Hi jetred,
From your post a year ago… this is exactly the type of information I'm searching for, "I know this might not be survivable for her but I can't find any advice on how to get a dog through cancer, what to look out for, when is she truly in pain, what spindle cell does over time and when is enough for her and time to set her free."
So I am wondering, what was your plan with Luna? How did you make decisions? What information did you learn that you think is important to know about the spindle cell cancer disease process?
I have a 15 yr old girl (aussie shepard mix) who is in good spirits, enjoys slow short walks, putting her nose in the wind, eating, etc all normally. We've had two surgeries already to debulk the tumor on her rear leg. One in 2013, and the second recently in June from which she recovered well for her age. Though it returned quickly (3 mos) and larger this time. It's now an open lesion. I am both astounded and perplexed at how she acts pretty normal given this! My vet (who is a new vet to us as I just moved) initially discussed end of life decisions and then also offered amputation as an option to consider. I would so appreciate any thoughts you have and/or hear more about your story.
Thank you.
Tayda's test strip
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I have been keeping Michelle and Tayda in my thoughts too and am glad to see that, all things considered, the news is good! I was happy to help her start to sort through all this with her girl. Michelle is a wonderful mom and I know that Tayda is in good hands.
Also I hope everyone remembers to "test" their test strips. I have a dear friend who lost her girl way too soon to fanconi because her strips were bad and it wasn't caught early enough.
Pat, regarding your comment about my bitch Cleo, I have not tested her because there is absolutely no need to. I am well aware of the carriers and affecteds that are in the pedigree, and have dealt with diagnosing and treating a fanconi dog before so I am fully prepared for what potentially lies ahead. Thanks, but I'll save my money for the direct test. Blood/DNA has been in Missouri for several years, ready to go. I have been stripping her several consecutive times each month since she was a year old, and a marker test isn't going to change that. If she tests affected, that won't help me any, I'll still have to keep checking as i do, and I usually do it much more often than necessary anyways. If she tests better than affected, then I *could" stop stripping her, but probably wouldn't want to until the direct test. I continue to check my other kids occasionally even though the marker test makes them appear to be "safe". After all, it is JUST a marker test and not totally reliable. But it sure is a godsend! The marker test was developed as a temporary test for current breeding plans, and that's exactly how I'm using it. If/when any of my dogs are bred, both parents will be tested before hand, as I do with many other potential health risks. The boy Cleo lives with has tested clear, so no worries about an oops litter. Breedings were done before the marker test arrived, but the dog Cleo was bred to tested clear, so the puppies will be fine and no need to test her for that reason either.
Would I love to know what her results are? Absolutely! And I still encourage everyone I talk to to do the marker test if they want to for peace of mind. It's a wonderful tool. But my financial and living situation changed significantly last year (for the worse) so I'm not going to pay for a test I'll have to redo later, when it doesn't affect the onset of the disease. You can't treat it before it comes and the test doesn't help tell you when it's coming. Someday curiosity might get the best of me and I'll go ahead with the marker test. But for now I'm content where I'm at. For those who want to and can afford to test their whole household twice, kudos!
Pat, I don't know why you continue to throw out negative comments about me in these forums, but I would appreciate you going to the source in the future for the facts before making false assumptions.
The gang sends their love and baroos to Michelle, Tayda, and the Lenster!
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Not sure what negative comments you are referring to… I only asked the question because if it were me I would want know.... what you do is your choice... but remember any of her pups that may or may not be a carrier could get bred to another carrier. Or if this goes back to the comments about neutering and the contract, sorry... I would say that to anyone and I was not the only one that made the same comments. And all I said was to me the most important thing is the home not if they show or not, contract or no contract.
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Yep, the home is the most important thing to me too. Why do think I placed Lenny with her in the first place? There was more than just that said, directly and indirectly. Had you bothered to contact me you wouldn't have jumped to the wrong conclusions.
