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Thread: Our Silver Belle Labrador~Athena has crossed the Rainbow Bridge

  1. #151
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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    I had a long post typed here and removed it. I should have shortened it but I started to type and it all came out. I'll try to keep it short as I can.
    Athena, as everyone know was diagnosed very young with Cushings
    When we got her as a puppy we didn't know she had been bitten by a Lyme Tick. The people we got her from never told us ( but they later told us they knew. They were afraid we wouldn't take the puppy. That would have never happened. She was ours lock stock and barrel good or bad).
    Our first Vet found out after some testing and then shortly there after came the Cushings Diagnosis For Lyme she was treated with a big antibiotic and did well and then had a negative test afterwards.
    Fast forward to her going through treatment with Vetroyl and it nearly killing her twice using two different dosages. We took her off and just winged her treatment best we could to keep her going and happy. It was very frustrating but she was just not well at all on the me.
    Fast forward to Dec 15, 2018. We had to put our beloved boy Axle down. Athena and Axle were very close. We never saw any dog ever grieve the loss of a dog the way she grieved Axle. We were all heartbroken but we had to let him go because we loved him so much and promised all our dogs a wonderful life and when it was time..no suffering...just a peaceful journey to the rainbow bridge.
    Suddenly Athena started doing the same thing again. Drinking gallons of water, unable to get any weight off, etc. All signs of that nasty Cushings. We took her into the Vet two weeks after losing Axle because she wouldn't eat and it took all we could to get her to eat enough to take her pain med for the damage/arthritis to her rear leg joints due to the Cushings/Lyme. So there we were in the vet office ( we have a new vet after the first vet was horrendous. We've had this new vet for a few years now)
    They did all sorts of blood work, exams, etc..nothing over the top just a good overall exam.
    As we were discussing her Cushings history and all with the Vet Tech. The Vet came back in quickly and said "Athena is Diabetic".... I felt weak in my knees. All I could think was HOW MUCH MORE CAN THIS BEAUTIFUL CREATURE TAKE... Her numbers were off the charts. How did we miss this? The Vet said we didn't. The symptoms are much like Cushings except the weight loss but we thought that was due to her not wanting to eat after losing Axle. So... They immediately set her up with Humlin NPH insulin. We started out low. She must have this particular insulin and we get it from the pharmacy. Very costly but we don't care. She can't have the generic kind or the one people get at Walmart for 25 bucks. Her's is 170 a vile and she needs two a month because now she's up to two viles a month ( 30 units twice a day). We had to work up to that amount. Athena was very resistant to the insulin and her number were awful. The first few months were touch and go then suddenly after awful curve test results and all she started to come around. Since she couldn't d be on Veteroyl-we actually tried the lowest dose and she's a big dog but it nearly killed her again and we refused anymore of it. We were very apprehensive about starting that stuff again but they tried the lowest dose possible and same thing. She nearly died. ( the vet wanted her Cushings dealt with again because otherwise her Diabetes wouldn't get under control) We had to place her on a compound version of the drug from a pharmacy in Arizona. She actually responded to that one for whatever reason. Finally after so many touch and go moments trying to stabilize her she turned the corner and once again Athena was acting like a young dog, she lost more weight that she needed to lose, she played like a 6 mos old puppy, she was running despite her rear legs not being the greatest but it was amazing to watch.

    All the hard work, keeping a logbook, never missing a dose of anything, her special food ( she's on RC Glycobalance which has been the only food to work for her) she was like a new Lab... I get tears thinking about it because she just became this vibrant lab again.

    Then out of nowhere 4 days ago she lost her vision. OVERNIGHT. GONE. just like that. We knew there was a high chance of it ( 80% of dogs in the first 9 mos ) but we hoped she would FINALLY catch a break and fall into the 20 % category after everything.
    No such luck.

    We couldn't believe it. I know that people will say dogs without their vision do well, they don't use their eyes like humans do and more so use their nose but to watch it was horrible. She bumped into things, she had to learn to navigate ( we helped her) and she has been very anxious and confused. She's very sensitive now to sound. The worst has been watching her missteps and trying to make sure she doesn't hurt herself. Her back legs are not the greatest which is our concern. If she had a stronger set of legs it wouldn't be so bad.

