[hbwright]

Until the cat's turn of course.

The vet just left a little while ago for Jordan's last appt for a while. I love my vet but I've been so tired of seeing him. When he isn't coming for appointments, I've been meeting him to drop off stool samples. Stool is finally clear!!!!!!!! Yippeeeee. Shots are done and got the free and clear. And, I can finally let my check book take a rest.

 

[waiting]

It is nice when the check book has a rest.

 

[Murreydobe]

It is nice when the check book has a rest.

Oh yeah! I spent so much money at vet offices for Rush on Friday-Saturday that it activated the security alert on my debit card. They were on my cell phone wanting to know if everything was okay before I even made it home from his Saturday appt.

 

[Riagogogo]

HB Congrats! Glad your boy is healthy! I was just looking at elle's slide show in the other thread and noticed what a pretty boy she has with the natural ears and tail.......Take a look if you already haven't........

 

[hbwright]

Riagogogo, I did see her thread. I will admit without hesitation that I LOVE his tail. I've been showing her pictures to my kids because my daughter is the first one that said how special she felt to have a doberman with a tail. Everytime I see him chase it it just warms my heart. And, what a better weapon to use on him to smack him around with. Always gets him wound up.

 

[BackInBlack]

Oh yeah! I spent so much money at vet offices for Rush on Friday-Saturday that it activated the security alert on my debit card. They were on my cell phone wanting to know if everything was okay before I even made it home from his Saturday appt.

What happened to Rush? Hope he is alright.

 

[LapDog]

lol after adopting coco he ended up with allergy problems so we went to the traditional vet, the holistic vet a couple of times...and then the things we would buy for him to make sure he was getting healthy and it's even my parents money but I hated that feeling too lol.
glad he is all caught up now

 

[lyngr]

lol after adopting coco he ended up with allergy problems so we went to the traditional vet, the holistic vet a couple of times...and then the things we would buy for him to make sure he was getting healthy and it's even my parents money but I hated that feeling too lol.
glad he is all caught up now

Oh, those were the days <sigh> Enjoy the financial independence while you still can, LapDog! lol.

 

[Murreydobe]

What happened to Rush? Hope he is alright.

He's not clinically sick (yet). Rush has had elevated liver enzymes for about a year now. This is something we found totally by accident, when we did bloodwork to check his thyroid.

we've put off doing a liver biopsy to find out exactly what's going on because he's vWD affected. Liver biopsies are a high risk procedure at any time-that risk factor is elevated for him.

So he's been getting bloodwork done monthly for a year now, to keep an eye on the liver values. And he's on a BUNCH of different meds and supplements-at one point he was costing me about $500/mo. for meds.

He was on 2 different antibiotics for about 5 months. In March, we took him off of them for 30 days, to see what would happen. The liver enzymes almost doubled during that 30 day period, so he went right back onto one of the antibiotics.

So Friday he went in to get his monthly bloodwork done at the local vet, and I picked up a 30 day supply of clavamox for him ($280 total). Saturday he went in to see the specialist, that was $920.

We're now gearing up to do the liver biopsy-this has gone on too long without getting any better, so it's time to try to find out exactly what's going on. So they took blood for coagulation panels and an ELISA test (that measures amount of available von Willebrands Factor). If those results are satisfactory, we'll schedule the biopsy..it will probably be the week of May 21.

So far, he's only been sick "in the lab"..the local vet calls him the asymptomatic liver guy. He eats, plays, gets into trouble, shows no visible symptoms..just the liver enzymes themselves are high enough to be worrisome. So while doing this biopsy is kind of scary, it will be good if we finally get some answers about why this is happening.

He also got his heart echoed while he was there...a month early in his routine schedule for cardiac checkups, but I figured there was no point in driving into downtown LA twice. One of the measurements has changed..we're going to redo the cardiac ultrasound when they do the liver biopsy, hoping for a more normal result. There's a chance he may be developing DCM.

 

[hbwright]

I'm sorry for all the problems with Rush. I know you're a wreck. I won't complain about my vet cost after that. I know the feeling though, been there with both my girls before. Do you have Care Credit? That is the only thing that let us keep our house and dogs. I'll keep up prayers for Rush.

