missionseeker Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 about six weeks ago, my dog injured her CCL (human ACL equivalent). She was doing really well and actually walking really well and the swelling had gone down and she was doing SUPER GOOD (especially considering that she's a 9 or 10 year old mastiff with sever arthritis in that joint). But recently I noticed that the swelling was back and that she was trying not to use her leg and she was super lethargic and the area was warm to the touch. So this morning I took her to the vet. Because the injury is inside, there's no real external confirmation of anything yet. However, my two most likely scenarios are a bone infection or bone tumor/cancer. :( Neither one has a great prognosis. Especially since I'm poor. heh. We've put her on a mega dose of antibiotics (which may or may not cause her stomach troubles) and I'm going to monitor her for a week to see if the inflammation goes down. You can tell she's in a BUNCH of pain. It just hurts my heart to see her. And now I don't even know if she'll be ok. :( On a good note, she's only gained a pound (weight is a real issue for her since she's so big and arthritic) which is good since she's been laying around a lot and eating WAY more than normal (which is hopeful since cancer makes dogs lose their appetites) AND the vet said "I'm just tickled to see her walking so well" so that's good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ContemporaryCaflicCrusader Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Our Bullmastiff died at age 8. Henry. I will never love anything 4 legged that much ever again. Brain tumor. Hoping your dog will do better. I feel down myself. It's spiritually dangerous, go watch the 3 stooges or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r2Dtoo Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 I hope you don't have to put your dog down, but if you do at least take solace that it's not a total shock. I had a Jack Russell that just suddenly had problems breathing and when I took her to the vet, there was nothing they could do for her. It was extremely traumatic. :cry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ContemporaryCaflicCrusader Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 My sister is a vet tech. She not to long ago had to put down the horse she learned to ride on as a kid. Over a decade later it remembered my sister and she took it for a last walk, feeding and a then the shot to put it down. I have to say the next dog will be awesome too and know that when it is best to put it down it's the right thing for the animal. I don't know enough to say that's right in this situation or not. Losing a dog usually goes down as one of the worse day in years, I'll start praying for you. And your dog and hey Maybe Rover will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aya Sophia Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 (edited) Hard not to feel sad in the face of suffering, esp. the suffering of one dear to you, whether human or animal. Particularly hard to see suffering in animals. I'll share a happy thing, in hopes it will lighten your load: driving through Louisiana yesterday, stopped by a fenced-in pasture where a few horses were grazing. One came immediately up to the fence and gave me a big, fuzzy, gentle kiss with his muzzle on the side of my face. A joy to see God's beauty in this creature, not suffering, at peace. Hope your woofy gets well. Edited November 3, 2013 by Aya Sophia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Having a few probs with my own ACL, and will offer it for you & your little one. One additional thought... I know there is a big emphasis on using rehab/physical therapy/knee joint strengthening exercises for human patients who are NOT getting surgery; if your dog does well on the antibiotics and seems to be doing better, perhaps the vet can suggest some PT-like exercises to see if the joint can be helped at all that way..... Even if you can't make her totally better, you know you have done everything you can, MissionSeeker, both to get her what help you can, and to give her the best options for the least amount of pain. :hug: Praying for both of you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missionseeker Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 Having a few probs with my own ACL, and will offer it for you & your little one. One additional thought... I know there is a big emphasis on using rehab/physical therapy/knee joint strengthening exercises for human patients who are NOT getting surgery; if your dog does well on the antibiotics and seems to be doing better, perhaps the vet can suggest some PT-like exercises to see if the joint can be helped at all that way..... Even if you can't make her totally better, you know you have done everything you can, MissionSeeker, both to get her what help you can, and to give her the best options for the least amount of pain. :hug: Praying for both of you... Thanks. SHe actually really ahead of schedule as far as the initial injury goes. The vet said that normally it takes a lot longer for them to walk as well as she is doing. So that is encouraging. The more I look at her, the more I am hopeful that it is an infection (treatable, even if not ultimately effective (though I don't like to think that way)) versus a tumor. She's eating more than usual, which makes me think that she's processing nutrients correctly and - besides her leg, of course - is feeling healthy. She didn't have a temp (though I think she did yesterday, but I couldn't be sure).So far she hasn't had a bad reaction to the antibiotics (and my vet was good enough to give me probiotics for her!). Her leg is actually hotter than it was this morning. :( But I'm still trying to be hopeful and not mopey. She's only had two doses and it might take time. Another factor of why I want her to be ok is because of a freak accident my sister is actually the one who caused the injury. She feels terrible already. I would NEVER hold this against her. but I am afraid that if she dies, it will make her feel like there's a wedge between us. I will be upset, don't get me wrong. But it won't be at my sister. My poor dog, I just feel so bad for her. She was rescued from an abusive home when she was 3 or 4 and lived a family who recently moved and had to re-home her, I was told that she had nothing wrong medically, but within a couple of weeks, it was clear that this was not the case. She couldn't even stand up! I've been to the vet with her more since April (when I got her) than I've been to the doctor myself in the last few years. She's not very well trained at all and sometimes that is very frustrating (because I am not experienced in the dog training area), but she's a sweet dog and it just seems like the poor baby can't catch a break. She did have a couple months where her pain seemed to be very much less. but geez... my poor pup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheresaThoma Posted November 3, 2013 Share Posted November 3, 2013 Aww I'm sorry. The fact that she is eating is a VERY good sign. We knew something was wrong with my cat (she had pancreatic cancer) when she became less and less interested in food. If she is eating and moving around then she is definitely headed in the right direction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missionseeker Posted November 3, 2013 Author Share Posted November 3, 2013 Yes. Not even two months ago, my other sister lost her border collie to lymphoma. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missionseeker Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 She's been on the meds for three days and so far no improvement. I think it may even be worse. She's been really clingy (which is saying a lot for a mastiff) and whiny and just not herself. And while she hasn't lost her appetite, there are other signs that might indicate cancer. She drinks obscene amounts. She used to never drink as much as she has been lately. Also, ever since I got her, she's not eaten much compared to other mastiffs. She's smaller and less active (older) than others so I just thought that was her MO, but perhaps, she's had cancer for a while (bone cancer is one of the most missed types in dogs). When I first took her to the vet for joint pain, she was prescribed rimadyl, which helped but she had a bad reaction to it - ever since I've been giving her fish oil, which really helped and which she loved and which I am now reading - is part of the canine cancer diet. She's had spots of balding, which indicates something off with her immune system (although the vet said she thought they looked better, but I didn't think so) I also switched her food to one high in protein and low in carbs. - also a cancer diet move (I did it to help her weight/pain/just because it was a higher quality food). Sometimes she has trouble breathing, and here lately has been choking on her food a lot. She's in so much pain - even for a dog who from what I can gather spent lots of her life in terrible pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheresaThoma Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I'm sorry that is hard. That was one thing with my cat, she became obsessed with water, especially running water. I couldn't turn on a sink without her crying for a drink. Sometimes I would just leave the water running for a few minutes and she would sit there and drink. Sometimes she would put her whole head under the faucet in an attempt to get more water. It broke my heart but it made her happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneLine Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Holding you both in a loving embrace, Missionseeker..... :console: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrossCuT Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Can you give her some doggy aspirin to help with the pain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missionseeker Posted November 6, 2013 Author Share Posted November 6, 2013 she's got pain meds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmaD2006 Posted November 6, 2013 Share Posted November 6, 2013 :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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