CareyJ

Between Cottesloe and North Freo We're the losers on the dog beach with no dog! But we dont mind them being crazy. A non-dog beach is just boring now!

Hopefully Definately same breed - we're hooked. We've been up and down the Leighton dog beach so many times and debated heaps of different breeds but when we see a GSP...its love! Which is totally insane because we know they are crazy! We have contacted Leila's breeder to express an interest in a litter early this year but have started thinking about looking a bit further away. I think it might be nice to get something totally different from the eastern states. I'm procrastinating about sending an email about a litter that is planned for this year....its a bit scary but really exciting. The wedding on the other hand is a money sink and I have a need to have everything organised but dont like organising if that makes sense! OH does events co-ordination as part of his job but is not being helpful at all. I need a big stick!

Isnt this the only way to wash a dog????!!! And it saves water.

Oh gee...all this talk about not drinking much makes me feel bad....I'm a sucker for a couple of glasses of red, or white, or champagne and between OH and I, we can easily finish off 2 bottles of wine in a sitting and not feel like we have overdone it! I'm currently plotting how much money I can spend in 2011...and its adding up fast! A wedding and a puppy plus OH is looking at replacing a car - he's currently outside washing one to put on carsales :D We'll be totally broke by December.

I've been with iinet for about 8 years now, never any major problems with them. Now that I've moved outta home, I have mobile broadband with Virgin and left iinet on at mum and dad's house.. but mum and dad are moving in a few months so I'm not sure if I should transfer iinet to my house or cancel it. It will cost me almost double to use iinet but I will lose the email address I've had for all these years! Dad just cancelled the iinet account he has had for years but organised to pay something tiny like $20/year to keep his email address. That might be an cheaper option?

Our last dog was a stray (he got his wings last year after 15 wonderful years with us) and I distinctly remember having a conversation with my Dad about the tatoo in Comet's ear meaning he was castrated, lack of testicles also gave it away. Dad still insisted in taking him to the vet for his first check up and telling them to desex him! I think they might have had a chuckle at poor Dad's expense! We certainly did

PIA paid out our $7000 claim within 10 days of recieving it.

OMG! look at those photos! My office is in Mandurah Ocean Marina and we have been watching the smoke for 2 days.

If anyone knows of people and their small animals that need somewhere to go we have a spare room and are animal friendly. Unfortunately only small animals - but they can be big dogs We're not that close but I drive past there on my way to and from work.

oh ... we are chockers that weekend with the Ashes Cricket (in a corporate box so I'm definately going) then U2. I would have loved to come and get a doggy fix. The dogs and owners at our local park must be getting sick of me going up to cuddle their dogs!

He's gorgeous - he looks like he wearing a waistcoat ;) Sounds like the V Burger Bar is worth checking out too It's always good to have recommendations when you are new in town Great photos. V Burger Bar is great! We got there quite regularly...enough for the owner to recognise us...we're hoping that it is just that he is good with faces

I can totally sympathise with your situation. We just lost Leila to cancer, she was 19 months old and it progressed so rapidly (2 weeks from symptoms to PTS). What made it even worse, GSPs arent predisposed to cancer, especially babies and the cancer she had was rare and doesnt have a good treatment protecol. While we are still trying to come to terms with the situation, we are also so fortunate that we are able to make the decision to not let them suffer.The best we can do is feel happy that we provided them with everything they ever needed and that they had the best life they could have. Having any dog with a poor prognosis is difficult but the lose of one with so little notice is even harder and you cant properly prepare yourself. I am so sorry for your loss.

Awwww! he is just so cute! Hey Tiggy, is that an arum lily Bear is playing in? Did you know they are toxic when ingested and can cause skin irritation? I only know because of the poster up at the murdoch vet.

Vader's mum, I couldnt recommend getting pet insurance more highly. Luckily, we got it in July and are so glad we did. As most people in this thread would be aware (sorry to those that werent, it is a really sad story). 3 weeks ago our beautiful Leila (GSP aged 21 months) was diagnosed with cytosistic sarcoma (an uncommon cancer of the lymph nodes, liver and spleed). It progressed incredibly quickly, the onlology vet at Murdoch believed she only had the disease (with no symptoms visible) for 2 to 3 weeks before diagnosis. We spent nearly $7000 trying to give her a fighting chance but unfortunately we decided that the disease had progressed quicker than the treatment could help her and the long term prognosis was not good (limited chance of remission and only short published remission times) so we chose to pts so she didnt have to suffer. We were insured with PIA and at this stage I cant comment on their service as the claims have been sent in but have not yet been paid. We had accident and illness with a $100 excess. It made any decision only based on what was best for her and giving her the best fighting chance and making sure she wasnt suffering which eased the burden a lot. The vets at Murdoch also said they deal with insurance companies regularly and are more than happy to argue if it is needed. You might think it will never happen - and we didnt think it would, and have never had insurance before, but we would never be without it now.

Thanks The support on here has been great. Unfortunately, I think we created a monster in only feeding her raw before she got sick! She wont touch anything that has been cooked except bbq chicken! Luckily, the vet has said freezing raw meat then defrosting and feeding immediately is ok and she will happily eat that - in fact it disapears unbelievably quickly.

