Who has Special Needs Dogs?

[Luv My Brando]

Who out there in "Pet Talk" cyberspace has a dog (or other pet) in their family with special needs?

Such as a hearing or vision impaired animal, or one which requires special living conditions, food, medication etc. I'd love to read your stories and see how you dealt with your individual situations.

P.S. Some VERY moving stories were posted in response to this same question, that I posted in the Cat Section on March 14, 2001. They are Beautiful and VERY worth reading.

Keep a Kleenex handy!

Love to hear from you all!

[Angels3]

Our sheltie, Danny, is about 14 years old & is now completely blind. He was a rescue when he was about 18 months old. We love him very much because he' a sweet dog & he's been well cared for. Over the last 3 years, Danny's hearing has faded but he's also gone completly blind. Apart from that he's comfortable, in good health & happy. We've helped him cope with his blindness by:
.making sure the yard is very secure so he can't wander out, nor can stray dogs get in to him.
.keeping all the passageways he follows clear
.touching him gently & with a warning because he can get a fright when something suddenly touches him
.having routines of times & places where he's fed, goes to the toilet etc..
.having a regular 'timetable' for lifting him up & down the stairs
.getting him vet checked regularly
.having a sheltered, comfortable covered verandah area where he spends a lot of time (we live in a hot climate), but where we can also talk to him a lot.
We frequently stroke him gently & tell him he's our very favourite boy.

[tatsxxx11]

What a beautiful, brave boy sweet Danny is. And what a wonderful family for providing so lovingly for him in his senior years. I know he feels your unconditional love every day. Please kiss him for me, OK?

[*BaSim*]

My neighbors dog, Terra has hip displasia. She is a 12 year old Yellow Labrador Retriever. He mother Trooper also had hip displasia. Her mother had it really bad and her owners had to send her to puppy heaven in August of last year. She couldn't walk good. Teraa can walk ok. I have recently submitted her for pet of the day. Her owner and my next door neighbor, Lisa almost cried looking at Terra's picture because she reminded her so much of her mother. Terra always trys to come over and wisit Simba but some reason Simba does not like Terra. My other neighbor Patty a.k.a. "the snackie lady" has recently moved now I am the snackie lady for Terra. She used to be "the snackie lady" for Simba too!! Terra oftenly comes over for a snackie but Simba barks and growls so i have to scoot her back to her house.

[Angels3]

Originally posted by tatsxxx11:
What a beautiful, brave boy sweet Danny is... Please kiss him for me, OK?

I just gave Danny two kisses from you, tatsxxx11, because gifts given with love always double in value. Danny said. 'Thank you.' Kisses & gentle touches are important to Dan , because that's how he communicates now he's blind & a bit deaf.

[Pam]

Angels3....What a wonderful life your Danny has had with you, and now in his golden years he can still feel your love even if he can't see with his eyes. My toy poodle, Pumpkin, lived to be 17 and for his last few years he was deaf and, although not completely blind, he had dense cataracts. There is just something soooo precious about an older dog!! To have spent so many wonderful years living with such a good friend is a priceless gift. Give Danny a big hug for me!

[Angels3]

Originally posted by Pam:
Give Danny a big hug for me!

TWO hugs just given, Pam. Danny says,'Thank you.'

[Genia]

Our family dog, Lucky, was a beagle mix. I know I have mentioned this before, but my mother was 7 months pregnant with me when he was found as a pup on a highway during a freak snowstorm. Lucky was like another sibling to me. He died (cruelly taken from us) when I was sixteen years old. He was blind in one eye, deaf, and had lost many of his teeth. He could only eat canned food and he wasn't able to run through the woods like he used to, but he sat on the front porch and guarded our house until the end. Even now at family gatherings, we always end up telling "remember when" stories about Lucky. Such unconditional love...I'm sorry, it's been many years but I still get emotional. So, Angels3, I know the love you give and feel. I hope Danny and you continue to love each other for years to come.

