|
Recommended Readings
|Emergency FAQ | Join
Dodger's Message Board
| Home "Scoobie" It started the last week in November with
another flare up. But it all started nine years ago with Scooby going
down. Traditional treatment failed so we turned to alternative treatment.
He had acupuncture and chinese herbs. He was walking after the first
treatment. Now its nine years later with some minor flare ups and one
bad flare up about a year ago. Then this one. His pain level had gotten
bad. He was curling up his back. After consult with is regular vet we
put him on prednisone again with Pepcid. We had been down the prednisone
road before. It's not an easy one. His last course of prednisone lasting
nearly a year before we could get him off of it with the help of a holistic
vet and more chinese herbs. This flare up quickly went down hill when
Scooby developed a gastric ulcer. It was really bad. It took daily IV
treatments with fluids and antibiotics, and Prilosec, and carafate to
get this bout under control. We were doing acupuncture with his other
treatments. I never thought there would be a day where I would lose
hope. My vet asked me if I was willing to try other treatments. Meaning
to me he was losing hope of him recovering. I said I'm willing to do
whatever it takes. Scooby was losing weight. He lost nearly 2 lbs and
that's a lot for a dog that weighs 8lbs at best. He was dehydrated and
not eating. His kidney values were way up. I placed Scooby in the care
of his regular vet and their staff for nearly a week. Dropping him off
in the mornings and picking him up at the end of the day. The first
two days were rough but there was still a spark of life in him. His
kidney values were slowing returning back to normal. He didn't start
eating again until the 3rd treatment. He was quiet and tired but started
feeling better after that 3rd treatment. I want to say I owe many thanks
to Dr. Andrews and his caring staff. The first day I came to pick him
up from his treatment they had placed toys in his cage. One tech had
carried him around with her all day. Another tech had given him a bath
to make him feel better and another had made him a makeshift sweater
out of cast stocking. The next day there were more toys in his cage
and he was curled up on his blanket. The third day of picking him up
nearly all the staff had come in to see me as I picked him up with many
words of encouragement. That third night he ate. The next day he went
in for acupuncture. He was still a bit of a sorry sight. It has been
2 weeks now. He has gained back 1 of the 2 pounds he lost. The spark
and joy has returned to his life. He is such a joy to be with . What
amazes me most thru all this is he also has a really bad heart murmur
and was on lasix and enalapril prior to this flare up. He had to be
taken off those meds during his illness. We have just started up the
enalapril and have not needed yet to start back any lasix. It hasn't
been an issue yet. And his heart murmur is really bad which is amazing.
Since this he has been off ALL pain medications and muscle relaxants.
He was on daily robaxin for over a year and now takes nothing. We have
started up his holistic supplements which are herbisone, liquid ambar
15 and cats claw. He saw the acupuncture vet yesterday for a follow
up visit. She was pleased and amazed at his progress. Everyone can hardly
believe its the same dog of 2 weeks ago. We are now going to pursue
maintenance acupuncture at regular intervals even if he is asymptomatic.
His back is nice and straight and loose and what a wag to his tail.
He can't get enough to eat either LOL. Even though we may feel at times
it is the end of the line. I think we can trust our inner feelings and
dare to hope. We don't lose anything for trying. I want to add that
if I thought Scooby was in sheer misery I would have ended his suffering
but the vet did give me hope so I tried with all I had to help him.
There is hope even in the darkest moments and it comes from our animal
companions and the compassionate people who care for them. God bless
you all. P.S. (he will be 15 in March! An accomplishment for a dog with a bad heart murmur and IVDD)
Have a story you'd like to
submit? Send an email to
lindox5@yahoo.com. |
