The Pet Thread

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Ugh, I guess we're to the stage in our lives where we have to make difficult decisions with regard to our family pets. Decided to put LadyFox's kitty down today (which was ironically her 16th b-day). I don't wish that exercise on anyone. Though I suppose we all have to keep things like this in the back of our minds that it's what we are signing up for by getting pets.

Blah... :(

 
It's never fun having to make that decision, I'm sorry that you're having to go through it kf. We have two older dogs so I know that we've spent much more time with them than we have left, and it's difficult to think about what's going to happen in the future. We just try to enjoy our time with them now the best that we can. Best of luck kf!

 
@knightfox3:  Sorry to hear about your pet.  We too try to keep things like this in the back of our minds, but having pets is hard when you know there will be that DAY.  It's hard to think about it so we all try to enjoy the company with our pets for as long as we can.  We found 2 stray (or lost) cats in our yard all beat up, skinny, and afraid.  It took us awhile to get them to know us by leaving food/water and then walk away for them to come eat/drink.  After a few weeks of doing that, we got both of these cats to come to us and they do love us; not only for the food/water sometimes, but just for our love & care for them.  We took them in for examinations & shots and now these 2 guys are ours and they're living a happy life.  The more we spend time with them, the more difficult it is to think of the DAY.  I've always told myself that the day will come, but whatever we have or can do for these pets it'll always be remembered by us and by the pets too.  

 
It's a hard decision to make.  My husband and I were facing this two weeks ago and had prepared ourselves for the vet appointment where we figured we would have to decide depending on the diagnosis.  As hard as it was to have our cat pass away in my arms, I'm thankful that the decision was taken off my shoulders.  The following weeks will be hard for everyone so hang in there.  

 
Sorry to hear that kf and eg. I still miss my American Eskimo and it's been over 3 years.

 
$450 at the emergency vet on Sunday for one of my two greyhounds.  Pancreatitis, they think caused by a change in her kibble coupled with stress from Mrs. Supe & Junior being gone, along with all the fireworks and shit.  Gave her an IV, big shot in the butt, an antibiotic/anti-inflammatory, and an anti-nausea/anti-diarrheal medicine.  Unfortunately the latter came too late, as she left a nice, dark, red velvet cake and mucus diarrhea pool all over our white and grey wool rug in the living room.  

 
Haven't posted this here yet, but one of our dogs had a 17 pound spleenic mass removed in May.  It was malignant, but not metastatic and the mitotic index was zero, so we've started him on chemotherapy.  Two rounds of chemo complete with 4 more to go.  He seems to be doing pretty well.  He gets a bit sick for a few days from the chemo, but in general he has more energy and seems happier than he did before the surgery.

We always said we wouldn't be "those people" that put a dog through chemo, thinking that it causes the dog to suffer and doesn't do much to extend life.  But in this case it's a rare cancer and there was no real prognosis (e.g. he's going to die in 6 months) and in fact all the signs have been fairly good.  Plus the way they apply chemo for dogs doesn't make them super sick.  So we're optimistic the chemo may actually help in the long run.

 
Glad to hear its going well, MP!

Chemo is pretty common in Greyhounds.  While it doesn't seem to be effective as a standalone treatment to prevent recurrence, it has a high success rate when used to treat osteosarcoma when coupled with amputation of a limb (they are still amazingly quick on three legs).  Like yourself, I wouldn't want it in all cases, but would be willing to try it if it had a high success probability with limited impact on the dog's day to day well being.  

 
The SO and I are going to get another kitty some time in the next few weeks/month. We're finally done with traveling until September.

 
my wife and daughter have our border collie at the vet / clinic at the moment and something tells me they are bringing home another damn cat!

 
$450 at the emergency vet on Sunday for one of my two greyhounds.  Pancreatitis, they think caused by a change in her kibble coupled with stress from Mrs. Supe & Junior being gone, along with all the fireworks and shit.  Gave her an IV, big shot in the butt, an antibiotic/anti-inflammatory, and an anti-nausea/anti-diarrheal medicine.  Unfortunately the latter came too late, as she left a nice, dark, red velvet cake and mucus diarrhea pool all over our white and grey wool rug in the living room.  
Haven't posted this here yet, but one of our dogs had a 17 pound spleenic mass removed in May.  It was malignant, but not metastatic and the mitotic index was zero, so we've started him on chemotherapy.  Two rounds of chemo complete with 4 more to go.  He seems to be doing pretty well.  He gets a bit sick for a few days from the chemo, but in general he has more energy and seems happier than he did before the surgery.

We always said we wouldn't be "those people" that put a dog through chemo, thinking that it causes the dog to suffer and doesn't do much to extend life.  But in this case it's a rare cancer and there was no real prognosis (e.g. he's going to die in 6 months) and in fact all the signs have been fairly good.  Plus the way they apply chemo for dogs doesn't make them super sick.  So we're optimistic the chemo may actually help in the long run.
Sorry to read both of these with the pet troubles. :(

 
You know you're getting old when you're excited to see your dog drop a slightly firm HSD rather than pure liquid diarrhea.

 
19905248_10108299607072710_9058713030559006179_n.jpg


my cat: bentley. 

caption: Draw me like one of your french girls

 
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