[Corinna]

I no longer have my specail dog,Pandora she was a springer (what else?)after she was born she developed a buldge on her eye. The vet said that one of the other pups in the litter must have gotten a nail under it and it was infected. He suggested that we put her down but who can put down a 3 day old pup with out a life threating disease. Not my mom or me(we've even warmed near dead bunnies in our bras)Pandy was given meds in the slit of the unopened eye till they did open. The result was she could see the out line of things but the catarac type of floates ,
which caused her to move her head like those nodding dogs you put in the back window of your car. She had 2 litters of pups and all are excellent hunters and 2 became service dogs for the disabled. She also was a terrific tracking dog had one leg to her td title. But I had to move and couldn't take her and so left her with mom. Unfortanaly her (pandy)mom and 2 of her siblings that mom had tore her up on afternon it was so bad mom and the vet called me to ok putting her down. I talked to her as they gave her the shot. I could here mom and the vet crying too.The vet was the one who said to do it earlier, Mom buried her next to my 16 year old cocker. Under the lilic bush by the porch where they both slept togeather 2 years before.
Training her has a challange had to use noises. Judges at events couldn't beleive her abilities. Hope thats the kind of story you wanted, now I'm going to go finish crying .She s been gone 19 years the cocker 22 still miss both some thing awfull.But I think a little of each is in my Merlin sometimes one of them shows though.

[Angels3]

Genia, Lucky sure had just the right name. He was lucky to have a family who loved him just as he was & who also appreciated his incredible spirit. It doesn't surprise me that you still talk about Lucky after all those years. Nobody who loves animals would ever forget a dog like that.

[buckwi1d]

I have a sweet Pharoah Hound/Australian Cattle Dog mix named 'Crimson Tide'. We call him Tide for short and he will be 3 on July 4th this year. I adopted him from a rescue place when he was 8 weeks old and soon found that he is a wonderful dog that is so smart and loving. He is my baby and I just love him to pieces. He means so much to me!

Well, Tide was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Failure (CRF) last May and it was really hard for me. The vet told us that he had 4 - 6 months to live. Anyhow, Tide went from 42 pounds down to only 27 in less than 2 months and it only got worse. He was so lethargic, not even getting up from the bed in the morning. I started him on a kidney-friendly RAW diet with supplements, as well as Reglan pills twice daily for his nausea. He also got subQ fluids at home every night.

Then Tide got an ear infection and I took him to the vet in tears thinking what else could go wrong. I asked to see my regular vet, but since he wasn't in I made the appointment with one of the other vets at the clinic. I love both of these vets and feel confident with either one. Well, we got the ear handled, but then the new vet asked to do a recheck bloodwork, since it had been two weeks and Tide was so skinny. When she got the numbers back from the lab, they were a little better than before, but not much different. However, she did notice that his electrolytes were fairly high. So we took Tide in the next day for an ACTH test per the vet's instruction.

I guess that it always helps to have an extra pair of eyes. Suffice it to say, Tide ended up having Addison's Disease! This midiagnosis to real diagnosis was truly a miracle. Addison's dogs can live long and normal lives with regular medication and that is exactly what we plan to do. Tide goes in for a DOCP shot every 26 days and takes Prednisone as needed for stressful situations that his body can't handle.

So today Tide is a healthy 45# crazy dog who drives me nuts with his wild antics. I have spent over $3000 in the past year on his misdiagnosis, diagnosis, bloodwork and meds, but he is worth every penny. The only special need that I think he has is the need for constant LOVE and thats one thing I can handle for sure!!

Check out my Tide: http://tidebook.homestead.com/home

Or for more information on Addisons in pups check out this site: http://tidebook.homestead.com/CRF.html

-Sarah

[Luv My Brando]

Originally posted by buckwi1d:
I have a sweet Pharoah Hound/Australian Cattle Dog mix named 'Crimson Tide'. We call him Tide for short and he will be 3 on July 4th this year. I adopted him from a rescue place when he was 8 weeks old and soon found that he is a wonderful dog that is so smart and loving. He is my baby and I just love him to pieces. He means so much to me!

Well, Tide was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Failure (CRF) last May and it was really hard for me. The vet told us that he had 4 - 6 months to live. Anyhow, Tide went from 42 pounds down to only 27 in less than 2 months and it only got worse. He was so lethargic, not even getting up from the bed in the morning. I started him on a kidney-friendly RAW diet with supplements, as well as Reglan pills twice daily for his nausea. He also got subQ fluids at home every night.

