My dog's story, sad..

[MrMastodonFarm]

Well, I've found a person can grow pretty damn attached to these animals we call dogs. Sunday afternoon after returning home from an afternoon out with friends that my dog is limping pretty bad. His right side is slow and his two right legs are dragging a bit, the front one is decent so he is able to walk. Had to wait until Monday morning to call the Vet to make an appointment, and got one for this afternoon. I just returned from picking him up and it looks like he suffered a stroke of some kind. Blood clot which caused movement to decrease.. or something like that. I have to return him tommorow morning for some blood work and a couple x-rays just to make sure what happened to him. My thoughts were racing with having to put poor little gizmo down, barely 3 years old. I am needless to say suprised this happened. So for those fellow dog lovers, fotze, Cowperson, many many others I'll keep ya updated.

[Cain]

I wish you and your dog the best...Hang in there.

[Neeper]

that makes me sad to hear. I could imagine life with my little Hercules. Good luck man

[Calgary Flames]

Pets in general are underated when it comes to attatchment. Especially if you've had them a long time. No different than a family member.

Hope your buddy get's better Adam...

[calf]

Good luck MMF and Gizmo - 3's way too young for anything to happen to your little buddy. Mini-Schnauzer right? Great dogs.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Thanks guys, mini-schnauzer yup. He is a tough little trooper so I think he will hang in there. I am going to try to contact the people I got him from to see what kind of medical history the breeding dogs had.

He is doing okay though, but ya hate to think about losing these beloved animals.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally posted by fotze@Mar 15 2005, 06:56 PM
A stroke at three is weird is it not? Is it a purebreed? I think you can have a stroke and get over it though. It's weird how dogs can have a major thing and just go on like 'oh well, is that pepperoni you're eating' too bad we weren't like that.

I mean, I know no expert on the subject but I would imagine it would be very weird. It is a purebreed dog yup.

It's very odd how they can just keep on going. That very night he was racing/limping around the backyard chasing down a bird in the air, then stopping to lick himself. Good little dog this Gizmo.

[peter12]

Good luck with Gizmo. I would be beside myself if anything happened to my dog.

[Cowperson]

Sorry to hear of problems with your doggy.

Unfortunately, as with humans, there's certain percentages of things that can happen in a population, both young and old.

I googled "mini-schnauzer message board" and came up with this:

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=mini-s...age+board&meta=

If you snoop around a little bit I think you could quickly tie in with some people around North America familiar with that breed who might give you some insight on this particular problem, some who have probably seen it before.

Good luck.

Cowperson

[4X4]

I hope Gizmo comes out of this as good or better than before... I'm not sure how I'll handle it when Moxie shows signs of impending doom. That thread on here a couple of months ago about someone's dog dying (cow?) was just brutal. It made me brutally aware of just how short their time is & how attached I am to her.

I feel sorry for people who:

a) are allergic to dogs

b) simply cannot have a dog because of life situation

c) don't like dogs


Dogs are the best friend a man (or woman) can have.

[JiriHrdina]

Funny how these little critters manage to carve such an important place in our hearts.

Good luck with everything dude.

[Sylvanfan]

Yeah, best of wishes for you and your dog. I have a Samoyed who turns two tommorrow, and I shudder to think of the day when he starts to develop some serious health issues. Dogs are unquestionably loyal to their masters and I must admit my life would really lack without my dog.

[Skyceman]

Very sorry to hear that, MMF. It's scary to think my German Shephard is right around the same age as yours.

I'm sure the little fella will pull through!!

[Lanny_MacDonald]

Good luck man. There is nothing worse than the loss of your beloved dog. They become a part of us, and when they die so does a little bit of us. I hope you stay whole for a good long time.

[MolsonInBothHands]

Sorry to hear about Gizmo's condition, you never know though, dogs are very resilient and recoveries do happen.

For example, our German Shepherd at about two years old started favoring one of her back legs so much that she would barely use it. It seemed to be after lying down when it would bother her the most. Once she started to walk it off she would be ok. Shepherds are prone to hip dysplasia, so, of course, we run through the whole works of x-rays, two different vets, even a holistic animal healer who performs doggy-puncture to try and diagnose what was wrong with her. The best guess is that she had a narrowed spinal column that caused more or less 'pins and needles' in her hind quarters until she got 'warmed up'. From the way she walked at times it looked like she was in immense pain, looking like she was the wheel barrow in a wheel barrow race, but she never yelped or whined. Surgery for this condition was looking like $3000, and had no guarantees.

We resigned ourselves to the fact we would have to do the unthinkable, and we were scrambling to find a way to make this easier on our children. We decided to get a 'warranty replacement', and got another German Shepherd pup, thinking it might help cushion the blow for the kids. This pup relentlessly tormented the older lamer dog. What is amazing is the older dog is gradually getting better. She is no longer limping, she is able to jump on beds, into trucks, when just a few months ago we had to gingerly lift her up. Her mood has brightened and has become her old playful self again. We are not sure what has caused the recovery: no change in diet, medication, excercise, just the new dog.

We are certainly glad we didn't rush into something irreversible, but we certainly weren't planning to have two big dogs either. Get well soon Gizmo, it can be done.

[MJK]

I had my dog for 15 years before we had to put it down. It wasn't easy I tell ya. I wish your dog all the best.

[Super-Rye]

Originally posted by mjk123@Mar 16 2005, 02:06 PM
I had my dog for 15 years before we had to put it down. It wasn't easy I tell ya. I wish your dog all the best.

I've had my dog for about as long, me being 18 I can't imagine my life without her around, but she's still kicking for now.

[4X4]

re: molsoninbothhand's story

When I was about 14, my mom started dating a guy who happened to live about a 5 minute walk away. My mom had an old sheltie "Lady", and the b/f had an even older dog "buddy".

Both of these dogs were (obviously) quite beloved to their respective masters, but they were both quite old and seemingly close to biting the dust. The funny thing was that both dogs livened up significantly when Mum & Rob started dating. They'd go to eachother's houses & bring the dog because it was a nice little walk. Suddenly, these dogs had a friend.

The story goes, that they dated for about 5-6 years & the dogs both lived past average life expectancy. Buddy, a black lab died 8 months after they broke up, on his 18th bitrhday. Lady (sheltie) died at the age of 17, a year after they broke up.

I guess this story doesn't sound very impressive, but if you knew the dogs, it would really hit home. I have yet to decide whether the longevity had more to do with the dogs having doggy companionship, or whether it had more to do with their masters being happier. Either way, when I can see that a dog is getting close to the end of the road, then suddenly it has new life, it makes me wonder.

Maybe I should get a companion for Moxie.

[pope04]

Any updates on Gizmo's condition?

[Neeper]

I sure hope he's better...