    Watching her look around but not really looking at anything is tough. I know we are to not feel bad for her. People say she doesn't feel bad for herself but I'm sorry I see her confused, anxious and no matter how calm we stay and encourage her it's been tough. We are using all the things to help her with small treats to navigate and scents and anything she needs.

    There isn't a thing we wouldn't do for our dogs. Our Vet and her techs told us many times that if there is such thing as reincarnation they want to come back as one of our dogs.

    I'm trying to keep my emotions in check but I'm so heartbroken inside. This girl has been dealt one bad hand after another ( like me with serious medical issues which is why I'm so bonded with Athena) and it's like another big punch in the gut.

    We've done everything right so far and moved nothing and she's been adjusting here and there but it's so tough. My concern is hear back legs and if she falls and breaks a leg. It's over. Athena is not a candidate for surgery at all, not for cataracts, not for any injury because while she's doing better with things her diabetes is not totally stable but it's the best we're going to get for all she has going on. Other than this loss of vision she's been so happy and doing great. She actually found her toy last night and was playing with it. It was sweet to see but when I look at her eyes I see that strange color now and it's gut wrenching.

    They want to do a tonometer test on her eyes but they want to give it another week so that she's not as anxious or the result will not be accurate. Her being anxious at all and this being new but I'm thinking no matter what she will be anxious because she will still not realize where she's at and she's always anxious at the vet even when she can see. She just hates going ( she's never forgotten her bad experience with our old vet when she was spayed and had her nails cut. Long story)


    We just don't know what to do? Are we doing the right thing just going with the flow? This is affecting her quality of life to some degree. Is it right to keep going? We don't know what to do. She played that one time with her toy but now for the most part she sleeps. She always with me. I can't stand people saying "don't feel bad for her, she doesn't feel bad". While I don't show her I do feel bad. I don't believe she doesn't feel bad. I know her the best and I see her personality has changed. I want her to be safe. I don't want her to go out because she fell and broke a leg.

    Also, if she can't have surgery....does this mean she will develop awful painful glaucoma because I can't have this beautiful girl suffer with the pain they say that causes. How do you even know if it's that or cataracts. We don't see the Vet till next week. Reading the stuff on these two things ( Cataracts vs Glaucoma) is confusing at best.

    Any input is appreciated. Thank you. Sorry for sounding like a crazy person. I just wish this beautiful girl could have been given one stinking break!!!! Even though she is currently anxious and confused she still a strong beautiful girl and an amazing dog. I just wish she could’ve been given one stinking break

    Thank you


    We aren’t even sure at this point what she can see your can’t see

    Thank you for listening I tried to make it short but didn’t work out that way


    Her meds are as follows twice a day every 12 hours.

    1/3 tablet of Compound Cushings Med
    1 Carprofen
    30 units insulin
    Tramadol in between as needed
    RC Glycobalance food A mixed bag of wet and dry every 12 hours with her insulin
    Her treats are diabetic friendly treats along with homemade ones
    Last edited by WeLoveAthena; 06-24-2019 at 09:02 AM.

  2. #152
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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    Our Vet and her techs told us many times that if there is such thing as reincarnation they want to come back as one of our dogs.
    I couldn’t agree more! You are such good and loving parents — no dog could ask for a better home. I’m so sorry about your loss of Axle, and now these added worries about Athena. Life is not fair, that is for sure. But first and foremost, it sounds to me as though you are doing all that’s within your power to provide the best situation possible for Athena. Some things are just out of our hands, though, and that’s the really hard part. I do think you’re doing the right thing by giving Athena (and yourselves) some time to adjust to your new challenges before making any big decisions. You may find that things settle down even more once a bit more time has passed, and that’s a good goal to hope for. I’m going to send a message to one of our staffers here who’s lived quite happily and successfully with blind babies. If she’s able to stop by, I know she’ll have some welcome words of support for you. I think it’s probably safe to say that Athena *is* bothered/affected by her vision loss right now, but it’s amazing how readily dogs can readapt to even the most challenging circumstances. So I’m hoping there’s more improvement yet in store for you.

