Hi Tom,
I am so sorry to hear about your sick doggy. One of mine is a cancer survivor so I know a little bit about how you feel.
You have already gotten some good advice so all I can say is hang in there for Kelsely's sake.
Fingers and paws crossed that Kelsey gets better.
Well the test says her liver is working fine so now we are back to where we started.
She is having new problems the last couple days, She pooped right before I took her in to the vets office and she was normal, when I go to pick her up in the afternoon they said she has had horrible diarrhea most of the day.
I told them she was just fine right before she came in so we figured it was stress and being so afraid of being there that caused it, well today she is still just as bad, we have to keep her tied up in the back room on the old vinyl floor so we can clean up after her. I called the vet back today about it and she said to give her some small anti diarrhea pills which have not helped so far and to feed her hamburger and rice mixed together and not her dog food to see if her tummy settles down. I think being tied up in the back room is adding to her stress so it makes the problem worse that we are trying to fix. She has it so bad we can't leave her loose in the house because she can't hold it in long enough to let us know she has to go outside.
Tom, I sincerely hope that this is something that can be treated - it seems horribly unfair to have to go through this again, it is the downside of owning animals sadly, but that doesn't make it any easier. I am sure you will do the right thing by her, like you did for Tuffy. Thinking of you and your wife.
I hope her diarrhea improves in the next few hours...have you been forcing fluids or Pedialyte? That may help keep her hydrated...keep checking the skin behind her neck for signs of dehydration, and if she isn't getting enough fluids, she may have to have sub-q fluids from the vet. Poor Kelsey.
Some people swear by canned pumpkin (pure, not the stuff with sugar and spices) to help with digestive problems. It can't hurt to mix in a little with the hamburger and rice. Actually you might try substituting boiled chicken for the hamburger.
Hi, I was making the diarrhea worse by keeping her tied up in the back room, to much stress for her I guess. The other day I let her loose in the house and in about a day the diarrhea was gone. She is not good as new, but doing better than she was for a while there. Some of the sparkle has come back to her eyes and she is eating good again.
The vet wants to take some more chest X rays in a week or so to see what that round thing looks like again. She still is wondering what it could be.
Hi, A little update, Kelsey is still doing OK, not her old self but I don't think she will be anymore, I think age is catching up with her some, and all this time as a house dog in town she never got the exercise she should have. The last time she got out off town so she could run around is when the breathing problems showed up, so we are now afraid to let her run around to much till we learn more as to what is going on with her.
We are going on our first camping trip of this year next weekend and probably will take her along with us. Maybe I can take her on a couple long slow walks around the campground, I have fibromyalgia and back problems so my 50 year old body has a hard time getting around also some days.
It is going to be real hard for me going camping without Tuffy along the first couple times, he loved being in the motor home and having it all to himself without any other cats or dogs to deal with.
I think Cozmo would like it also after he got used to it, but he is so fussy I don't think he would stand wearing Tuffy's old harness and leash. He acted like the world was coming to an end when I tried to put a small collar on him a while back.
Hello, we lust got home from camping for 2 1/2 days and Kelsey did good. She had a little trouble breathing last night and it got pretty warm today so I turned on the air conditioner in the motor home and Kelsey liked that, she layed on the big bed in the back and slept part of the day.
I was thinking how much I miss Tuffy not camping with us, and about that time I fixed a blanket on the couch in the motor home and one of Tuffy's toys fell out on the floor, almost like Tuffy dropped it there because I was thinking of him, it almost made me cry.