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Old August 26th, 2003, 10:24 AM
Jasonn Jasonn is offline
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Dog is sick

My parents have a dog which we have had ever since I was growing up, and I'm fond of it.
She is about 11 or 12 years old in human years, which comes out to what.. 66-72 yrs old?
The last few years she hasn't gotten any exercise.
Just basically laid in one spot all day long as far I've been told by them.

But lately, as of the last month or so, she has been breathing very fast even when laying down, her nerves seem to be on edge, asin she jumps whenever someone makes a noise, she is very shaky, has been sort of limping when she walks and acts like it takes her a lot of effort to move around, and also she has lost a lot of weight.
They also said that they saw her laying on the ground on her side, shaking violently, with the tongue hanging out, I believe before this all started.
They seem to think it was a heart attack and she is over it and will be okay now, but it sounds like a seizure to me, maybe did some damage to a part of the body.
But other than that I am clueless as to what to do for her other than taking her to a vet, which they currently won't do.

I've begged with my parents to take her to the vet, but they have this twisted notion that all doctors 'don't know anything' as quoted by them and 'will just rip us off'.
Instead, they seem to think they know better and are trying to feed the dog HUMAN antibiotics thinking it has Lyme Disease or something, and Ibuprofen the pain killer.
They have no experience in medicating dogs, they don't even know what those medications really do.
I disagree 100% with them doing that, but they won't listen to me.
I don't know of course, but surely these medicines do not work the same in a dog's body as they do a humans and I fear our dog may have a curable problem and that them feeding it these random medications may actually be the cause of her dying if it does happen.

I want them to take her to the vet and get a real diagnosis of her problem, which may even be curable if they do it soon enough.

What i'm asking of here is that if anyone is knowledgable here about diseases or conditions that dogs sometimes get that fit these symptom descriptions, ANY at all, if they could post on here and tell me what the illness is called, whether or not you are sure about it... just to give me some idea about this.
I know the symptoms are vague, but it is all I can really say as of now.
I'm hoping that I can go over and let my parents read these replies, if someone has even the slightest idea of what it could be, and maybe then if they realise it is a common ailment, if it is, that they will be willing to take her to the vet and get her treated properly along with my persuasion.

I don't want to see our family dog die just because of my parents' stubborness.

Thanks
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Old August 26th, 2003, 12:31 PM
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homer homer is offline
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Hi Jasonn,

It is nice to see the concern you have for your parent's dog!

11-12 dog years is about 77-84 in human years.

Your parent's thinking is truly 'old world' and this dog needs a vet badly. Imagine if ANY human were exhibiting these horrific symptoms. There are plenty of good vets out there, try and get a recommendation from someone you know! If money is an issue ask around to see if any can give a reduced rate.

Sounds to me like the dog had a stroke or epileptic seizure. But the stroke or seizure could have been caused by many many things, the first of which is NEGLECT. Your parents have obviously not paid any attention to any of the symptoms that led up to this episode. This dog could have a multitude of problems some of which are easily treatable and not too expensive. But who knows right? This dog needs a vet exam and blood and urine tests to determine the scope of his problems.

In my opinion (not a vet but have a lot of experience) this dog could well die in the next short while if untreated. If that's what your parents want, they are going about it in the right way.

Unfortunately it may well be up to you do decide what's best for this dog.

Best of luck,

Homer

Here are a couple of questions that I and others already answered. They may help because parts of them sound similar to your question.
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....&threadid=1930
http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....&threadid=1914
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Old August 28th, 2003, 02:33 AM
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CSweet CSweet is offline
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Location: Washington
Posts: 5
Unhappy I'm Sorry

Jasonn,
I am deeply sorry to hear of your dogs illness. I currently went through loosing a family pet.
What kind of dog do you have? If your breed of dog has white fur at all look for discoloration in the white. if a 'rust' color shows up on the "forehead" of your dog, the problem is more than likely liver failure. And unfortunately it is better for the loved one not to suffer.
If you search aol under- ' dog diseases' you can recieve a number of links in which you can possibly determine what kind of illness your pooch may have. Maybe if you go to your parents with a possible cause they will be more likely to take your dog to the vet. Or.... you can do what I did and take the dog to the vet on your own, alot of times you can talk to the vets office about a payment plan ($20 a month or so). If you have other questions or need to chat please feel free. : Sweet99_99_@yahoo.com
e-mail or instant messanger.- Crissy -Good Luck!!!!!
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