    Medically, it sounds as though you have all the bases covered right now. In terms of the vision loss, the cause of the blindness may already be quite obvious to your vet — cataracts or glaucoma, as you have suggested. But there is one other thing I can mention. There is a very rare and poorly understood cause of blindness in dogs named SARDS (“Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome”). We are familiar with it here, because it appears to be associated with some of the same hormonal imbalances and bloodwork abnormalities as Cushing’s. It can literally strike overnight, so that’s one similarity that struck me about Athena. Unfortunately, the condition is irreversible. So in that sense, it doesn’t restore vision by identifying that diagnosis. But I did want to mention it to you as a possibility in the event that Athena’s eye exam doesn’t turn out to be consistent with the more common problems. A doggie ophthalmologist can diagnose SARDS for certain.

    In the meantime, I’m so glad you’ve returned to update us, even though you have sad and difficult news to share. We’ll stay right here to talk things over with you, and to send our healing wishes to your sweet girl.

    Marianne

  3. #153
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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    Quote Originally Posted by labblab View Post
    I couldn’t agree more! You are such good and loving parents — no dog could ask for a better home. I’m so sorry about your loss of Axle, and now these added worries about Athena. Life is not fair, that is for sure. But first and foremost, it sounds to me as though you are doing all that’s within your power to provide the best situation possible for Athena. Some things are just out of our hands, though, and that’s the really hard part. I do think you’re doing the right thing by giving Athena (and yourselves) some time to adjust to your new challenges before making any big decisions. You may find that things settle down even more once a bit more time has passed, and that’s a good goal to hope for. I’m going to send a message to one of our staffers here who’s lived quite happily and successfully with blind babies. If she’s able to stop by, I know she’ll have some welcome words of support for you. I think it’s probably safe to say that Athena *is* bothered/affected by her vision loss right now, but it’s amazing how readily dogs can readapt to even the most challenging circumstances. So I’m hoping there’s more improvement yet in store for you.

    Medically, it sounds as though you have all the bases covered right now. In terms of the vision loss, the cause of the blindness may already be quite obvious to your vet — cataracts or glaucoma, as you have suggested. But there is one other thing I can mention. There is a very rare and poorly understood cause of blindness in dogs named SARDS (“Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome”). We are familiar with it here, because it appears to be associated with some of the same hormonal imbalances and bloodwork abnormalities as Cushing’s. It can literally strike overnight, so that’s one similarity that struck me about Athena. Unfortunately, the condition is irreversible. So in that sense, it doesn’t restore vision by identifying that diagnosis. But I did want to mention it to you as a possibility in the event that Athena’s eye exam doesn’t turn out to be consistent with the more common problems. A doggie ophthalmologist can diagnose SARDS for certain.

    In the meantime, I’m so glad you’ve returned to update us, even though you have sad and difficult news to share. We’ll stay right here to talk things over with you, and to send our healing wishes to your sweet girl.

    Marianne

    Thanks ♥️🐾 Marianne. How do we know if this is causing her any pain she doesn’t seem to display it but Athena is a very strong girl and doesn’t always let you know when she’s hurting even though we can pretty much figure it out but I just want to make sure she’s not having any pain in her eyes are her head how do we know that

    We’ve always been able to tell when our dogs want to go and cross the rainbow bridge but Athena is a tough cookie And I just can’t imagine letting her go right now and she still seems to have alot life in her and still plays even though she’s trying to adjust to this nightmare

    Do any of these things cause them pain ?

    Thanks 🙏

  4. #154
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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    I don’t believe that either SARDS or cataracts cause any pain — it’s just the adjustment to the loss of vision that’s involved. I don’t know as much about glaucoma, but I’m guessing it is more likely to cause headaches or actual eye pain. In that event, though, I’d probably expect the discomfort to be more readily noticeable in terms of rubbing the head or eye against things, and painkillers could be prescribed. Hopefully, your vet will be able to give you some good answers after the next exam.

    It does seem totally reasonable to me to give sweet Athena some more time to get used to things. Fingers crossed that she’ll bounce back even more after she has the chance to get more adjusted!

  5. #155
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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    Quote Originally Posted by labblab View Post
    I don’t believe that either SARDS or cataracts cause any pain — it’s just the adjustment to the loss of vision that’s involved. I don’t know as much about glaucoma, but I’m guessing it is more likely to cause headaches or actual eye pain. In that event, though, I’d probably expect the discomfort to be more readily noticeable in terms of rubbing the head or eye against things, and painkillers could be prescribed. Hopefully, your vet will be able to give you some good answers after the next exam.

