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Old July 29th, 2008, 07:33 PM
PookaFamily PookaFamily is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Alberta
Posts: 1
Advanced kidney disease - when is it time...

My dog, Pooka, is 18 and a loving companion. He was diagnosed as having advanced kidney disease a few months ago and the vet said at the time that we were looking at weeks, not months, and should prepare ourselves for making the decision to put him to sleep. Pooka has been hanging on. What I don't know is whether he is gettting worse and suffering. I don't want to say 'goodbye' prematurally, but I don't know how to tell. His sister had pancreatic cancer last year and that was much easier as she was in such horrid pain. Pooka just seems to become more and more fatigued. So... this is what I am seeing this week. Is this indicative of decline? He has been having tremors that move through his body like a wave. He has started snorting (like he has asthma) trying to get a breath. This is accompanied by quite aggressive lip smacking/licking. (I saw this kindof thing in his sister who had epilepsy and would do this after a seizure). He is so tired some days that he gets off his bed, walks two feet and goes to sleep again. But then other days he acts like a puppy. Is this what one might see as his condition worsens? Or is this just par for the course when it comes to kidney disease and not something to fret over? When is it time?
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