We got a dog!!!! :D

[sammi]

The big day is coming!!! Some older dogs just don't play and some play like a puppy it seems. How will you work this out with a older dog and your son? Unless the dog was brought up with children he might not be able to tolerate being around a toddler without constant supervion.
I hope everything works out - you have had major stuff going on this past 10 days.

[aly]

I'm glad Liz mentioned health problems caused by bad teeth. My current foster is an old girl with rotten teeth. Her teeth have caused several severe health problems that *will* take her life. I have her on meds to prolong her life, but the vet has no guarantees about how much longer she'll live. Its so sad that her life will be shorter because her teeth were not taken care of Just something to think about if anyone has a dog with bad teeth.

[luckies4me]

I'm a tech, I know about teeth problems. She does need her teeth cleaned but they aren't as bad as some I have seen. We once did 5 extractions and a gum biopsy on a German Shephard Dog. His teeth were so horrible.

But it doesn't matter because her owner came and picked her up today. We have to start over now. It is sad for us but at the same time I am glad the owner found her. So happens that she lives in Veneta, which is two cities away. But there is a cute Chi at the Humane Society of the Willamette Valley that we may go look at this weekend. We bought her food and everything. We have decided to donate it to the GreenHill Humane Society. They are having a very rough time this year. They are chalk full of kittens, and are even running "specials". A sort of buy one get one free deal. For this time of year, they have a lot of kittens. But we thought the food might help them out a bit.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by aly
I'm glad Liz mentioned health problems caused by bad teeth. My current foster is an old girl with rotten teeth. Her teeth have caused several severe health problems that *will* take her life. I have her on meds to prolong her life, but the vet has no guarantees about how much longer she'll live. Its so sad that her life will be shorter because her teeth were not taken care of Just something to think about if anyone has a dog with bad teeth.

Can she not have an extraction done? At least to remove the bad teeth and then have a scaling done on the remaining ones so they aren't so bad? Do you think it is wise to keep her alive longer? Maybe it is her time to go. You are very strong to take on this responsibility, I applaud you. But yes, it is a very sad thing, both for the dog and you.

[aly]

Originally posted by luckies4me


Can she not have an extraction done? At least to remove the bad teeth and then have a scaling done on the remaining ones so they aren't so bad? Do you think it is wise to keep her alive longer? Maybe it is her time to go. You are very strong to take on this responsibility, I applaud you. But yes, it is a very sad thing, both for the dog and you.

The second day after I started fostering her, I took her straight to the vet to determine her quality of life. She's not suffering. She's comfortable and happy on her medication. The vet told me she doesn't look like a dying dog anymore.

I am going to get her teeth cleaned once she is totally stabilized from her heart condition. We still have to run some blood work to see if she can safely be put under. We've just been trying to fix one problem at a time.

[luckies4me]

What type of heart conditin does she have? Houdini has a first phase heart murmur, and after tests it was deemed safe to have her spayed. She also has an umbilical hernia, and so does Mystic. However, it can be pushed in so we have never had to go to surgery. Mystics bugs me though, so I think I may take him in. It has been something I have contemplated for a long time now. Is she on antibiotics or Aquadrops? Maybe have the vet put her on Aquadrops before she has the teeth cleaning done. Well, that said, I hope she gets better soon and who knows......maybe she will live a few more years.

[aly]

She has a heart murmur and congestive heart failure

She was on antibiotics but is off them now. She's still taking Furosemide, Enalapril, and another one I forgot the name of.

[luckies4me]

Originally posted by aly
She has a heart murmur and congestive heart failure

She was on antibiotics but is off them now.

Does she have kidney failure? Oh boy! This must really be tough on you both. But just know that she is pending the last of her days with you, and I am sure that means a lot to her.