 

[Murreydobe]

I'm sorry for all the problems with Rush. I know you're a wreck. I won't complain about my vet cost after that. I know the feeling though, been there with both my girls before. Do you have Care Credit? That is the only thing that let us keep our house and dogs. I'll keep up prayers for Rush.

No, no Care Credit. I've been able to cover the vet bills, thank God, but he's definitely become one of those million dollar dobermans.

I haven't really been a wreck yet, because he hasn't been clinically sick..however, I think I'll probably be climbing the walls while they do the liver biopsy and until it's safe for him to come home again (they'll keep him overnight after the biopsy to make sure he doesn't start bleeding).

 

[Murreydobe]

BTW, thanks for the concerns about Rush. No dog deserves health problems, but some definitely deserve it less than others. Rush is one of those all around GOOD boys (other than his pesky attraction towards skunks), and a real character. I just hate to see him having to deal with one nagging problem after another.

 

[sizzur]

Glad ur dobe is A-Ok!! I'm sure it was a little expensive, but I'm sure it was put into good use (seeing that u got a healthy dobe!)

Now it's my turn to go through the first vet/shots wave. I got a vet for Dolce today.

 

[hbwright]

I think I know what you mean. Mansen came to us around 9-10 months and just a dream. I never thought about owning a dobe before but he made it unthinkable to ever live without one. He was heartworm positive and just heartbreakingly sick but such a little trooper and the most loving, goofy little guy. His personality made it all the worse to think that his problems were caused by a person who was supposed to take care of him. Even being such a young boy he NEVER misbehaved or did anything fresh.

 

[hbwright]

Glad ur dobe is A-Ok!! I'm sure it was a little expensive, but I'm sure it was put into good use (seeing that u got a healthy dobe!)

Now it's my turn to go through the first vet/shots wave. I got a vet for Dolce today.

It always feels good when they are done their puppy shots. The biggest relief is the diarrhea. He still has a little bit of what appears to be yeast in the ears that I've got to take care of and some swollen glands probably due to the teething but these things are so minimal.

 

[Murreydobe]

Even being such a young boy he NEVER misbehaved or did anything fresh.

LOL, I sure can't say that about Rush as a puppy. Hands down, he and his grandma Murrey (who I also owned) were the two most badly behaved puppies I've ever had to deal with! The stories I could tell about Rush and his unfortunate puppy behavior....

But they both grew out of the bad behavior, and wound up being incredibly easy dogs to live with, as adults the most well behaved of their respective packs.

 

[JavasMom]

So sorry to hear about Rush's health worries. Have you spoken w/ the breeder ie. do his sibs have similar health concern?

Just a thought about yeast infection in the ears: have you considered adding plain, unsweetened yogurt to his meals and see if it keeps the yeast in check?

 

[Murreydobe]

So sorry to hear about Rush's health worries. Have you spoken w/ the breeder ie. do his sibs have similar health concern?

I bred him. No, to date his littermates all are healthy dogs. Which is a good thing, and I'm glad if one of them was going to have a lot of health problems, it's the one I kept. Just from a financial standpoint alone, I'd feel terrible if someone else was burdened with all of these issues. And that's not even taking the emotional drain into consideration..all the way around, it's better that the sickly one stayed with me.

 

[lyngr]

I bred him. No, to date his littermates all are healthy dogs. Which is a good thing, and I'm glad if one of them was going to have a lot of health problems, it's the one I kept. Just from a financial standpoint alone, I'd feel terrible if someone else was burdened with all of these issues. And that's not even taking the emotional drain into consideration..all the way around, it's better that the sickly one stayed with me.

That is a very thoughtful sentiment. I hope Rush will be okay.

 

[BackInBlack]

MurreyDobe - I know what you mean about the asymptomatic "sick" dogs. That's Rommel to a T with his Thyroid stuff. The new vet was very surprised when his levels came back as low as they did. He has had more trouble on the medicine than anything. Off the meds, he was peachy. I know that it is not good for him to have levels that low though, even if he wasn't showing symptoms. It has been a mess trying to get him right. I know we will get it worked out though, hopefully sooner than later.

I am SO sorry to hear about Rush. Those are some pretty heavy blows to take in one weekend. Even if you did partially expect that something was coming. That never makes it any easier. So he will have a biopsy in about 2 weeks (as long as the pre surgical tests come back okay) Wow. Well....like you said, at least this will give you some answers. We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers. Please let us know how things go.