Poos needed (warning: sad ending)

digitalscream · January 2014

monquixote said:

Not really a pet person myself, but I imagine it's a very distressing situation.

It really is - far more so than I imagined, to be honest. Even worse with this little one because she's absolutely the happiest dog alive, and seeing her all flat and deflated is heartbreaking.

ChrisMusic · January 2014

Being home will be SO much better for all of you. It is a much better healing environment, she will be so much more comfortable in familiar surroundings with all the love you are no-doubt lavishing on her.

The healing process is well under way, great news

johnnyurq · January 2014

Glad to hear it is getting a wee bit better for doggie and you all, good thoughts/vibes to you all.

TTony · January 2014

digitalscream said:

She's home! Vet called us this morning to say that she was more alert and she'd been eating a bit, so she was happy for her to come back - since she's been home for the last hour or so, she's brightened up a lot, so we think the environment might not have been helping her.

Good news.

She was most probably missing you and the home environment. Vets are just as scary for the animals as hospitals are for us!

They were actually talking about the university's learning vet centre,

which also has a good rep!

(My stepson sits his finals at Royal Vet College in a few months).

digitalscream · January 2014

She slept with us last night, looking very sorry for herself. I woke up about 2 hours ago without her in the bed - I'll confess, I panicked a bit. The little bugger had decided she needed to pee, got up, jumped off the bed and gone into the bathroom. She came trotting back in when I called her - still slightly unsteady (but not falling over) and wagging her tail like mad, quite obviously very pleased with herself.

Progress

holnrew · January 2014

Ace news

digitalscream · January 2014

Vet's impressed with her progress - we're bringing the steroids down to once a day. We let her out for a potty break this morning, and she just trotted off down to the end of the garden (a good 25 feet) and had a bit of a wander, which is the furthest she's walked since it happened. She looked a lot more stable too

We've noticed that her neck is still a bit stiff...she doesn't like turning to look at people, and she's definitely struggling to look upwards.

The meds are still knocking her sideways, though

It's difficult to tell the progress she's making once she's had them, because they really do take it out of her.

Still, it's all going quite well so far

frankus · January 2014

fingers crossed - I admit part of my reluctance to have pets is my own experiences as a kid

a lot of loss there ... some good times too.

CabbageCat · January 2014

digitalscream said:

she doesn't like turning to look at people, and she's definitely struggling to look upwards.

It's a well documented fact that dogs can't look up so I wouldn't worry about that.

Good luck with the rest of the recovery though, Dogface.

digitalscream · January 2014

CabbageCat said:
It's a well documented fact that dogs can't look up so I wouldn't worry about that.

Just like "dogs can't walk backwards". People are always surprised when ours decide to reverse up a bit, and I have to explain to them that no, my dogs aren't unusual and yes, it's a total myth.

frankus · January 2014

CabbageCat said:

digitalscream said:

she doesn't like turning to look at people, and she's definitely struggling to look upwards.

It's a well documented fact that dogs can't look up so

Get to the Winchester and wait for this to blow over

digitalscream · January 2014

Major step backwards today...she hurt her neck this morning and keeps her neck twisted right round to the left, and had something similar to a seizure tonight; in fact, it was very similar to how she was when it first happened. One emergency visit to the vet later, and it looks as though she might've fractured something in her neck - it was clicking when he examined her. He's most concerned that there's an area on her neck which is unclear on the x-rays she had on Friday, and that's where the likely damage is. She's had a buprenorphine shot to get her through the night, and then it's back to the vets for a proper check over in the morning and then we're probably going to have to hunt around for someone who can do an urgent CT scan.

Big

ChrisMusic · January 2014

Thinking of you guys, and Ruby, tonight, well wishes all round...

digitalscream · January 2014

Two more seizures last night, and nearly one this morning while we were waiting at the vet's - we managed to get her calmed down and averted it.

Off for the MRI shortly.

Trying to stay positive, but it's getting harder and harder. She's still in there, though - you can see it when she's trying to interact with us. As long as she's still fighting, so are we.

digitalscream · January 2014

Right, just got home from Cambridge. Jesus, this has been a long, stressful day.

OK, so...she's got a lot of problems, according to the MRI. Hydrocephalus (from birth), a gap in her spine (possibly from birth), some compression of the spinal nerve bundle (probably caused by the gap), some swelling on the brain and a bleed at the brain stem (which has already healed, but the fluid is causing pressure). The positive bit is that they've got a solution for all of them. Admittedly, one of them may involve surgery, but he thinks that's a last resort.

The main point is...at the beginning, we told him to tell us straight and he said that there's a reasonable chance that nothing can be done and she'd have to be PTS. Afterwards, he said that's not something he's even considering any more - he also said there's a good chance that she'll come out of this exactly the same dog that she was before the incident.

She's in until the weekend, at which point she may just come back with a neck brace and an intensive course of steroids. That's the best case scenario, and he seemed quite optimistic about it.

I'm telling you, we couldn't be happier right now. We probably couldn't be poorer either, but I really don't care one bit about that

TTony · January 2014

I shall re-cross everything.

And hope that your numbers come up on Saturday.

digitalscream · January 2014

Oh, and another thing - our vets (Animates in Thurlby) and Cambridge University Veterinary Hospital have quite frankly outdone themselves. We're still about £3k gone right now (£5k if she needs surgery), but they've waived a whole shit-ton of fees because they know she's uninsured. Also, when the consultant at the hospital said, "Surgery is, you know, a big cost without insurance and we have to bear that in mind when working out what to do..." and we told him it wasn't even a choice and that we'd pay whatever it cost if they believe they can fix her, the price came down even more.

Absolutely top class people. When this is done and dusted, we're going to try to organise a charity gig to raise some money for them (yeah, I know it seems like they shouldn't need the money, but they really do).

TTony · January 2014

Good to hear some good feedback on the vetting world ... As I said above, we'll soon have a proper qualified vet on the staff (though he's not allowed to work on our dogs for a good few years!)

£3k though ... You're going to need to up a few invoices

holnrew · January 2014

Good news, it sounds like the MRI was definitely worth it.

ChrisMusic · January 2014

Bit of a roller coaster, but you have good people around, sounds like excellent service and outlook from the hospital.

Looks like it will all work out fine, if a little heavy on the pocket, but that will right itself in time.

Ruby will return the love never knowing what you guys went through, just look into her eyes and it will all melt away.

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Poos needed (warning: sad ending)

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