Not a good vet visit for Shadow
 

Well we were at the vet tonight. He thinks the pred has helped the left side of her body, but the right not so much. He prescribed 100 mg of Advil once a day, and also gave her some medicine to coat her stomach. He did not increase the prednisone. He said the shaking jaw is basically parkinsons disease. He said she will start to wander aimlessly and seem lost, which she actually does sometimes already. There are meds you can give them for it, but he just sorta looked at me and shook his head. We are in agreement that I don't want to put her on 50 different meds.

She also lost 2 pounds again in the past three weeks. Which really surprised me given that she's eating like a horse! Of course she's also pooping like one too - literally - anywhere the urge strikes...

So I guess at this point it's just up to us now when we feel she's had enough of it. It does not appear there is much more to do. I did promise my son that we would do our best to keep her around until he came home from his honeymoon on Sept. 23, so there's that.

Anyhow, all in all, not a great trip to the vet :(

I'm so sorry to hear that you received bad news. I am sending all the good vibes I can to you and Shadow.

Sending along some :goodvibes: :goodvibes: for Shadow & :grouphug: :grouphug: for you

DD I have just read this thread and your other one about Shadow on prednisone. It is so hard when they reach this stage of life :(. Know that you are in my thoughts and I am sending lots of good vibes that Shadow will be able to say goodbye to your son when he returns.

That's very sad news, DD. :( I hope she stays with you till your son gets back but I know you'll do what's best for her either way. Poor old darling.

I am so sorry DD

You and Winston are going through hell right now. I have been down that road many times and it does not get any easier. My thoughts and prayers are with you both. Give Shadow:angel: a hug form me.

awww dog dancer my friend *hugs* its so hard to know the right time...but you will, she will tell you, you'll see it in her eyes...which I tend to think she is trying to prepare you for....we're all behind you and beside you while you make this decision...hang tough love.

Awww, DD, I'm so sorry. I was hoping the meds would help your beautiful Shadow. Just love her for the time you have. Hopefully she will make it until your son gets home so he can say his goodbye as well. :( :grouphug:

I'm really dreading the day we will have to let Thorin go. But hopefully the chemo has given us at least a few more good months.

HUGE :grouphug:'s from me to you

and give Shadow a big but soft hug from me please :grouphug::lovestruck::cloud9:

If good thoughts, prayers and :goodvibes: will help Shadow make it through to say goodbye to your son, then I'm sending as many as I can! :2huggers: Such a difficult time. Give Shadow a hug from me, k? And consider yourself hugged as well, DD :grouphug:

Thank you all so much. I really do hope she makes it until Jeff gets home, which I think she will. Her face is a happy face, she didn't poop in the house yesterday or last night - well not since 5:30 am yesterday anyhow. Not sure how the Advil will help her as she just had her first pill this morning. But son is home in 10 days so I think she can do that. He does understand though that if she gets too bad we would not let her suffer. He doesn't want us to do that to her either. But she really doesn't seem to be suffering so much as her body is just giving up on her. She still pants alot, but the vet assures me that it's not uncommon with the prednisone. So I try to convince myself that she's not in pain. I guess in hind sight I could have put her down a few weeks back, but at least now we've tried the alternatives and it hasn't improved her quality of life significantly. Oh well, she's happy for now and snoozing under my desk. Thank you all for your support, I know you are here for us and appreciate it so much. It's so good knowing that you've all been there, and several of you are there with me at the same time with your own (Sylvie and Winston). My thoughts are with all of you as well, I'm as ready as we can be for this I guess, and am waiting for Shadow to tell me when it's time. :grouphug::grouphug: to you all.

[QUOTE=Dog Dancer;1024010] She still pants alot, but the vet assures me that it's not uncommon with the prednisone. So I try to convince myself that she's not in pain. [/QUOTE]

Nookie would constanly pant (very hard at times) and had a lot of open mouth breathing when he would sleep. His was due to the pred :)
It really makes them hot.

Marty too pants very heavily on prednisone!

Thanks for the reassurances you guys. I appreciate it more than you know. She pants so hard sometimes at night I can't sleep for hearing her.

Can't remember if I mentioned anywhere that she also seems to have lost most of her hearing. That seems to have come up quite quickly, and the vet said it's not uncommon to happen fast. She'll be walking away from me somewhere and when I call her to come back she just keeps on going. It's kinda scary because I don't want her wandingering off where she shouldn't be (like the road). She's always been so obedient, it was obvious to me that she wasn't hearing me. Sometimes it seems she does, but mostly not so much. No reaction when I call her name. That breaks my heart, she can't hear me telling her how much I love her, but I give her lots of cuddles and hugs so she still knows.

