Jasper (12 yr old Mini Schnauzer) is now at peace

Me too! Also hope you aren't one of those in Omaha stuck without power after the storm. Stay warm!

Let us know how our little guy is doing. Kim

Hello Dear Friends,

Thank you all for checking in on us. There have been some Internet problems in my area due to the blizzard, so my connection has been intermittent at best for the past couple of days. All fixed now I think. And no Kim, I am not in the areas of town that had been without power, thank God. And I mean that literally, I thanked Him out loud because I don't know what I would do with Jasper in that situation if I couldn't find a motel available that allowed pets. There is not much flexibility there due to the inability of his body to handle stress. No way could he go to the pet shelter, he would not be able to handle that. So I am blessed we did not have to deal with that. And my street was finally plowed last night, yay!!! :D

We did make it to the vet for Jasper's injection and electrolytes on Wed 12/19. It was a 3 1/2 hour round trip of driving due to the roads :eek: , but we were careful and made it home by about 9:30 pm. Even though it was pretty dicey, I am glad I decided to chance it, because the roads were worse on Thursday after snowing and blowing all night, so that would have been even more difficult to get him there. His Percorten dose was decreased by another 0.1 ml, so he got 0.7 ml. My vet called late on Friday and his electrolytes were all normal. I don't have the numbers, but she said they were all in the middle of the normal range. So that is good news! :D :D I think she is hoping that we may be able to stop the Pecorten at some point if things stay in the normal range. The IMS mentioned this to her a while back when they consulted.

She will check in next either next Wed or Fri. I am supposed to decrease the Dex to 0.25 mg every other day any time. I made an executive decision to continue him on daily dose through 12/25 and then skip a day 12/26 to start the every other day dosing. I just don't feel comfortable trying that when the vets office will be closed for the Holiday or have decreased hours. I am very nervous to make this change since he seems to be feeling pretty good. But I am hopeful he will be able to tolerate it and that we will get some normalization of the excessive drinking and peeing.

And yes Addy and Amy, I am putting any possibility that there are kidney issues out of my mind. :o

Love and hugs,

Tina and Jasper

Merry Christmas Tina to you and Jasper and Shelby!

Have a safe and wonderful Holiday,

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Merry Christmas to all the dear friends I have met on this forum over the past 5 months. To say I don't know what I would have done without you all is an understatement. It was a blessing the day I found this site, and I don't know how to thank you all for the knowledge, kindness, love, and support you have given me and Jasper (and continue to give) throughout our journey with this complex illness. I truly feel like we are family and I love you all.

Merry Christmas to you and your pups. I wish you all a blessed day with your families. Much health and happiness, and many many Blessings in the New Year.

Love and hugs,

Tina and Jasper (and Shelby) xx

Merry Christmas Tina, Jasper and Shelby!

Have a great day and hope your not still in that blizzard, that sounds most not fun! Wishing you the best Christmas ever!

Trish and Flynn xx

HI Tina and Jasper

Hope the reduced Dex dose is going OK! Happy New Year, have a great night and year!

xx

Happy New Year, Tina, Jasper and Shelby!

Hope this is going to be a really good year for all of you.

Cheers,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Thanks everyone for checking in on us. Jasper seems to be feeling well, and we have had good holidays! He is now getting Dex 0.25 mg every other day since 12/26, and seems to be tolerating it well. Dexamethasone is much longer acting than prednisone, so that helps him stay stable on every other day dosing.

There has been no change in the drinking or urinating, even on the days he doesn't get the Dex, but my vet said she is not surprised by that since it is longer acting. I will say that on most nights, I can work it out to where he only has to go out once during the night, but that involves going to bed later. My vet wants to cut the dose in half again, and hopes that will make a differences with the drinking and peeing. She said the dose he is getting now is still higher than the physiologic dose needed for his body, so the plan is to decrease. She plans to check in again next Monday 1/7 and I imagine we will decrease it again then, as long as he continues to do well in the meantime.

I am just so happy that he is feeling better now, and I pray it will continue. It is such a joy to see him eating, and playing with his toys, and having enough energy to rough house with his sister, and sleeping peacefully, and just being a dog. Everything. I get teary eyed just watching him, he has been through so much. And I love that little guy so so much. He is my heart.

Happy New Year to all my dear friends here. Wishing good health for all our pups, and many blessings to you in the coming year.

Love and hugs,

Tina, Jasper and Shelby

Tina, that is such fabulous news about Jasper. It must be wonderful to feel like you have him back with you being normal acting and you are finally able to get some sort of life and schedule worked out again. Shelby is probably thrilled to have her play mate back too.
That would be really good if he can take a decrease of the Dex and that help the urinating frequency. If not, you seem to have it worked out pretty well now to only once a night.

So glad you have had good holidays! Lets have a fabulous year too!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Tina,
Happy New Year to you & Jasper!! So glad things are going good for you & Jasper.
May the new year bring only good things. ;)