Then Tide got an ear infection and I took him to the vet in tears thinking what else could go wrong. I asked to see my regular vet, but since he wasn't in I made the appointment with one of the other vets at the clinic. I love both of these vets and feel confident with either one. Well, we got the ear handled, but then the new vet asked to do a recheck bloodwork, since it had been two weeks and Tide was so skinny. When she got the numbers back from the lab, they were a little better than before, but not much different. However, she did notice that his electrolytes were fairly high. So we took Tide in the next day for an ACTH test per the vet's instruction.

I guess that it always helps to have an extra pair of eyes. Suffice it to say, Tide ended up having Addison's Disease! This midiagnosis to real diagnosis was truly a miracle. Addison's dogs can live long and normal lives with regular medication and that is exactly what we plan to do. Tide goes in for a DOCP shot every 26 days and takes Prednisone as needed for stressful situations that his body can't handle.

So today Tide is a healthy 45# crazy dog who drives me nuts with his wild antics. I have spent over $3000 in the past year on his misdiagnosis, diagnosis, bloodwork and meds, but he is worth every penny. The only special need that I think he has is the need for constant LOVE and thats one thing I can handle for sure!!

Check out my Tide: http://tidebook.homestead.com/home

Or for more information on Addisons in pups check out this site: http://tidebook.homestead.com/CRF.html

-Sarah

Sarah,

thank goodness you were able to find the proper diagnoses for Tide, in time! I was hoping as I was reading your message, that it would have a happy ending and it sure did!

Nothing warms my heart more than animal lovers that will do ANYTHING for their beloved companions. Deep down inside, I think that part of the reason for this, is that we know that they would do ANYTHING for us!

Sarah, if you don't mind me asking, are you a fellow Canuck? (the CA as your location)

Michelle

[Luv My Brando]

Originally posted by Angels3:
Our sheltie, Danny, is about 14 years old & is now completely blind. He was a rescue when he was about 18 months old. We love him very much because he' a sweet dog & he's been well cared for. Over the last 3 years, Danny's hearing has faded but he's also gone completly blind. Apart from that he's comfortable, in good health & happy. We've helped him cope with his blindness by:
.making sure the yard is very secure so he can't wander out, nor can stray dogs get in to him.
.keeping all the passageways he follows clear
.touching him gently & with a warning because he can get a fright when something suddenly touches him
.having routines of times & places where he's fed, goes to the toilet etc..
.having a regular 'timetable' for lifting him up & down the stairs
.getting him vet checked regularly
.having a sheltered, comfortable covered verandah area where he spends a lot of time (we live in a hot climate), but where we can also talk to him a lot.
We frequently stroke him gently & tell him he's our very favourite boy.

Angels3,

your story brought BIG FAT TEARS to my eyes!!! (I have to stop reading these messages at work they're going to think I'm suffering from depression or something )

It's also worth noting that you rescued him as a young adult too (18 months)- I think that's wonderful! We (myself and boyfriend) adopted my dog also as an adult- he was 2-3 years they figured.

The way you have planed so carefully for his
well being is amazing.

Okay, so I'll be the third person to request this; please give Danny a BIG hug and kiss for me too! (I know that will mean 2 hugs and 2 kisses, but I'm sure you won't mind all that extra cuddling with your baby )

[Luv My Brando]

Corinna,

This part of your story was SO SAD!!!!

"But I had to move and couldn't take her and so left her with mom. Unfortanaly her (pandy)mom and 2 of her siblings that mom had tore her up on afternon it was so bad mom and the vet called me to ok putting her down. I talked to her as they gave her the shot. I could here mom and the vet crying too.The vet was the one who said to do it earlier, Mom buried her next to my 16 year old cocker. Under the lilic bush by the porch where they both slept togeather 2 years before."

I'm glad they're together under the lilac bush. You sound like a wonderful doggy-mommy!

Thanks for your story!

[buckwi1d]

Originally posted by Luv My Brando:
Sarah, if you don't mind me asking, are you a fellow Canuck? (the CA as your location)Michelle

Nope. Tide and I are from sunny California where he loves to play in the waves.