I would like to thank everyone for the nice comments on the prognoses of my dog, Tatarus. He is a member of the family and we are taking things slowly as anyone would if they could. So....just to update.Remember, we left it with Tatarus taking antibiotics in hopes to release the necrosis underneath the growth on his ear, and to shrink the swelling in the lymps (otherwise it would be considered cancer). Good news, the growth has cleared most of it's weeping and the lymps have slightly shrunk! Yip-ee! Not leaning by way of cancer.
What next though? What is in store for Wednesdays visit, the follow-up appointment? Well, blood work for sure....because either way, Tartarus would need pre-dose pain meds for surgery or just for plain comfort. As much as it does not feel good to say that...we take meds, so let's do blood work.
I'm sorry, I have to ask about heart worms. We, hubby and I, have strong feelings about heart worms and treating them for it, a vet can not guarantee a pet will not get these aliments if they are present and rampant in the neighborhood. Tartarus has not been treated for heart worms, it would affect the outcome of surgery, so....more tests.
In terms of the ear.....another 2 weeks of antibiotics and....well, the vet looked inside that ear and got it to itching, Tartarus slung his head and guess what....yep, bleeding, requiring pressure for a couple minutes. It happened more than once before we left. I'm satisfied she saw that. I pay money in hopes our words can communicate our description and feelings on Tartarus quality of life. I'm SURE every pet owner feels the same, she needed to see what happens on occasions.
Anywho, I asked... "Any spray? Anything." Something for it?.....Yep, a steroid cream, but! it is a risk, might make infection worse. I think I might take my chances.......once a day instructions and she applied it to part of the growth. You can tell it's decreased already because she was only able to coat on side of the tumor, the other side has fuzz from his bed...we are afraid to remove it for fear of another blood letting, (sorry, it's therapeutic to write!) the one side with the cream had decreased by nightfall. *sigh*
And the vet did mention the the pain med, (other than Remicaid which causes ulcers) can and has cured some cancers. I forget the name, medcare, I think. So we wait for the liver test, ALL GOOD NEWS SO FAR!
Heart worm came back tonight.......no heart worm, but, exposure to, or had at one point, Lyme disease???????????????????????????????????
More test to see if he has it, than treatment with other antibiotics, he's on the wrong antibiotics for it.....
What would you do? Wait for the cream to do it's job and hope Lyme is just exposure? Get pain meds based on liver test, that is a given. Do further testing, then treat? It will have to happen if surgery is imminent. So his is better, acting better, and has become more active, happier, more....
himself. C&G Design
8 comments:
The tests they do on dogs usually tests for like three things. Down here not only heartworms, but erlichiosis, and lyme disease. One of our dogs had been exposed to erlichiosis. Yup, antibiotics. Poor dogs. They are exposed to so much.
I do hope Tartarus gets better soon. So rough to lose a dog and a member of our family.
Poor Tartarus, he sure is having a time. Hope all works out for him. Pets are an enormous part of a family.
We have a problem with heart worms here. Now we are having that time of yr. for the poor horses that get EEE. That can be transmitted to humans. Not good at all.
Am glad that Tatarus is feeling better but so sorry he is not 100% better. I would go for all the tests possible to rule out everything then go from there. Vet bills can be costly but we as their providers must do all we can for them while on this earth. They depend on us at all costs...
Oh boy, good and bad it seems. Poor ole Tartarus. He has been such a good dog and I am so glad he is feeling better and hope that continues.
Poor Tartarus...he's going through a lot.:( Sometimes I think it is harder for us than for them though. They are such lovey-doveys no matter what is happening...aren't they? I hate it when the vet gives all these options! Why can't it be just one thing...not several...it gets confusing and very expensive too. I am sure you are like me Dawn...NOT made of money and it's hard. They are like your children and we all try to do the best we can for them. It sounds like you are doing everything you are told to do and are making smart decisions. Trust your instincts...they seem good to me. Now that Obie is getting better day by day, we now have a sick cat! Baby is sick for two days now. Sneezing...runny eyes and nose...I think dry mouth because she keeps chomping! The vet says give it a few days...could be just a cold. If she stops eating and her eyes get goopy...bring her in. She's eating and sleeping a lot. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I will say more prayers for Tartarus...I'm praying a lot lately as you could probably see from my blog. God that's a hard one. Your very sweet comment helped a lot Dawn...thanks.
I do hope he is better soon! I usually let them do tests as long as there is no danger involved. Better to know than to not know...although these seem so confusing! Hope you are holding up well, too.
I know the pain you must be feeling concerning this adorable dog of yours. No words can explain the bond and love that is exchanged between the heart of a human and that of a dog.
If you can, please keep the blog world updated concerning his health.
One of my foster/adopted dogs also has erlichiosis...but it's usually not a problem. Ask your vet about a crystalis spray. It helps the healing process. I have used it on several of my animals (we have 7!) my dog that gets ear sores, and the cat that had the open wound (from the missing limb:) It helps! Good luck, glad to hear he is getting better.
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