Vet reluctant to treat - Sweet Sasha has passed

[labblab]

Hello again, and I’m so sorry that you don’t have better news to share. As you’ll see, I did go ahead and merge your new post into your original thread. This way, we can trace back through Sasha’s entire history and view the whole big picture.

Doxepin is not a medication with which I’m familiar, so I just now did a quick Google search and one of the first articles I pulled up is this brand new study that found *no* value in using it to treat Labs suffering from laryngeal paralysis:-(((((.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33998727/

However, at this point, the main benefit for Sasha may just be its overall calming influence, anyway. And if she seemed to be doing better on that prior to starting the Anipryl, I’d also be inclined to just ditch the Anipryl and revert back. You’re so right that immediate quality of life seems to be of paramount importance. You may need to do another wash-out first, though. Even if not, it might be helpful to follow your husband’s suggestion and see how she does if she’s totally off everything again for a couple of days. If she stays bad or even worsens, and then she does improve again after restarting the Doxepin, you’d have greater confidence that the drug is truly beneficial in some way. But of course that means having to watch her suffer in the meantime if she does stay bad. That would be hard for me, too.

I’m so sorry that I don’t have any great suggestions for you guys. You’re really in a tough spot, that’s for sure. But please do let us know what you decide and how things develop. We’re definitely here to lend an ear even if we can do nothing else to really help :-(((.

Sending healing thoughts to you all,
Marianne

[Ana53]

Thank you, Marianne. We have decided to take Sasha off the Anipryl and maybe not even start the Doxepin again. We have been going on and off with the Doxepin for several months, and as the article points out, there doesn't seem to be any benefit to it for her. I have increased her gabapentin to 3 a day; maybe that will help calm things down.I will discuss all this with the vet when he calls today but we have decided to give Sasha a happy weekend, if we can, take her on her walks , give her all her favorite treats and let her eat all the delicious things that she finds in the backyard, like ants and tasty wads of grass. We will re evaluate Monday, and if things get too bad before then,well, we'll see. She's had a long and happy life and I don't want the end of her life to be miserable. I hold the firm belief that I will see all my furry family again on the other side.

[labblab]

I totally understand and endorse your plan. I’ll surely be thinking of your family throughout the weekend and wishing you all peace and comfort. And also love in abundance, although I know you’ve already got that part 100% taken care of.

Please give Sasha a big hug for all of us, and know that we’ll be right here for you and your husband any time that you may need us.

With my warmest wishes,
Marianne

[Ana53]

Thank you and bless you. I will update on Monday.

[Ana53]

Sasha had a bad weekend, with her panting, barking now becoming whimpering and crying, we came to the sad decision of having her put to sleep Monday afternoon. Her symptoms seemed to escalate through the weekend; she had trouble getting up and seemed confused and sad. The look in her eyes told us it was time. She had a very peaceful passing . She went for a few walks and had lots of treats with all her favorite foods. The house seems empty now but I know she was suffering and now she is not. We hope to see her again on the other side. Thank you for all your concern, advice and empathy.

[Joan2517]

I'm so sorry for your loss of sweet Sasha. The quiet is so loud when they leave us. I still listen for my Lena sliding on the floors and the way it sounded when she would push the kibble around in the bowl. Many, many hugs to you...

[Ana53]

Thank you, Joan. You are right. The quiet is deafening.

[labblab]

Oh my, I'm just so sorry, too. I know you made the merciful decision for Sasha, but at such a price for your own heart. Thank you so much for coming back to let us know, though. We're also mourning the loss of Ambro here, who passed on to the Bridge just a couple of days before Sasha. But now I'll choose to think of the two of them playing together, healthy and whole once again. And we'll always be here for you if you want to return to us to talk, or to vent, or to share stories about Sasha.

Sasha has now also joined Ambro on our special memorial thread of honor:

https://www.k9cushings.com/forum/sho...Us-(2020-2021)

If you should ever wish to have us link a photo of Sasha to her memorial line, you can just let me know and I'll tell you exactly what you need to do. In the meantime, please know that you and Sasha will forever remain a part of our little K9C family.

Sending you wishes of peace and comfort from across the miles, always in loving memory of your sweet girl.
Marianne

[Ana53]

Oh, so sorry about Ambro. Yes, I like to think the same thing. All the dogs that have passed on, playing and running, whole and young again. Sending you peace and love,

Ana