    It does seem totally reasonable to me to give sweet Athena some more time to get used to things. Fingers crossed that she’ll bounce back even more after she has the chance to get more adjusted!
    Thanks Marianne ( with are most favorite screen name ever )
    Today she’s doing fairly well she was actually playing which was very good to see


    I have a call into our vet I read up on SARDS and it blew me away. Athena normally drinks a lot of water that’s because of the Cushing’s and diabetes even though it is somewhat stabilized but we did notice in the last week that she was drinking a ton more water and we could not figure out why
    We see it’s one of the symptoms before SARDS hits. We had no idea because we just chalked it up to her Cushing’s and diabetes

    Really at a crossroads it’s really hard to see her like this but we are just trying to stay positive and encourage her and help her anyway we can. She has the strongest girl and most amazing Lab ever!


    Thanks sooooooo much. We know it still may be the Diabetes but since she’s had Cushings since she was 2 and it’s advanced it very well could be SARDS

  6. #156
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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    Yep, I don’t know that it is SARDS in Athena’s case, but just thought I’d mention it. Also, In advance of our staffer, Leslie, being able to stop by here herself, I’m copying a couple of replies that she posted to another member in February. There are so many helpful tips in what she’s written — I hope some of the suggestions may make things easier for Athena.

    Losing eyesight is never a good thing but our babies adjust much better than we do much of the time. I have had a dog who was both deaf and blind, dogs that were only blind, and one currently that is blind in one eye. To help your sweet Pebbles adapt there are some thing you can do. One, find where you want your furniture to be and leave it - do not move things around. Two, watch her and see if she reacts more to sound or touch or scent to find her way around then accommodate that. One of my blind babies operated by touch - he could figure out where he was by what his feet felt. So I used rugs with differing textures at the doorways of each room. That way he knew when he felt that stiffness of artificial turf he was going into the back bedroom, the soft rug meant the kitchen and so on. He also used hearing to help him navigate so TVs stayed on at both ends of the house to help him get from one end to the other. He went at top speed fearlessly everywhere he went and was prone to crashing into things so my house became the bubble wrap castle. All the hard surfaces like table and chair legs were covered in bubble wrap. I got pipe insulation, slit it, and put it on the corners of walls, etc. Good Housekeeping would have fainted had they ever visited! I could have cared less and would gladly do it all again to have him back.

    Another baby had sonar like a bat, I swear! She seemed to know where things were and would turn away or go around just as if she saw them....but she didn't even have eyeballs so that was impossible. She amazed everyone who ever met her when they watched her maneuver thru her dark world. I did my best to teach them both how to go and down steps but neither one could over come the fear of going down...but that was alright too; I had built a ramp for them to gain access to the yard and back to the front door again. Both learned how to find that ramp and used it like pros.

    Both these babies were itty bitty babies but the one who was deaf and blind was a Great Dane. She was born with her condition and had learned to navigate fairly well as a stray - how she survived on the streets I'll never know. When I adopted her SHE taught ME how to communicate with her. After supper I would fill the dishwasher and turn it on then take her out for the night since she never got the hang of house training. In a very short time, I noticed that when the dishwasher started she would stand up and go to the back door....it finally dawned on me she was feeling the vibrations in the floor and knew what that meant. So I started working with her by hitting the floor for certain cues - 1 slap or stomp on the floor by her meant it was time to eat, 2 meant it was time to go for a walk, and so on. To play, I would stomp around then take an old blanket she like to lay on and drag in around the yard. She would put her nose to the ground and follow me by following the scent.

    Pebbles will help you learn how to help her, too. I believe this. Just pay attention to her, watch her carefully to see how she operates, and don't baby her too much - you want her to learn to be as independent as she can. The more independent she can be in her home and yard the happier she will be....and you, too. So cry for her loss today but tomorrow start working to learn how the two of you can manage together - and I know you can!

    There used to be some good online forums for blind dogs but I haven't checked on them lately. I'll do a bit of looking and post links if I find anything that would be good.

