Dog_Horse_Girl

She's doing very well now. We're still crating her if we go out and we carry her up and down the stairs at times. This is partly because of the knee and partly because of the splenectomy. Her wound looks amazing and she'll be having a bath in the next few days. Now we just need to save for the cruciate surgery that she was supposed to have.

I've just had the best call ever - it's BENIGN! Yay, I'm so happy as is my OH.

No fireworks here! It's great to live in a civilised place where this sort of thing just doesn't happen. Even the music wasn't very loud last night...which surprised us as we expected a few loud parties.

Completely agree with everything said here. Lilly screams when I clip her nails. But when she really hurts herself, like the time she was zooming around the yard in Cairns and badly scraped her hind feet on concrete, she just stands in one spot, blood oozing out of her! Have you also noticed the see-through hind legs?

Labsrule, I'm sorry about Fitzy's passing. I read your thread and I think you did everything possible for him.

I'll always miss him to a degree. But I have happy memories in my heart and over time I feel his loss a little less. The important ones leave a little something of themselves in our hearts. It's their way of staying with us.

We went to a great vet in Werribee I think from memory. Avoid the one in Laverton opposite the railway line...at all costs.

No pathology results as yet. I'm on tenterhooks waiting for the news but I'm trying really hard to be patient. Meanwhile, Ruby wants to bounce around as if nothing's happened. We're doing everything possible to keep her quiet. She's crated for much of the day but when she's out, she just wants to do normal dog things. Like play. And walk up and down the stairs. And I'm sure if we would allow her to, she'd be running around the back yard by now too. Her wound looks amazingly good. Very neat scar, minimal irritation and swelling just at the top end. The stitching looks fantastic! We continue to hope that no news is good news. Ruby doesn't act as if she's sick, but then again she didn't before the surgery either.

I hope it's benign...you're in my thoughts, I know how hard it is waiting for the pathology results.

Great News Trish! Give Grover a big hug from me when you get him home. Poor love has been through quite an ordeal. Not to mention what it's done to you and Steve, eh? ;)

Scarlet we are indeed lucky to be in Brisbane. While our Darwin vet is a very capable practitioner and he has a huge amount of love for his patients and their families, I feel much better that Ruby is being cared for by a specialist surgeon here. She's being treated by David from QVS.

It's been eight years since my Aussie passed. He was a staffy x cattle dog, the first dog I had who was mine and not the family's dog. I got him in Darwin, the first time I lived there. He was part of an oops litter that was being given away at the beach markets. I couldn't offer him much but it was better than the alternative so I took him home with me. He spent his life moving around as I moved - enduring many changes which he took in his stride. When I met my OH, Aussie was initially protective of me but that changed the second OH gave Aussie a meal. They were fast friends from then on. You know how it is with a dog and food - and so Aussie became great mates with my OH and ultimately became "our" first dog together too. He got along well with Ruby when we adopted her (also in Darwin). There were a few scraps (mostly over food!) and Aussie was still the one in charge, or so he thought! Ruby soon usurped his position and I think he actually liked it when she took over. It meant he had more time for the important things: lying in the sun (or the shade on a stinker of a day), gnawing on bones he found in the garden (or ones we gave them), relaxing on the couch with us. He also became demented to a degree but that didn't seem to faze him...and then he declined very fast, so fast that we only had time to get him to the vet for him to be given his wings. We were in shock that night...our boy had gone downhill literally in 12 hours and it took a while for his passing to sink in. Aussie - you were a true friend. You got me through some pretty awful times. You never judged, you never berated, you never minded when I spent hours talking rubbish to you. You were just there for me. No matter how much time passes, you will remain in my heart and mind. I love you, Aussie-boy!

It was only discovered because she had a reaction to both induction agent and anaesthetic...so the specialist went looking for a cause and found the tumour. It was the size of an orange so probably not far off rupturing from what he has told us. The fact there are no spots in her chest or abdomen is positive and points to it being benign...

Oh, Trish, I'm hoping you have answers very soon. I've only just seen this (have had our own Christmas dog dramas with Ruby) and am hoping with all my heart that Grover pulls through and that you find the cause of this problem. Hugs coming your way.