And yes, what I do with my dogs is my choice, so I don't understand why you felt the need to bring up my bitch in a public forum when this discussion had nothing to do with her. Nor was I involved in the thread at that time.
All of the puppies are required to be tested when a full test comes out, no matter the type of home. Those that are intact, all but one are intact for my use only, and should the owners change their mind in the future, breedings have to be cleared through me. In those homes, there is no other intact dog. The one puppy that is in another breeder's home, is to be tested first and should he be a carrier (or IND), is only to be bred to tested clear dogs. There are no serious breeding plans for any of them at this time.
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This thread is really about Tayda, not about your breeding or contract practices but that said, I jumped to no wrong conclusions, we were asked on a public forum about contracts and spay/neuter, if you read the thread. The comments made by me and others were our feelings on the subject
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Exactly! This thread is about Tayda, so why did you bring me and my bitch into it? Since you did, I responded.
And the same thing about previous threads. It was about one person and one dog and you continued to bring me and the rest of my dogs into it unneccessarily. You could have certainly been very helpful to the owner without going the route that you did. Things that should have been private. And had you contacted me, you would have realized that a lot of what was being said was innacurate.
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Exactly! This thread is about Tayda, so why did you bring me and my bitch into it? Since you did, I responded.
And the same thing about previous threads. It was about one person and one dog and you continued to bring me and the rest of my dogs into it unneccessarily. You could have certainly been very helpful to the owner without going the route that you did. Things that should have been private. And had you contacted me, you would have realized that a lot of what was being said was innacurate.
Gezzz, Kelli, you are certainly getting pretty defensive? It was a question and since Lenny is an offspring of Cleo, I was really asking Lenny's Mom… Obviously knowing that the sire is clear is great for Lenny, because at worst he would only be a carrier.
About neutering, Lenny's breeder was never mentioned by name in those posts, Lenny's Mom was asking for advise about neutering and the fact that there was a contract, period. My comments were my personal opinion as a breeder and stated that way, as were the others that commented on that thread.
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Again, the thread was about Tayda. Not Lenny. And you already knew that Lenny was at worst a carrier so I don't know why you would bring him into a fanconi discussion either.
Yes, it was frustrating to see false things being said about me, the dogs, or the contract. Sorry, but I guess I expected better of you. No Lenny's breeder wasn't specifically named in that thread, but it was named in other threads and was easy to figure out if someone didn't already know.
I am not going to clog up this thread any further, let's get back to Tayda because that's who it's supposed to be about. If you want to continue this, you know how to reach me.
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How about the two of you take this conversation private since no one else is involved in your tiff – and frankly, I barely know what the heck you're talking about, and I read almost every thread. Surely, I can't be the only one.
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How about the two of you take this conversation private since no one else is involved in your tiff – and frankly, I barely know what the heck you're talking about, and I read almost every thread. Surely, I can't be the only one.
I agree… my apologies to the Forum
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No need to for apologies, as a rescue person, I feel folks with intact dogs should have them tested.
Oops happen.
It fine if the oops is with a clear b, but what happens if its not??
Fanconis happens. -
Back to the subject… It's kind of funny that I live in WV (probably not the most progressive state in veterinary medicine). Anyways, the first time I took Bella in to see our small town vet & he brings up the subject of Fanconi! I was astounded that he was familiar with it. He knows about testing the urine for glucose and that the condition is not curable, but I haven't thought to ask him about the protocol. I am sure he would be open to it, though... Seems he must be VERY informed in pet health issues! So I guess there is hope after all, even in a small town. Of course he probably doesn't have the equipment for blood gasses, but I am sure another veterinary hospital I know of in a larger town nearby may have the equipment. That vet's office even treats the circus animals when they come to town!