    Hugs,
    Leslie


    Blind Dog Support
    http://www.blinddogsupport.com/

    And if you are on FB, here is their FB group (just be careful about opinions VS facts)
    https://www.facebook.com/BlindDogSupport/

    Here is a site that offers other tips you can try to help Pebbles adjust. I did use the scents on the rugs when my itty bitty man first came to live with me but soon he didn't need that at all.
    https://www.blinddogrescue.org/dog-b...ps-for-owners/

    More tips from BestFriends
    https://bestfriends.org/resources/bl...g-and-cat-faqs

    And again if you are on FB, here is what a search on that site found -
    https://www.facebook.com/search/grou...s&epa=SERP_TAB

  7. #157
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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    Hi,

    I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you on this but Marianne has kindly found one of my posts concerning blindness in dogs that covers everything I can think of telling you. The main thing right now for me would be to determine WHY she lost her vision so suddenly. It is my understanding that in diabetes the loss of vision is a longer process, giving signs along the way. With SARDS it is very very fast tho - seemingly overnight like you described. But our babies don't always give us clues like a human who is losing their sight would so it may be that she has been experiencing chanced and simply gave no indication until just now when things had already gotten so bad. Not that knowing why will change how you approach this new world with your girl but it may give you some peace of mind and help settle this nagging Cushing's diagnosis issue. With SARDS often those cush sign disappear so no treatment for Cushing's is needed because Cushing's was never in play in the first place - it was the SARDS causing those confusing signs. If it is cataracts causing this issue there is the possibility they can be removed...but again I doubt the loss would have come on suddenly with cataracts. Like Marianne I don't think SARDS nor cataracts cause pain however glaucoma DOES cause pain. This condition is caused by a build up of pressure in the eyes and without treatment the eyes begin to enlarge and become very painful. My little Trinket, the who had the sonar like a bat, suffered with this before she came to me. Her previous owners neglected it and it cost her both her eyes but the pain was gone with the eyeballs and she carried on with life like the champ she was til her final day. I will add...if you don't like where your furniture is sitting today move it quickly then plan to leave it in place as long as Athena is navigating her way thru your house. They learn quickly for the most part what paths are clear so it is up to us to make sure things stay where they belong at all times.

    Again I urge you to listen and watch Athena - she will help you learn how to best help her. All my blind babies taught me something by the way the handled their dark, and in Dinah's case also silent, worlds. And if you feel the need to grieve for her loss, do. But know she will be alright in time, usually sooner than we are.

    I am so sorry for your loss of Axle. It is never easy to lose them nor to watch the surviving baby grieve because we understand the pain they feel and know there is nothing we can do to take it away. Only time can help and it will help, not heal, but yes help.

    Hugs,
    Leslie
    "May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"

    Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.

  8. #158
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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    Hi Leslie and Marianne
    Thanks for all the insight
    The last week has been rough. Athena has done well navigating through the house but outside (even with a great fenced in yard)is bad. Initially she was doing ok with it to a point but the vet said that he may have still been able to see around her cataracts. Now however she has taken a turn for the worse when it comes to going up the stairs and there are only three stairs on the deck She’s had a few missteps going down and has fallen three times which is the last thing she needed and thankfully we are there with her or she would have really hurt herself because she has weakened hind legs from having been bit by lyme tick as a puppy and having Cushing’s so young. She had the Lyme before we got her but they didn’t tell us about it so we found out when we had her tested for having these really crazy symptoms. Then a year later she ended up with Cushing’s. Just this past January was her diabetes diagnosis. The vet said that they actually can lose their site from diabetes anywhere from six months to a year given Athena has been a challenge from day one and her diabetes has never really been stabilized like most dogs have it...that presented us with the possibility of her being hit early with blindness we had
    hoped she wouldn’t have to go down that road. We have her on insulin and her medications for pain control what she does well on but we’ve never been able to get her numbers below 350 she has been resistant to insulin the entire time initially we couldn’t get her below the 500 and even 600 so where she’s at now is this good as it’s going to get for Athena with her diabetes. Except in the beginning when she was very ill until her numbers started coming down ( and we got her off that poison Veteroyl) we got her the best we can get her in terms of being stabilized then she started acting like a puppy again playing and running and just really having a great time and a super good quality a life despite what she had been hit with

    Her Cushing compound med helped stabilize her diabetes to where it is now. She lost the weight that she had from Cushing’s which was a plus and she does great on her food that she eats which is RC Glycobalance.

