Posts made by Aoibheann

well had no word from the people and the post has been removed. hope the boy is going to be ok.

Thanks so much, I'm just glad we had the time together and that we knew what was coming and could prepare for it. I'll always remember him how he was when I first got him and on our first beach trip.

Rest in peace my little old grumpy man. I only had you for a year and four months and most all those months, aside from the first 2, you had health issues and bad habits ( due to said health issues- like eating my clothes, etc) but I still loved you and laughed at the majority of your antics and you hating being a backseat passenger.

I'm glad I got to spend today with you and take you for your last ride and steak hamburger and got to say goodbye on a nice green grassy spot with the cool breeze and the sun shining.

(Cairo was diagnosed with lymphoma back in July and exceed the dr's timeline. This morning he couldn't stand in bed and when I put him down on the floor he immediately fell over, then proceeded to go downhill. He could always find the energy and room for food and water.)

I will if I hear back from the people, if they still have him. So far I haven't heard a peep from them.

Added- i just sent them another message via my work account. Hopefully they'll respond one way or another.

Hi,

My manager just alerted me to the this ad on craigslist. It's for a free male black and white basenji with no history. The person got it from other people who were going to take him to the pound. It says nothing about if he's good with cats and with the medical history a big ? I don't feel comfortable bringing him into my house, esp with the question of vaccines ( with Cairo having lymphoma/ not doing so well and the 3 cats.) I sent the poster an email with a link with BRaT's webpage but i don't have any numbers for the local people.

http://greensboro.craigslist.org/pet/3251266834.html

added- i might could go get him if possible, if he's still there. I have yet to hear back from the poster.

Hi All,

Sorry for the delay in the update, things got a bit busy. So far Ru's been pain free and back to normal for a week now thank goodness. I was so going to take him back to the vet for xrays last monday as of saturday before last but the next day (sunday) he was back to his goofy goober self, loping and bouncing around. I've been keeping an eye on him since, every minute i'm with him and it seems he's all better… knock on wood. And i've been doing range of motion tests and massage just about everyday.

Thank you for all the ideas and comments. if anything remotely happens like this again or if he show any pain anywhere I'm going to investigate the heck out it and pursue and treatment necessary

Quick update,

When I got home yesterday after work both Cairo and Rudo were waiting for me at the garage door. Rudo promptly leaned against me and offered his paw, though still couldn't quite look up at me. He yelped a couple of times during their after work walk, but seemed to be much more himself with his tail up and bouncing when trotting. And he got a bit better as the night went on, even looking back over his should at me when I stop the pats. This morning he seemed a bit better, but I'm going to keep a close eye on him over the weekend and keep the tramadol on board just in case.

The vet said the only thing she could do was to take Xrays to double check the chip placement and if Ru keeps having pain then I'll probably go that root. I also will try and have my friend who's a vet tech there come check him out if the pain persists. Since Ru would more than likely freeze at the vet again.

Thank you for the advice and comments

I have caught a couple of clips on the ipad but it isn't the greatest and I'm going to try and get some more footage with my camera when I get home from work. I'm totally sure he hid the pain ( I wasn't sure at the vet at the time because I've never seen him so frozen and stiff) and I had to carry him in (he so wasn't going in on his own.)

Hopefully it is a pinched nerve that will clear up soon on it's own. It worries me though that the pain meds aren't working though. It also kind of makes me feel worse because I'm pretty sure he was abused before his former owners and BRaT got a hold of him, every time he hurts he looks at me like I had something to do with it and has started running or shying away from me.

Hi all, i know it's been ages since I've posted on the forums, Cairo and Rudo have been keeping me busy.

Rudo had a dental done on Tues ( I think his first one in his 11.5 years) and was chipped. Thankfully he didn't need any extractions, but a couple of hours after being home he started yelping. Since then he hasn't been able to lift his head above shoulder level and when ever he moves or isn't curled in a ball and even sometimes when you just touch him he yelps ( not with every single step or movement but often.) I've been giving him tramadol (sp?) ever since tues evening (4 halves so far) and it hasn't done anything to help.

I took him back to the vet yesterday and he either hid the pain or was too petrified ( he's my 32lb cowardly lion/scooby doo) to show pain with the vet put him through range of motion tests, but shortly after we got back home he started yelping again. Normally he's goofy, bubbly, and very animated and will come up to you and look you in the eyes and either rub up against you or pet you for attention… Now he hangs his head and tail and walks very stiff afraid when the next stab of pain will come and looks at me like it's either me doing it to him or for help.

My only thought was that it might be the microchip in a nerve cluster or something like that but the vet told be there's none where they generally put the chips and it has an anti-migration device. I'm just wondering if new nerves or scare tissue could be there because i was told that when Ru was a youngster he was attacked by 3 big dogs and need over 100 stitches in his shoulder/back area... I don't know. Or could it be fibromyalgia or something else?

I'm really starting to wish I'd never dropped him off on Tues... I wish I knew what to do to help him.

Debra~ yes i have been giving him 50ml subQ treatments every other day since his first results came in. The vet wants me to continue for the time being. I'm hoping with a change in diet (going to start with the prescription and then maybe switch over to home-cooked low protein chicken, fish, and eggs with veggies, oatmeal/brown rice) I can eventually not need to do the subQ treatments, if his levels go down enough.

chakrapollo - i hope Apollo is doing better.

I just got the call back about the bloodwork and the BUN is still in the 70s, though the cre is lower (due to the fluids I've been giving him already.) The vet wants me to keep him on fluids (probably for the rest of his life) and start him on a kidney diet, to help keep him from going further into kidney failure.

