Little Gifts

Come on Myrtie! You have a whole community of dog lovers sending you 'pull through' powers! I don't care what strange condition you have as long as it can be diagnosed and treated, so get to it and stop scaring your mum!

There is an Anvet in my town open on a Sunday but after hours there is a vet hospital at Springwood about 15 mins north. One of our usual vets took a stab in the dark about the vasculitis and the biopsy came back today confirming it. Don't think he has seen it before (he is also young but seems to balance out my fave vet (who has been practising for a long time) with new ideas and technology)but he said to me today that he loves working with owners who are willing to do what is necessary to identify and address a difficult health issue rather than being focussed on how much it is going to cost and questioning whether it is even necessary. Apparently he did about $300 worth of xrays on Ms Stussy but because he didn't get my approval he didn't charge me for them. And they could've made her stay in overnight after the afternoon sedation (especially since we had to go back in again early the following morning for more blood tests and in the afternoon for temp checks) but they know I will actually take all their advice, closely monitor her and take her to the emergency vet if there was a problem, so I like to think we have a mutually beneficial relationship focussed on what is best for my girls. He even rang me with the biopsy results from home today as it was his day off. I've got something special planned for him and the clinic staff as a thank you. I couldn't ask for a better group of people during a time in need.

So sorry honey. I know how you feel - we've been living at the vet all week, shedding quiet tears of worry. Fingers and paws crossed here for Myrtie. I'd tell you not to worry but it is hard not to. I hope the SASH vets are as wonderful and thorough as mine and they come up with a good plan.

I'd go with Annie K because she knows the shape of the breed. I do custom make onesies (we call them pei-jays) but have not yet done any for greys. The link to my FB page is below. I do lots of other coat styles too and seem to be adding more as a specific doggy need arises. I'm trying a new wrap around style for Tempeh as she needs as much warmth as she can get but has decided this winter that she will no longer put her legs into anything!

We've probably seen a 5 - 10% improvement overnight and her temp has finally just made it back into healthy range. I'm happy that we haven't had any flare ups even if the improvement is slow as that means we are on the right path. Her appetite is still very poor though, which has never been an issue for this girl. Tempeh has been mighty cheesed off at all the 'solo outings' Stussy seems to be getting this week!

Mrs RB - Two nights this week I have heated up the two snuggle safes I bought for Tempeh - and used them myself! One for my feet (holding it in between so I get toasty on both sides) and cuddling the other at my chest to keep my arms warm. I like to call it recycling! Hankodie my mum was recently given a rooster tea pot cosy and I think funky tea pot cosies would easily double as funny Odie balaclavas! I'd buy a lot more useless shar pei stuff except most are just plain ugly or don't even look like the breed. One thing I would like to own (notice I didn't say use) is a doggy backpack. I'd use it on Stussy and hope she didn't run off with the car keys, water bottle, poo bags, etc....

Her bloods were better this morn and her temp is going down. No change to the swelling or redness either way but no shakies, so I'm happy with that. We have to go back in again this arvo to re-check her temp. I think recovery is going to be slow but at least the whole bone marrow and cancer fear seems to be gone. I'd personally be very happy with just one uninterrupted night's sleep!

How exciting for you both! I was wondering how she was going!

Pathetic isn't it. Stussy is my heart girl and I spent the entire day having sneaky snobs in fear that she wouldn't come out of anaesthetic or that her temp would rise so high she would have a seizure and die. I just knew in my gut that something was not right. She is so rarely unwell I realised I would totally fall apart if something happened to my naughty chunky monkey prematurely. She gives so much to me it seems that she deserves nothing less than a long and terribly spoilt life. Even if we both lived to 100 I still wouldn't be sick of her. Things seem to have gone well tonight. There has been no increase in swelling or redness at all, which also means a lot less heat and discomfort for her. We still have to get what is already there to minimise and disappear but no increase is an improvement on the last couple of nights. Our next challenge will be bed and seeing if we both get an acceptable night's sleep. I have my fingers and toes crossed that we have seen the last of the shakes and that I don't wake up every hour checking she's still breathing. It's hard being a mum!

So things have not gone well for poor Stuss. Last night her ears were about 10 times thicker than normal and were a dark crimson colour and her legs and feet were so grotesquely swollen it reminded me of shar pei fever (which other breeds can get I found out today!). Plus she had the shakies, her appetite has decreased and two nights in a row she has wet on the lounge room floor (never even did that as a pup). She spent the day at the vet being sedated to have a whole heap of tests done, including a biopsy, bloods and xrays. They think she now has vasculitis and she is on cortisone so we will see how things go overnight. She has to go back to have comparative bloods tomorrow morning because there is something in the two lots of tests they ran today that has indicated cancer/tumours, which could be the cause of the vasculitis. The xrays didn't show anything. I'm assuming it will be another sleepless night for me and so far this week I've spent around $1000 for what started out as a potential bug bite. Anyone else had a dog with vasculitis? What were the symptoms? How quick did it respond to treatment? Is it a forever health issue or once it is resolved is that it?

Is she going to get some yabbies from the dam?