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Back to the subject… It's kind of funny that I live in WV (probably not the most progressive state in veterinary medicine). Anyways, the first time I took Bella in to see our small town vet & he brings up the subject of Fanconi! I was astounded that he was familiar with it. He knows about testing the urine for glucose and that the condition is not curable, but I haven't thought to ask him about the protocol. I am sure he would be open to it, though... Seems he must be very informed in pet health issues! So I guess there is hope after all, even in a small town. Of course he probably doesn't have the equipment for blood gasses, but I am sure another veterinary hospital I know of in a larger town nearby may have the equipment. That vet's office even treats the circus animals when they come to town!
And your best bet is to have the DNA test done… then you know where you stand as far a Fanconi goes....
And for many... blood gases can be done at a "human" hospital.... many years ago.. that was our only way of getting them done.
But that is great that your Vet knows and accepts Fanconi... if any Basenji is afflicted
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Hey- if you do end up coming up to Tufts, let me know, I work right down the street, and there is a dog park not far, if you want to grab a coffee before the drive home and tire the kids out a bit
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And your best bet is to have the DNA test done… then you know where you stand as far a Fanconi goes....
And for many... blood gases can be done at a "human" hospital.... many years ago.. that was our only way of getting them done.
But that is great that your Vet knows and accepts Fanconi... if any Basenji is afflicted
I know the importance, but I have mixed feelings too… I can't let my guard down even if the test shows "no worry". I will still want to strip test anyways for precautionary reasons. And if the test says she may get it, then I will worry like crazy and be anxious about every little thing. If I was a breeder, then absolutely no doubt about it, DNA would be a necessity! But Bella is spayed so that is not an issue... I would recommend the DNA test to all Basenji owners, but ultimately it is their choice. Of course if I were buying a pup from a breeder, I would insist on knowing about their DNA test results for Fanconi. But who am I to speak, I got Bella without research and without knowing about health issues. My hubby was uninformed about pet store puppies... she was a gift chosen by him. However, I want to tell everyone now how wrong it is to go about dog ownership in the way we did. Research the breed and buy from a responsible breeder... Now I know!
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My personal opinion… do the DNA test and know where you stand... it is now easier then ever with the swab test... and IMO, well worth the $65 for the test kit and the test...
And regardless where you got your Basenji from... you can now test... and if you have learned more about how to find a responsible breeder, regardless what breed of dog... then those of us that put this information out there have helped people to know how and why to research a breed and health concerns before they decide to get a pup....again regardless of the breed... we know we have done a good job... Education is the key...
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Yes, education is the Key.
It will give you knowledge if you have a dog who can get sick, or help you realize that your b will not be affected.
Its so worth that fee. IMO -
Hey- if you do end up coming up to Tufts, let me know, I work right down the street, and there is a dog park not far, if you want to grab a coffee before the drive home and tire the kids out a bit
Hey Thanks, I almost did drive out there on sunday night before I finally got the appointment with the vet that I did go to. If I do end up out there some day, I'll let you know!
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Well day 3 on the protocol and it all seems to be going fine. She gets 4 pills in the morning and 4 -5 pills in the evening. 3 of them i can just toss into her food bowl and she eats them no problem. I think she actually likes them more because she finds them first and eats them before the rest of her food. The other ones, the bicarbonate and the clavamox for her suspected UTI i just roll up into a piece of cheese. I give a piece of cheese to Lenny also and they just gulp it down w/o any suspicions…
Dr. Gonto thinks that the food I'm feeding tayda (wellness core) is too high in protein because her BUN levels are high. He's suggested that I get a food with more normal protein composition - around 18-24% protein, instead of the 34% that the wellness core has, to give her kidneys a little break. i looked back at her bloodwork from our last visit to the vet over a year ago and her BUN levels were high then also....
i'll be anxious to see how her levels are in 3 months when we go back... i might just schedule it for 2 months cause i can't stand the suspense...
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I am glad to see that she is doing so well!
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I am glad she is doing well, fingers crossed for many, many great years for her. Thanks to Dr. Gonto, many basenjis have a chance to live a good life with Fanconi. Glad your vet is working with you.
Anne
