I may have to put down my dog today - Page 2

pwd72s · 06-22-2016, 10:33 AM

^^^^this. Does any Porsche give you the love, devotion, and companionship of a pet? Good decision, if you ask me. Hoping for a successful operation.

Rikao4 · 06-22-2016, 10:57 AM

awesome..!
best to Dexter...

Rika

Steve F · 06-22-2016, 11:05 AM

More Awesome!!

rfuerst911sc · 06-22-2016, 11:56 AM

Just got a call from the vet there will be a one day delay. As part of the path forward we agreed that a CT scan would be used to do the diagnosis in regards to where the repair had to be done. They took the CT and it did not give clear enough definition to the surgeons liking. So they need to perform an MRI which normally is much more money. The surgeon assured us they are NOT going to charge us for the additional cost of the MRI or the additional nights stay in the vet hospital. I thought that was very fair and caring of them to do so. So D-Dawg will get an MRI in the morning and the surgery in the afternoon with the goal of picking him up on Friday. What an emotional roller coaster . The vet assured us Dexter is resting comfortably and is being spoiled

. I will post more info as we get it .

Gogar · 06-22-2016, 12:04 PM

Go Get Em, Dexter!

jwhcars · 01:20 PM

Just put down my buddy Gizmo 14 years of companionship, God I miss him !
Have a speedy recovery Dexter.

masraum · 06-22-2016, 12:50 PM

My cousin had a Doxie that had a bad back. They were dirt poor and couldn't afford the op. they essentially kept him in a kennel (very limited movement) for about a year. He eventually recovered 100%. I'm not sure if or how much pain he was in.

Our doxie hurt his back. We got the surgery, it was about $3500. I think that was about 7 years ago. We still watch him and don't let him do stairs. I think he's about 10 now.

I've heard of people with these pups at 18yo, but then I think that's on the extreme end of things. I'm sorry that you and Dex are going through this. Good luck.

MBAtarga · 06-22-2016, 12:57 PM

I hope all goes well tomorrow.

KevinTodd · 06-22-2016, 03:55 PM

Best of luck to you and Dexter both, from the Georgia contingent!

bell · bell's Garage

glad you got some good news......charlotte had torn a ligament in her "cat knee"....and was obviously in pain, she was on meds etc......but after a month she just wasnt getting back to normal
...more vet visits....allot more money and testing and was concluded she had a non-regenerative anemia......so everything I spent trying to save her was all for nothing.....and there was nothing that could be done to ease her pain so I had to make the decision....
I took a serious hit financially......hoping I'll be able to cover the bills this month......but that's what we do for our pets.....they are family....

Chocaholic · 06-22-2016, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinTodd

Best of luck to you and Dexter both, from the Georgia contingent!

Ditto....glad to hear there's a reasonable path for D. Looking forward to more good news!

Baz · Baz's Garage

Whew....Dexter dodged a bullet!

I was reading the first page of this thread thinking to myself "What difficult decision?" You take care of those who take care of you...no questions asked!"

Good luck tomorrow and please give the big D a belly rub from all of us at Bazzaland.

jimwill911 · 06-23-2016, 08:32 AM

Had the same thing happen to my dach mix on xmas day. Went to the vet and they made the same diagnosis - IVDD and gave only 1 solution: surgery. Did my research before going to the vet and there is another option - crate rest. That was my plan.

Here's everything you need to know. Dodgerslist: canine back problems, all things IVDD Also has a forum where they provide help for recovery. After this talked with many people whose dogs made complete recovery with crate rest.

As for my dog, the first vet misdiagnosed IVDD. It was actually an embolism in his back. Fully recovered and running around again. My dog was in extreme pain the first day. Next day he was pain free but still had a lot of symptoms. That is a sign of an emolism

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

We have three daschunds and our youngest Dexter is 11 years old. He's been in pain for the last month or so with a bad back. Took him to the vet three weeks ago and they put him on steroids and pain meds ( robaxin + prednisone ) . The vet said carry him up and down stairs for the next 3 - 4 weeks and lets see how he is doing. He was doing much better up until yesterday morning. Out of the blue he seemed to be in pain again and losing control of his back legs. He woke us this morning at 3:00 with his crying so we took him to an emergency vet office. They say he has intervertebral disc disease and the only way to correct it is with surgery. We texted our vet and my wife just spoke to her and based on the current diagnosis and the exam she performed three weeks ago she agrees with the current diagnosis. So here we are......Dexter is 11 years old and mentally sharp as a tack but he is 11 . The surgery is going to be somewhere in the range of 7 - 8 thousand and like any surgery no guarantees of success. My wife and I are torn.........I don't want to put my buddy down but I do not want him to suffer. He is sitting on the couch right now and I'm on the verge of tears.........I need some advice guys . As of right now Dexter can't walk his rear legs will not function........it is very sad to see .

rfuerst911sc · 06-23-2016, 01:33 PM

UPDATE: Today we were again on pins and needles waiting for the phone to ring. First call came in around noon the MRI went well and no surprises. It showed Dexter had one ruptured disc and everything else looked good in the images. So first bullet dodged. He was being prepped for surgery so now we wait for the 2nd call the follow up after the surgery. My wife couldn't take it any longer so she called at 4:15. They had finished the surgery at 3:30 and all went as planned. There were no hidden surprises which is good. They repaired the disc, scraped some calcium deposits off a few discs, capped one nerve for pain relief and closed him up. He's in doggie lala land but will be coming out of it soon. We will get an update call tonight around 9:00 or so that will be the call which will determine if we can pick him up tomorrow or not. They need to make sure he can go to the bathroom on his own and all motor function skills are in tact. My wife and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted but we are not out of the woods yet. I want to really thank everyone that chimed in it was helpful to me to get through it. I will update when D-dawg is home !

Rikao4 · 06-23-2016, 01:50 PM

that's great new's..
long may he run...

Rika

masraum · 06-23-2016, 02:15 PM

That all sounds like fantastic news. I think things have really turned out well. Our pup couldn't urinate by himself for 2 or 3 days IIRC. There is a way to manually squeeze their bladder through their tummy area. It's not easy to get just the right spot, but I did it several times.

I'm sure Dexter is going to do well.

Sherlock is pulling for a quick and full recovery.

Sherlock's brother, Fritz is also sure that Dexter is going to be just fine.

rfuerst911sc · 06-23-2016, 03:22 PM

Masraum some nice looking pups there !

crustychief · crustychief's Garage

I am sorry if you have to do this. it is definitely a test of humanity.

masraum · 06-23-2016, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crustychief

I am sorry if you have to do this. it is definitely a test of humanity.

Crusty, turned out he was able to get the surgery done today. So far things look good. Dexter may come home today or tomorrow.

rfuerst911sc · 06-24-2016, 12:27 PM

UPDATE: Another twist in the story of D-Dawg..........last night the surgeon was putting together her report/records on the Dexter case. She was looking at the radiologists report when she found something she either missed or wasn't told or ?????. Dexter is missing a rib apparently a birth defect. So the surgeon wanted to go back in and take a look at the area where the rib should have been to make sure that area was stable. As it turned out when she went in she decided to " strengthen " that area. My wife didn't ask what that meant but it is done. Surgeon stated Dexter did fantastic with both surgeries and is very pleased with the results. While I am not happy they had to go back in I'm glad he appears to be in good shape. So current plan is to be able to pick him up tomorrow morning at 8:30. No additional costs for the extra surgery/work . I would have thought protocol would have the surgeon and radiologist being on the same page before making the cut but apparently not. I'll be glad when the little guy is home again .