Our "little brown dog" finally came home yesterday! She's a bit of a mess I'm afraid to say...they had prepped her for the cruciate surgery so the affected leg is shaved down. Plus she's had an IV in place so her opposite front leg is shaved down. Then there's the "zipper" down her middle...the white dressing which covers her relatively large wound. Her abdomen and sides are also shaved down. And she's lost even more weight (she was losing weight due to the elimination diet)...so she's really scrawny around the back end now due to a combination of not using the sore leg, lying around in hospital and the restricted diet. She was very dopey yesterday so she pretty much slept all day. She's a bit brighter today and wants out of the crate! So OH has her in his study just now, resting in one of the big dog beds. She's super-happy to be home! She's a bit unhappy about being kept quiet...if you know Ruby you know she's just a ball of energy. So this is not making her happy at all. We take her outside only to toilet and she's obviously on lead (which she isn't very impressed about)...but she'll thank us one day I'm sure. Once the results are in, I'll post up the news. I'm hoping it's benign...my instincts tell me it is.

Thanks Jodie...we're hoping it's benign...but with the holidays, the path results will take a bit longer. The surgeon didn't give us any indication of whether it looked benign or not. I think if he thought it looked bad, he would have told us. He doesn't seem the type of vet to hold back any details. Poor Ruby goes in for a blown cruciate and they discover a tumour instead...just her rotten luck. The surgeon did mention chemotherapy but we've already decided (if it's the worst news) not to go down that road. I know it works wonders for a lot of dogs, Ollie especially springs to mind, but we wouldn't want to put ourselves or Ruby through it. She's had a lot of medical issues and it wouldn't be fair to put her through anything else. Trying to stay positive...trying to stay positive...trying to stay positive. We both had a "bad feeling" when she went in on Tuesday, but we hope the feeling was related to the finding of the tumour and nothing more. :D

Any updates? How is he doing today?

I'm trying so hard not to worry. :p The giant crate is in the lounge room waiting for her to come home. OH will sleep downstairs if necessary rather than carrying her upstairs to our room each night, until she's feeling better. We don't know how big her wound is, or what exactly we're dealing with...so it's a horrible waiting game... Thanks for your well-wishes and please keep them coming! I don't want to think about her not making it. :D

Oh, I'm so very sorry to hear this news. Callie - have fun at the Bridge! There are many of our family members there waiting to show you around. You are loved. You will be missed. :D

Well, poor Ruby is still in hospital. She's been vomiting this morning so they're keeping her in for observation again tonight. She's had nothing to eat since Tuesday evening and they're now giving her some anti-nausea drugs. The vet thinks she's reacting to the pain medication. All being well they intend to feed her this evening and see how she goes...we hope she can keep down whatever they give her. On the positive side, she's brightened up and has been very vocal and wagging her tail this morning. We take any good news we can get ATM. ;) She might come home tomorrow...I'm hoping so. It's far too quiet without her here. :D I still can't believe what's happened.

Thanks KL and Erny. I just want to see her. ;) I'm sure she wouldn't even know if we were there anyway!

I think cruciate surgery is off the agenda to be honest. I'm not sure that we would want to put her through another major operation any time soon...and the finances are going to be a mess. I've been off work since Sept due to moving interstate and today quit my (newly-acquired) job of 2 weeks! ;) We want whatever is best for Ruby - she has been through a lot in her time...if it's the worst news when the path results come in, we'll just enjoy her and keep her comfortable for however long she has. But we are hoping with all we have that the tumour is benign...surely her luck has to change! ;)

As per my other (cruciate ligament) thread, Ruby's just had a major operation to remove her spleen and a tumour. The specialist surgeon can't be sure of what we're dealing with until the pathology comes back some time next week ( ;) ) but Ruby seems to have come out of the surgery okay. We never expected this; it was a complete and utter surprise and not the phone call you want to get when you've sent your dog in for cruciate surgery. That surgery will likely never proceed, depending on her prognosis post-tumour removal. We hope she will be well enough to come home late tomorrow. Please join me in hoping it's benign...OH would be completely devastated if it's malignant. This dog has to be one of the luckiest or unluckiest dogs I've ever known, depending on how you view it: she went in to repair a bung knee and instead will come home minus one organ and a cancerous mass.

I have a dog with seizures and epilepsy was ruled to be the most likely cause as nothing else was found. Please get to your local (usual) vet for a blood test at least. If it is epilepsy, medication to control/limit the seizures is essential. But it could be something else causing the seizures and you need to know. Best of luck and please keep us posted. ;)

Another update from the surgeon: they've scanned her chest and abdomen (both of which are clear) but she has a small growth on one adrenal gland in addition to the spleen mass. I'm hoping this is good news and gives her a good prognosis. We are proceeding with having the spleen and mass removed this afternoon. Hopefully the pathology will come back clear but we're not sure on the time-frame due to it being Christmas. Please send positive thoughts for Ruby. ;)