Thanks for asking Valley. She has more of her spark back but we have had a few setbacks. Firstly, her blood test yesterday indicated that she could not have her next round of chemo - the level of something was too low to have the chemo but ok for general health so it has had to be postponed until next Tuesday. Secondly, the biopsy came back and it is not lymphoma but histiocytic sarcoma which we were really hoping it would not be. This means that we have to change the treatment protocol and our odds for remission have got worse Rather than having around a 80 % chance of remission, it is now only about 50%. Unfortunately her abdomen is really quite bloated with fluid which means she isnt eating a lot and is a little uncomfortable. We're just managing that with lots of little meals. On a positive note, the chemo and prednisioone she has had has reduced the size of the lymph node under her chin and it has gone from being large and hard to much smaller and soft so we take the good with the bad I guess. I cant say anything bad about Murdoch, they have been amazing and are so positive. Even though they couldnt give Leila any treatment yesterday they said she had great fun playing with the vet nurses and doing all sorts of tricks to get treats and that she is such a happy little dog. We're booked in to see the holistic vet at Murdoch, Bruce Ferguson as soon as he is back from holidays so hopefully we can compliment the conventional treatments.

Thanks Staffyluv, Thanks for your comments. I'm looking into all I can regarding diet - our diet seems to be changing to whatever the dog it having! I will definately be considering holistic medicine to support the conventional.

We Leila checked at the next time we went to the vet rather than making a special trip. We decided to get them checked mostly because she enjoys racing around the tiles in the house and I'm worried something will give and it just could be the ACL. It turns out they were fine.

Yesterday Leila's diagnosis was confirmed as high grade lymphoma or other round cell tumour including histiocytic sarcoma (lymphoma being much more likely). Chemo has been started and she is home with us after 2 nights and 2 days at Murdoch. I've read though eveyone elses lymphoma and cancer posts, got a large amount of info from the vet and bought all sorts of food. The only thing she will touch is a small amount Hills ND and has eaten most of a roast chicken. I am totally devistated - she is not even 2 yet. She was pretty much healthy 3 weeks ago and today she is a bag of bones with a large belly full of fluid as her liver and spleen are affected. The chemo seems to be affecting her more that I was expecting. She is alert but wont eat a lot of foods which I think is her being nauseous, she is drinking quite a bit because of the prednisolone but hasnt had a firm stool since she got home. She is sleeping a lot but seems to not be that comfortable because of her swollen abdomen which the vet and vet nurse expected to reduce over time. It is the most horrible this to have to see. I know we are doing what we can but it almost seems like it is not enough.

Thanks everyone for your support, we are devistated. We really cant believe it has happened to such a vibrant little dog, and she is such a baby too but will just have to manage it. Thanks, the offer is much appreciated. I was thinking of coming down for a look but might just spend the weekend with the puppy giving her lots of love and TLC. She is being discharged this arvo. Good luck to you and your dog, CareyJ. I hear that dogs cope rather well with chemo by comparison to us. All the best. Erny This is what I am hearing, and she will be getting whatever she needs to make sure she is happy and as healthy as she can be. I guess I now should be moving over to the serious illness/palative care thread huh??

Unfortunately, best case scenario is lymphoma and chemo starts tomorrow before all the test results are back.

sorry I meant - she wanted to go home but she cant yet.

Totally, and I am such a baby in situations like this! OH is away too which makes it harder. Leila was quite bright yesterday arvo and didnt know what all the fuss was about and why I was so panicy! The vet said this morning she is ready come home and doesnt realise the seriousness, but said she likes the drugs they have been giving her

I have just spoken to the vet again and she said that they are not immediately concerned but they have to do more tests to confirm what is happening. She was quite surprised that she was so young. The enlargement of the liver and the spleen is of the most concern and the fluid in the abdomen. The fact that her lymph nodes are up is not so significant because that could come from an infection but she said it is strange that the one under her neck is so firm. They have already aspirated her lymph nodes and are proposing to also aspirate the liver and spleen with a fine needle (the size of a vaccination needle) the risk from this is haemorrhage but the benefits very much outweigh the risks which are really low. I asked about the results of the blood work and she said it was quite unremarkable - everything is normal except for one protein (which I can’t remember the name) mabybe albamin? but that isn’t that much of a worry. Her white blood cell count is only a little bit elevated but she didn’t seem that concerned about it. They have tested the fluid in her abdomen and it is not consistent with haemorrhage because there weren’t many red blood cells. So they are do a specialist ultrasound. So, it is quite inconclusive. She is stable and her cardio system is normal so they are not worried about anything happening in the short term. It is very strange...we just have to wait...

The emergency vet just called and although she was very good in explaining, there is still a lot I dont understand and I feel so helpless. Based on the tests, the symptoms are diffuse organomegaly, enlarged liver and spleen based on initial ultrasound so she will need a specialist ultrasound. Two lymph nodes in her chest are also enlarged and these wouldnt have appeared on any physical exam. There is some fluid in her abdominal cavity and they have taken a sample and checked blood clotting but it is apparently in the normal range - the high end of normal but still in the normal range. They have taken samples from the lymph node near her jaw and the back of her right leg and have prepared them but the vet said she couldnt tell if the cells were normal or not. At this stage she is not in any imediate danger and will stay there over night and be monitored. She has had to have some drugs to calm her down because she is stressing a little - of which I am not surprised about at all. It appears that it may (or may not) be lymphoma. How does this happen in a 21 month old dog? I am desperately trying to stay off google and trying to encourage that OH does the same thing in Melbourne. I dont really understand and I'm feeling so numb and helpless. How can it go from something as common and treatable as kennel cough to something so much more serious?