He had spun around and around so much trying to get loose his neck was bleeding. I will never forget seeing the bushes there moving in such an odd manner and then seeing Apple.

Good thing you know more than the vet you saw tho it is sad that is the case. Odd you aren't seeing more signs, tho. Looking forward to seeing what the IMS thinks...I would be lost as a goose!

I hope the new meds help the boys start feeling better and that Lulu and Jojo start eating better. I'm sure you've tried all the stinky tricks so I won't bore you. :D

Hugs and love,
Leslie and the gang

OMG Thank God you found him:eek::eek: Funny how that protective mother instinct just takes over and we react without thinking. Good thing we have it.

I worry about diabetes too. I am glad their blood glucose checked out okay.

Take care of yourself.

love,
addy

Wow... always something heh? No doubt maternal instincts took over and you could have lifted a car if need be. Glad you saved Jasper! Don't blame you for holdling off on lysodren.. surprised the cortisol isn't higher. Weird that they BOTH are experiencing the same issues.

The story about the vines on the fence reminds me of my two little 'chits' when i lived in Florida - chain link fence on both sides with HEAVY foliage that was ten feet high. I found out the two were escaping daily while I was at work (there was a doggie door so they could go out) and hitting up the local construction sites/crew for food... which they got every day. Then the crew brought them home to my yard but I didn't know this was happening!

Anyway... once I figured it out one Friday night my brother and I decided to trick the suckers ... we acted like we were leaving the house.. we each grabbed a beer and one of us stood on each side of the house. Before long the two of them were OUTSIDE so we knew which side the issue was on but not where.

So we took them inside and repeated this , this time watching from the neighbors yard. We were shocked to find out that these mini schnauzers were escaping thru a 4 inch hole that was almost 2 feet off the ground. :D End of lunches with the construction crew.

Give all the babes big hugs from me Glynda. I don't know how you keep up. But I"m glad you do! Hope you are healing up ok. Kim

Glynda that is so scary. I'm so glad you and Jasper are ok. Judi

Glynda,

Lucky you found him so quick. It is a bit scary how much trouble these little ones can get into with things you would think were safe. Sorry you had to find out that the docs were right saying to keep your head elevated.:(

Jenny

Glynda

- thank God Jasper is ok!!! - I feel so bad for you - I hope you will feel better soon!!!! love and big hugs to you and the pups!!! xoxo

Hi Glynda-
I'm so glad to hear Jasper is okay! That is really scary... I hope you're feeling better, as well. I don't have advice for you about your Cush dogs, but it does sound like the vet needs to read up a little!

Take care,
Julie & Hannah

Thank you all for your kind words. Jasper and I are doing okay. He got groomed yesterday and looks fabulous. I did as best I could with my grooming but as of yesterday, people were still staring. I look like something out of a freak show. The right side of my face looks human and the left like a black masked English Mastiff, with the biggest hanging jowl you've ever seen. It's very weird that the surgery was on my upper jaw yet the major bruising and swelling is in the lower jaw. I think that's because my face started falling a number of years ago and the bruising and swelling has taken a week to hit bottom. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by frijole

we each grabbed a beer and one of us stood on each side of the house. Before long the two of them were OUTSIDE so we knew which side the issue was on but not where.

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Thank goodness for beer and it's clue enhancing abilities. Without it, you and your brother could have stood out there for days on end without getting a clue. :D:p:D By the way, are the little imps in this story our very own sweet, innocent Annie and Haley?