So last night about 10pm Stussy ends up with huge weals all down her side and on the outside of her legs. She shook and couldn't settle all night (no sleep for either of us) so back to my regular vet this morning for another check and steroid injection. I could've given her one of the anti-histamine tablets the vet on Sunday gave me 'just in case' but guess what, my sister and I turned the house upside down twice and the little yellow bottle is nowhere to be found. My vet reckons it is possible she got bitten last night a second time - hence new reaction in a different location. I am going to check the yard to see if there is maybe a wasp nest near where she likes to toilet. And given there is a human measles epidemic I did ask the vet could she have picked up a virus (no) but didn't want him to realise how dumb I was so didn't actually mention the word measles, just thought it!

Apparently they can run a test to do that and had the allergy been life threatening then I definitely would've done it. I suspect it was a common garden bug just flying around at night while she was out having a pee and they collided. Not her first allergic response to a bug bite either, but obviously if she is developing a more intense response then I need to get on top of that and maybe get her an epi-pen!

No idea what caused it but the most likely scenario is something bit her while she was having a quick pee after dinner because dinner is the same as what she eats regularly (the other dogs ate it too) and she definitely didn't spend any time after dinner wandering around the yard, up the mischief in the bushes. Once she saw me settled on the couch she was straight up for cuddles and we were there for over an hour, with me scratching her head and face before I felt the lumps rising. There is one head lump bigger and redder than the rest so now I'm thinking that could be the bite mark given both ears ended up being the same (I originally thought it was an ear bite). The vet gave me some tabs to keep on hand if it ever happens again. We still have swelling and some heat but obviously she is not uncomfortable after the injection but if it is still raised and hot tomorrow I will take her to my vet in case she needs a steroid injection too. Previous bite/allergic responses have not lasted this long.

Poor Stussy woke in the early hours of the morning hot and itchy. Her poor ears were about three times their normal size. So we went off to the vet for a very expensive injection. And of course in my rush I forgot my house keys and my sister wasn't home so I had to frighten the daylights out of my parents to get the spare set. Things have settled right down since the shot so that's the most important thing. She enjoyed her outing too! And while I was at the vet the vet nurse was chatting away to me about a variety of things (no other needy pets waiting) and she fosters for a local guinea pig rescue group so it looks like I will be making some guinea pig goodies! I'm a bit excited about that! I like trying new things!

I rang and they said I could bring her in but if it has not gotten any worse in the last half an hour then close monitoring is also an option. Apart from shaking her red ear and some spots appearing on one front leg (same side as her ear) things have not changed from when I first posted. Heat also seems to be dissipating. I'd say it was a bite to that ear. I have family here for dinner (typical) and she hoovered the kitchen floor while it was all being served up and ran to the table in case anything got accidentally dropped so obviously she is not feeling overly icky. We will go back to lying together on the lounge so we can continue that 'close monitoring'. Sometimes I hate that staffords are so tough - I'm never quite sure how serious things really are with her as she is rarely sick and never shows any signs of pain or discomfort.

I should add it seems like an allergic rash. She may have been bitten by something (although she has been inside for the past 1.5 hours and lying on me). She had her normal Black Hawk kibble and a couple of chicken necks for dinner. She had the same chicken necks last night without issue.

I was just patting Stussy and thought her head felt a bit lumpy. I looked and it seems she has a rash developing. Her eyes are looking a little red and her ears are hot too. So I did an all over check and her inner thighs are quite heavily rashed too. So what to do - after hours vet or monitor? I know there is human medicine I can give her if needed but of course I can't remember what it is or dosage rates. She does not seem uncomfortable in any way, breathing is fine, happily wanting to snooze on my lap as usual. Thoughts please knowledgeable people?????

That last photo just cracks me up! And look at all the drool in the second pic! He is probably wondering to himself why you have been holding out on all the good stuff for all these years. He couldn't be happier unless he was a judge on Masterchef!

What a wonderful outcome for a deserving boy! Congratulations on your collective efforts to give him the life he deserves! Well done!

My heart is breaking for you. Big characters leave big holes. Wherever she is now she will be making the most of it. XXX

I'm glad I asked - I just felt the face wasn't quite right for a beagle!

Excuse my ignorance - these are beagles, right? I only ask because I have recently made coats for three beagles and I'd be happy to ask the owners if they were from your kennel. One female (Gypsy) lives with a younger family on the Sunshine coast with a bully-pei cross and the other two are also girls (Ruby and Bella) who live with an older couple, I'm assuming somewhere Brisbane Southside. I'm very sorry about your experiences in the floods. I worked on them from the disaster recovery side and was also part of doing assessments and payments under the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal so know first hand how devastating they were for so many people.

I had no idea about those suicide rates and they make me love my vet and her vet staff even more. Perhaps those of us who have vets we cherish could do more random acts of kindness. I know in the past we have given our vet and her staff free tickets to Dreamworld and Big Brother, paintings made by our dogs, thank you cards and laminated educational material for the waiting room. I often have roses in my garden so I'm going to start making up bunches for them. And since I make dog coats I might make some for their dogs or the dogs who have to stay overnight at the vets. I also grow oranges, lemons and mangoes so that is another thing I can give them. They always go the extra mile for our dogs (and us) and I want them to know I appreciate the wonderful people they are. Maybe little thank you's from their regular clients might make up for some of the heartache and stress that goes with their jobs? Everyone likes to know they are appreciated and matter. I would be gutted to lose such wonderful people from my life.

Absolutely ludicrous and yet again the one to suffer is an innocent dog. Oh and rate payers.