    Now we are just struggling with her coming up the stairs when she goes outside she does three to four circles around the yard to try to come up them we try to give her space so as to not make her feel crowded but we are there just in case of anything

    The last two days she has flat out refused to go up the stairs she won’t lay down on the ground or she will stand there and bark at the stairs

    It’s all I can do not to lose it but I try to keep everything in check it does feel like we are grieving the loss of her eyesight which I know sounds crazy but that’s what it feels like I know they say dogs that lose their sight they donwell but if I have one more person tell me how she doesn’t feel sorry for herself and not to feel bad for her I will slug them we have every right to feel bad the way we do. It’s gut wrenching to watch. We both do. In addition we don’t see her walking around not feeling sorry for herself she seems tired and edgy. We are keeping a positive tone of voice and encouraging her and doing everything in our power to help her. She does wag her tail super fast when she hears our voices and when she finally does make it up to us she is extremely happy

    Our concern is the weakness in her back legs if she falls and breaks a leg or something she will not be able to have surgery not that we would ever put her through that but she is not a candidate for surgery for anything, not even her eyes which after seeing how they do the cataract stuff I don’t think we would let her go through that even if she could that is a horrible surgery with a long recovery and at her age given her health I don’t think it would be a kind thing to do for her I think it would be the opposite

    She has been a trooper from day one she has always had one thing after another but has taken it in stride being a happy lab but you can see that it’s catching up to her she has been fighting and overcoming for a long time

    Sadly the people that we got her from and we didn’t find this out until recently never performed a true health certificate on her it was fraudulent and they no longer do anything with labradors. We found so many things which of course would not have made us do anything different in terms of keeping her but it would’ve helped the treat her early on before things piled up

    I remember when she was first getting sick as a puppy with vicious allergies breakouts on her skin and then we found out about the lyme bite We called them and all they would tell us that we could bring her back and switch her for another puppy we were upset. We said under no circumstances will we be bringing her back but we just need to know what was wrong so we knew how to treat her did her parents have any of these issues (we saw her parents). He replied know that nothing was wrong and they were very sorry but they could offer no insight

    We would also come to find out later that her parents were brother/sister. All of our dogs have always been rescues except Athena we just did not believe it that they weren’t honest with us either way we wouldn’t have traded having her in our lives for the world

    Right now we just don’t know what to do :-(. Our Vets say we’re doing great but it doesn’t feel like it
    I’m going to be calling the vet in the morning to let them know how this weekend transpired with her for hauling and not wanting to come up the deck stairs no matter what I mean it literally takes at least 20 minutes where she finally will take the chance and do it

    We would love to put a ramp here but this is not our permanent home we are moving at the end of July to our permanent home where we will have ramps (for dogs and us-with our human medical stuff). We were only here for a medical board for my husband has a combat wounded marine. He’s finally completed his board and officially retired and off we go soon

    Athena will have to learn a whole new place. This could not of hit or at a worse time at least if we were already moved in and settled into the new place it wouldn’t be so bad but at this point she still has these wonderful moments where she grabs her stuffed animal after finding it and playing. She makes us laugh so much. She’s a jewel! in our lives but we don’t want her to suffer or be afraid or injure herself. Three Vets have already said she is definitely not a candidate for any surgery and we would never put her through it anyway we don’t believe in putting an older dog through all this awful stuff we rather they just have the best life for as long as they can, be kept pain free (Which she is on great pain medicine just like our older two were till the crosses the bridge ) and on a great note with dignity-peace-Love. We never could be able to stand watching her go through surgery even if she could and trying to recover from something so awful it’s just not fair at her age. On top of all this poor girl had a bad experience being spayed by a vet everyone claimed was the best but that shouldn’t even have a license but that’s a story that is over with. We got her through it and quickly found another vet.

    Athena has never caught a break since being a puppy except for landing with us in our lives had anyone else had her I’m almost certain they would’ve given up on her. We have spent and are spending a fortune to treat her but she’s worth every penny and we will gladly go without to make sure she has the best of everything:-)

    We should mention her we are legs have weakness from a few things disease related but she also has sort of a bow legged stance which we know is probably a result of the bad breeding

    Leslie....Are you saying if it was from SARDS that she may have not had Cushing’s I’m a little confused on that one

    Vets are saying it’s from Diabetes But is there something I should look into further and what would be the difference in treatment or anything?

