arachyd
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Oct 2004
Location: NJ
Posts: 102 |
I had one at the vets for a look at a lump she had several years ago. Vet said gums were pale & did some blood work. Later got a call at work to bring dog back ASAP because she was in kidney failure. Went back home, got the dog and brought her back to the head vet who told me I must have the dogs mixed up. He said there's no way it's the dog the other vet tested because she didn't even look sick. They weren't too familiar with how well a hound can hide illness or pain. Kidney failure dogs drink a LOT of water but stop eating and waste away so they expected a sickly-looking dog. Anyway, she was really near death and didn't show it a bit. We kept her going with the canned special food and lots of fruits and vegetables. When she couldn't keep up with her need for water I did subcutaneous water injections. When she lost her appetite I coaxed her with tiny bits of food by hand. She was such a hit with the vet's staff they gave her a free treatment of some very expensive stuff to boost her blood (sorry, don't remember the name but it was red and a few hundred dollars a shot) to help her keep going a bit longer. It perked up her appetite and helped a lot. She was in good spirits right to the end, even wanting to "hunt" a bit in the summer heat. After more than a year, closer to two she stopped eating for a few days. She suddenly died at my feet in the kitchen late Christmas eve/Christmas morning. RIP Dottie. You were a good one. I was told by the vets as long as a terminal dog is happy, still eating and not in pain there's no reason to put it down. We never found out what caused it but the vet said it was sudden so probably some kind of toxin, maybe snail bait or something like that. The odd thing is we hadn't used anything toxic on the property.
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Gloria
Last edited by arachyd on 03-13-2020 at 05:55 AM
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