[QUOTE=Dog Dancer;1024023] she can't hear me telling her how much I love her, [/QUOTE]

Shadow might not be able to hear you but she [I]does know[/I] that you do!!!
she can [I]sense [/I]you loving her, and caring about her... she knows!!!!!!

Dogs communicate by body language, DD. She can [I]see[/I] how much you love her, even if she can't hear your voice. And you know that your touch telegraphs your love for her, as well. :2huggers:

DD, my Shadow has been going deaf over the years. Now, when we want her attention we have to whistle, at least she can hear that.

They are so intune to everything around them that they can keep it hidden for a long time. Hubby used to say she had selective hearing. But now he knows she is almost completely deaf and he whistles for her attention also.
They are so amazing.

DD I'm so sorry that Shadow is not doing well, my thoughts are with you and your family:grouphug: from Tucker and me

AWWW....I am sorry Shadow isn't doing better... when they go deaf sometimes it seems like it comes and goes, worse at some times and better at others:shrug:Shadow can tell you love her by your gestures, even if she can't hear you at times :grouphug:

My Annie is also following a similar journey. Her hearing loss is quite profound. When I cuddle her, I make sure she can feel my voice. This journey is a rough road for the ones that love their pets so much. Give Shadow and ear scritch for me.

I know how hard this is on you and your family, DD lots of :grouphug: for you and Shadow. :cry:

No words my friend. You know how I feel. :grouphug::grouphug::(

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and support. It really is invaluable knowing how many of you are going through the same things. Hearing about the other pets and how they've dealt with these same issues gives me great comfort to know I'm not doing everything wrong. We are not alone. I know Shadow knows I love her. She is more cuddly these days too, like she's trying to squeeze it all in. Her shaking has gotten visibly worse in the last week, and it bothers me so much, but I'm quite certain it's not hurting her, so we're hanging tight for now. I know our time will not be long, but so long as she's comfortable we'll wait at least for my son to come home. I had to put our last dog to sleep while he was away on holidays and I don't think I'd have the heart to do that to him again unless I really had to!

It's sooo hard reading these posts...having been through alot of the same and having 2 older kitties.

Oh they certainly know when you love them!! I wouldn't doubt that she's trying to get as much lovin' in as possible.

You know, go figure these dogs huh! Tonight she pretty near dragged me around the block on our walk. She was downright perky! Well going out she was perky, on the way home she slowed down some, although we didn't go more than a couple blocks. But wow, she was going for it. I don't know if it's because of the advil, or just because the weather has cooled significantly, but what a difference tonight. It was such a treat, but probably just a bonus evening. When we got home she wanted to play with some of her toys in the living room, but all she could do was sit and play tug with us for a couple minutes. It lost it's appeal pretty quickly for her, but it was great to see. :cloud9:

Cherish those happy moments together :grouphug:. I remember with Lucy that she had a few times when we thought things were close but then she rebounded. I think that they just like to keep us working extra hard to cater to their every wish :D.

Of course, we would do that forever for just a bit more time with them :angel2:.

It's such a crazy roller coaster ride of emotions isn't it? That's okay, I do cherish the sweet times like last night. After all her energy and playing she got hungry and there was no stopping her until I gave her a second dinner at 8:45 last night. I didn't want to because I was afraid it would make her poop in the middle of the night, but it didn't thankfully.

DD have been following your story and wish I could help but I can't. I have no words. Just follow your heart and your head and listen to Shadow...they really do let you know when it is time.:pawprint:

Also, even when it is the right decision does not mean it is easy...I wish you strength and comfort in the time ahead :grouphug:

AWWWW> sounds like shadow has a lot of love and life to give , just her darn doggie body is crapping out on her. I HATE THAT! Wish there was some way we could do a spirit transplant of our doggies into a NEW doggie body, and have them forever.
Dont second guess yourself. you'll know when its time. If you hadnt tried the new meds and put her down weeks ago, you'd have been driving yourself mad , that you hadnt tried everything. Now you have tried everything, and you can sleep easy, knowing you did your VERY BEST for your very best four legged friend.
She KNOWS she's loved, and she KNOWS she'll be taken care of.
Thats the BEST anyone can do for thier fur critters.
She'll tell you when she's had enough.
I wish I could heal the hurt...for both you and your loved ones. Its hard to say goodbye, one day at a time. Never knowing how long we will have them is one of lifes greatest joys and sorrows at the same time.
HUGS!

Thank you. I trust she will tell me, and I'm thankful that I tried the prednisone. It was such a dramatic improvement right off the bat, but unfortunately it was not long lived. But yes, I will not have to second guess myself now. It was definitely the thing to do. Thank you again for your words. They do help. Shadow just had an order of chicken strips from the Safeway deli for lunch. She's a happy girl and should sleep well now for the afternoon at work!