    Thank you for saying that it’s OK for us to grieve the loss of her vision I have always love the site because people really get it


    At a loss......
    Last edited by WeLoveAthena; 06-30-2019 at 12:34 PM.

  9. #159
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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    Wow, the poor girl...there are removable ramps you might be able to try and then take it with you.

    When I realized Lena was deaf, I cried for a week and I know no one else understood, but it was so sad to me that she couldn't hear me, and probably hadn't for a while. I was so afraid that she thought I didn't love her anymore. I didn't understand why she hadn't been coming to me when I called her. It took a while, but we came up with a new language between us: sign, making sure she was looking at me when I wanted her attention, stomping on the floor so she knew I was coming or that I wanted her to look around to see me, and touching her gently when she was sound asleep so she didn't get startled.

    Athena needs you to teach her how to get around, and she'll learn, she sounds like a smart girl. it is so sad when you can't explain it to them, but she will follow your lead and you will become closer. When Lee realized that I wasn't ignoring her, and we worked on new communication methods, I sometimes forgot that she couldn't hear me anymore. The night she died at the ER the doctor called me to see if I wanted to try to get there before they put her to sleep, I asked her to put the phone to Lena's ear and I told her over and over how much I loved her and to please stay with me, but she was suffering and I couldn't let her wait 45 - 60 minutes. It wasn't until the next day that I remembered that she was deaf and couldn't have heard me anyway. But maybe she did hear me...

    You and Athena will find another way, and it will work out....
    Joan, mom to my Angel Lena, Angel Gable, Angel Phoenix, Angel Doree, Cooper, Sibble, and now Raina.

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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    Quote Originally Posted by Joan2517 View Post
    Wow, the poor girl...there are removable ramps you might be able to try and then take it with you.

    When I realized Lena was deaf, I cried for a week and I know no one else understood, but it was so sad to me that she couldn't hear me, and probably hadn't for a while. I was so afraid that she thought I didn't love her anymore. I didn't understand why she hadn't been coming to me when I called her. It took a while, but we came up with a new language between us: sign, making sure she was looking at me when I wanted her attention, stomping on the floor so she knew I was coming or that I wanted her to look around to see me, and touching her gently when she was sound asleep so she didn't get startled.

    Athena needs you to teach her how to get around, and she'll learn, she sounds like a smart girl. it is so sad when you can't explain it to them, but she will follow your lead and you will become closer. When Lee realized that I wasn't ignoring her, and we worked on new communication methods, I sometimes forgot that she couldn't hear me anymore. The night she died at the ER the doctor called me to see if I wanted to try to get there before they put her to sleep, I asked her to put the phone to Lena's ear and I told her over and over how much I loved her and to please stay with me, but she was suffering and I couldn't let her wait 45 - 60 minutes. It wasn't until the next day that I remembered that she was deaf and couldn't have heard me anyway. But maybe she did hear me...

    You and Athena will find another way, and it will work out....

    Hi Joan
    Thank you so much for your kind words and sharing your story. I had tears in my eyes. I believe well Lena couldn’t hear you that you were both connected in your hearts. After I just wrote that one post and having a terrible week tonight things got a little better we started using the word “wait” and slightly touching her nose to help her not run into things. She actually navigated the steps better tonight than she has been doing. They are amazing creatures!

    It’s just so heartbreaking to us and we are doing everything to keep our emotions in check but it’s just hard to see her like that. Athena has always been this super strong girl and mighty spirit and overcome so much. We had just hoped she would cut a break and not lose their eyesight after everything else that’s happened but it wasn’t to be. We’re going to look at some sort of temporary ramps here that we can use until we move just to make it safer for her the problem is her hind legs are weak Unless professionally built (Like at our new perm house ) we’re concerned about her getting down them safely. The ones we looked at tonight just didn’t seem to be very strong.

    She did better on the steps tonight but in the house she had a few run ins because she got a little too ahead of herself which she can sometimes do with that’s when we start utilizing “wait” and slightly touching her nose which seem to start helping. She has the most amazing girl and I really just hope that this works out

    Lena sounds like she was a wonderful doggy. Very sorry for your loss

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