I have had a lot of animals since I was a kid.It has hurt every time I've lost one. I hate small dogs, but our landlord wouldn't allow big dogs.I bought a runt Minpin male. He was 7 weeks old and only around 5'' long. He was so small I took him to work with me in my pocket till he was around 7 months old.Potty trained him in 2 days., leash trained in minutes in Petsmart when I bought his leash, Never gets into in kind of trouble, super obedient, and lives to show me his undying love and loyalty to me. He was acting weird a few months ago and the vet told me seizures on 3 different occasions. Well the past 4 days he hasn't been able to walk really. He has been with me every minute since then. Even at work. Today a new vet tells me the old vet didn't look at my dog because he can diagnose him now. He either has a tumor or a pinched nerve in his neck. They are keeping him overnight to try steroids and if that doesn't work I'll have to put him down. They could do surgery, but it will be 5k + and they can't say for sure it will work. I can't afford the surgery so it looks really bad now. I haven't been able to pull it together yet as I keep pouring tears. I have the worst year of my life. Even getting a call this morning of a family member passing away, but this I can't handle this. Sorry for the wall of text, but needed some kind of release since I really can't talk now. I love you Pharaoh. Mods if this is uncalled for just delete this. I understand.
I hope the mods wouldn't think this is uncalled for. Hope you feel a little better getting it off your chest. Sorry for your pup.
I feel for you and, trust me, you are not alone. I hope neither of us have to post in 'the other thread' any time soon....not sure I could handle it right now.
Our Italian Greyhound ruptured a disc in her neck two years ago at age 10.5 years. We opted for the surgery and spent over $4k. We only got a little over another year with her. She was a great dog, but in hindsight we should have put her down. Our second Italian Greyhound was diagnosed with liver cancer a few days after we put the first down. She stopped eating the next weekend. One day after she stopped eating, we put her down before she experienced any significant pain that we knew of. That was a good decision. Both were very tough but in the end I'm glad we did what we did. Our pets are only with us for a short time and I want them to be good times filled without pain. Next month is 1 year since they both passed and we still miss them. I only hope someone will do for me what I did for them when the time comes. Dr. Jack K. had it right.
Some vets will allow you to pay it like a Loan or atleast here at Angel memorial they doo.....sorry bud, loosing mine was so hard
A) Get multiple opinions - if we'd of listened to the first vet we went to when penny (my wife's 1.5# teacup rat terrier), she'd wouldn't have enjoyed the wonderful life she's had for the last 4 years. B) Try contacting vet schools. If a surgery is too expensive, you may be able to find a vet school, or hell, even a full vet willing to do it pro bono. C) Give him to a rescue for his breed. Rescues have vets on staff sometimes ( like the great dane rescue my wife volunteers at). The rescue may be able to fix him, and then you can adopt him back. D) PET INSURANCE. Seriously consider this. It may be 1 year before they'll cover any major surgeries, but if Pharoh can make it that long, they'll cover a big portion of his surgery needs - again...I'd only consider this AFTER getting a second opinion. Typically, it's older dogs that get tumors. This may be something that is easily fixable for the right VET. It pisses me off when the vet's always suggest putting down a dog. It seems to be the defacto solution when they can't explain what's wrong. Keep your chin up, say a few prayers to the big guy upstairs because he listens, and always hope for the best. ~Jeff
PS...Dogs can live an incredibly long time with seizures. My aunt had a rat terrier with hydrosephilis (sp?). The vet said it to put it down. The dog lived to be 3+ years old, and would have lived longer had it not been for an accident. It had seizures on a weekly basis. Just because Pharoh is having seizures doesn't mean he needs to be put down. If the vet's only solution is to put your dog down, I say fuck 'em. Take your dog home, and let him live as long as he can. Every day with an owner seems to be the best days of a dogs life!
He isn't having seizures. The first vet claimed this and I went back 3 times saying it wasn't. At work my coworker saw my dog and told me pinched nerve and to find another vet.His dog had it.Personal friend put me in touch with the new vet we went to today. Today the vet said the exact same thing. He did say putting him down is a last option and he wasn't going to talk me into it. It would be my decision. I'll check around to see if I can find anything you posted. Thanks. short vid of him from 5 days ago. Now he can't walk at all . http://s92.photobucket.com/albums/l37/wsideshow/?action=view¤t=video-2011-12-06-16-07-27.mp4
I had this EXACT same thing to deal with saturday morning around 130am. My French Bulldog been acting funny and then in the middle of the night he was shaking on the bed and it woke us up. We called his name and he got his front half up and dragged his back half over to us. We called the emergency vet that does nights and weekends, which luckily was just a couple minutes down the road from us, and took him in at 2am saturday morning. They gave him the steroids and said the scans to find out exactly what was wrong would be over 1000 bucks and the surgery would 3 to 5k on top of that. Like you we cant afford that. I jumped online and found a French Bulldog rescue group and starting talking with them. We had to surrender the dog to the rescue group but our dog got the surgery he needed. This was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Give up the dog we love very very much in order to save him. It was the right choice. We were going to loose him no matter what it was either put him to sleep to save him from the pain, or give him up so he can get the surgery and live a long life. Try looking into a rescue group for that breed.
It would be strange for his symptoms to get worse that fast if it were a tumor. My vote would be on the pinched nerve. If it comes and goes, I think that could be indicative of something more serious. You can irritate a pinched nerve to the point that it can affect a dog's ability to walk like in your video.
Well as of now he can't walk. He can move his neck more freely and he isn't whining now. I feed him Hamburger meat, steak, and other meats in super small pieces. He can't eat hard food. I have to put water to his face for him to drink.
I know you're getting very worried, but how about a change of diet? You'd be surprised how a healthy diet can change thing around. Also, there is a pill, I believe it is called 'Diazepam', that stimulates the appetite, a vet can prescribe it...once you give it, have lots of food ready...sounds to me like a pinched nerve, just as good he is resting until you sort that out... Food: Natural Balance; Innova; Taste of the Wild; Orjen; Nature's Variety- Frozen Raw; Halo; Wellness; Weruva. Get a can/bag of each to try... I add this: screw that 'put him down' shit that we all hear from the vets. We gave a good life to our 14yr old cat for almost two years after we were told that he was dying and should be 'put down.' Many people give in to this because it is too difficult on them, not their pet...every day we had with our big Tabby was a blessing, until that last final day when he was ready and let us know, and they do let us know. Try giving him some massages... let us know how this is going, and don't give up!!!