I feel honored to be chosen for Red, from what I've seen and heard about him he does sounds like a sweetheart and a great fit for the family, for the girls, Cairo, and me.

Thanks for the advice/info :).

OK so my new little man and Cairo's buddy isn't a puppy, though he sometimes acts like it, is coming home this Sat. He's been going by Red Dog for the last 10 years, so if it does change I want it to be similar. I don't dislike his name, I just think one might be more suited to his personality ;). I was thinking about Rudo, which means love, and is also an African name. What do you think?

Thanks all for the ideas/help and sorry I haven't been on lately.

Cairo seems to be doing much better…he's getting more active and more vocal (even more so than before the grand mal.) He is still having some minor seizure activity every once in a while and now it's back mostly to different sounds, though lapping water from the bowl still triggers some, he stops for a moment and then continues.

I've been giving him subQ fluids every other day and he's been tolerating it well, it also helps we take him to get (no sugar added) frozen yogurt after ...he loves his frozen yogurt and frosty paws. It also helps his stomach and he's also been tolerating the Duramaxx better too (though part of it is probably the yogurt and frozen yogurt helping.)

Wed or Thurs he goes back for the retesting, I'm so hoping it comes back clear.

Thanks for the links. I'm not sure if the Deramax is doing the best it can, when I try giving him the whole pill he tends to get an upset stomach even taken with food, and some days are better than others. He does get playful when it's time to go out for walks and when he's in the mood and will go full steam after squirrels and bunnies.

Since the 'big one' his shudders/tremors have become more frequent and some times longer and often without being caused by a noise. Last night i tried to write down all occurances and to what degree (none even remotely close to the grand mal, but a few strong enough to making him loose his balance) but I couldn't document them all. That and I was wondering if I was just being paranoid. It does seem to happen more consistently when he's drinking water, don't know if it's the sound or the stimuli. He seems to not want to drink as much as he should because of it but will eagerly lick water off my fingers and hands.

He's tolerated the first round of subQ, though really not happy with the initial sticks.

He's about 13.5 and did have lyme disease and was treated when he was younger. Other than that and arthritis he's had for several years, he's been in good health. I'm currently treating him with a half deramax a day ( I forget the exact dosage.) At the fosters he was on a buffered aspirin a day and the original owners had him on something else for a short time.

I have been giving him ground turkey breast once a day with his royal canin aging care.

Just got the results, everything was good except the BUN which was really high 77 with the normal range of 7-27, but the creatinine was 1.5 and the normal range for that is 0.4-1.8, so it's the high side of normal. Also his ALT was high 135 with the normal range of 5-107 and B/C Ratio 51.3.

The vet wants me to give him subq fluids for the next few days and retest in 2 weeks. He's not sure if the kidneys had anything to do with the seizure or vice versa.

It doesn't help Cairo forgets to drink water sometimes, especially when he's been sleeping all day.

I'm so hoping it's dehydration or caused by the seizure or his arthritis and will clear up….. and not very early stages of kidney failure. Doesn't make me feel any better that i just read the number one cause of death to older dogs is arthritis and then kidney failure. Cairo has pretty bad arthritis all over....

Thanks everyone for your well wishes! So far the morning has been uneventful, aside from Cairo flirting with a younger poodle girl lol. I'm still waiting to hear back about the results.

From my experience (granted I'm not a trained brain person, etc.) with epileptic friends and seeing other people and animals have seizures, what I do know about anatomy/biology, and from my observations with Cairo… I'm thinking it's audiogenic. Kind of like a strobe light with people, the sustained noise/sounds from the chopper motorcycle triggered him. I could be totally wrong though and it be something involving his organs etc., but from the way he reacts to certain quick and infrequent sounds like loud clapping, potato chips bags, and a few other things... I'm thinking if sustained at the same or constant pitch/frequency could trigger him as well.

I'll start keeping a journal and documenting the shudders/jerks, their causes, and any other seizures (which hopefully won't happen again or anytime soon.)

Thank you so much. And thanks for the links, I've been reading up.

The day started off normally with a morning walk before work. We were a few blocks from home and crossing in front of another community when a chopper motorcycle came up and drove off really slowly and loudly. He was getting antsy when it came up beside us and when i looked up to see the man drive off I felt Cairo tugging on the leash. When I looked down he was fighting and biting at the leash before he fell over.

I was super concerned but knew he was having a seizure, so i got down with him on the sidewalk and talked to him and held him so he wouldn't hurt himself. What really freaked me out was when it wouldn't stop after a minute or 2, i think it went on for at least 3 maybe more and then he didn't move for a another 2 or 3 minutes. Once he was able to get back on his feet i picked him up and carried him most of the way back home until a few yards from my house. I put him down to see how he'd do and he was wobbly but ok enough do the whole leaning pee thing, which made me feel a little better.

The vet checked his heart which was good and fine and drew some panels, but i won't get the blood work results until tomorrow morning. For now the vet is taking the wait and see approach to medication. His panels a few weeks ago, for the teeth cleaning, were great for his age. There's also no mention of any seizures in his passed vet records.

By the time we left, Cairo was feeling better and very inquisitive about a giant bright green bull frog in the parking lot, enough to try to sniff and paw at it.

I'm hoping it's nothing serious or just auditory epilepsy (which isn't good but better than tumors or organ problems.) I'm thinking it might be that because ever since i got him I've been keeping note that certain noises/pitches will cause him to jerk/shudder a few times and sometimes fall-sit (where he'll loose balance and kind of fall into a sitting pose.) He recovers in a second or two and is back to normal like nothing happened.