Paging Polly and others

hoosier1 · Post by **hoosier1** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 10:46 am

Polly,

I can attest to the fact the our sick pets can flare our conditions. I recall your losing your dog several months ago and that caused you to flare.

We had a scare with William a couple days ago and were prepared to put him down the following morning. He went completely lame in his rear end, which we thought was the final progression of his GSDM (German Shepherd Degenerative Myolopathy). He was also having IBD like bowel problems. A new problem that I though could have been related to his disease progression.

So I carried him to the emergency animal clinic (he's 100 lbs) and they cleaned up his bum (shaved it too) to investigate his colitis. That prompted an antibiotic. The emergency vet knew nothing about GSDM so she was of no help there.

We brought him home, and laid him down at the foot of our bed on his favorite pad. We were crushed as we knew what we had to do in the morning. We have been nursing his GSDM for 4 years and the medial survival is about a year.

But when we woke, he regained his usual unstable use of his legs. We still have to help him up, but once up, he hobbles like a drunken sailor. And for him, that is his new normal. He even brought me a toy when I came home yesterday so he is still William.

But we know the time is near and we shutter to think about a life without him. He is our beloved child as we could never had kids of our own due to my wife's illness. Tough days ahead but for now, we still have our boy. But this scare at least prompted my wife and I to have the talk about how we will proceed if he worsens. We won't let him suffer. Never.

And boy did I then flare. Went to straight liquid and I haven't seen that for a few months. It is Saturday morning and I am starting to feel a little better. I think the Asacol is helping to keep me in check. But flare I did. So my heart goes out to you and I am sorry to bring up this memory for you. I only do so because emotional stress is clearly a trigger for me, and perhaps, for others. Losing a pet is clearly hard on our condition.

Rich

Celie · Post by **Celie** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 11:49 am

I am sorry about William. I have three cats, a dog, two horses and a pony. They are all part of my family. When I hurt for loosing one of my beloved pets, I just remember how much joy they bring to me. You are giving William the gift of dying in his loving home.

I had a bad pet week, too. My cat, Deuce, ran through the big back door just as I had kicked it shut and the door caught his tail. We had to amputate it. What a trauma.

Take care and I will be thinking about you.

Celie

harma · Post by **harma** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 1:30 pm

Hello Rich, I am so sorry about your dog, poor William. Especially when their body is giving up, but their mind is still okay when you mention him bringing you a toy and he is still william.

I know from the only dog I ever had in my life how hard it is to make the decision to "help your to another world". Every dog story here, Polly's rusty, joe's (almost "our")nurse nestle and now your william reminds me my beloved dog Astor (I didn't give him that name, he was called like that when we got him at age 6). We had him for almost 7 years. And in the end exactly like william, he had difficulties standing up and good look at me with is big eyes asking "please help me standing up", but once he was moving it was okay again. He was in the end put to sleep, because of the open wounds, one on his front leg and one under his tale. Wouldn't heal, terrible smell. And he was suffering. Great thing was he died home, the vet did come to our house and really took his time.

I really hope, William will recover a bit the coming days and will be with you and your wife for a while.

Kari · Post by **Kari** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:24 pm

Rich,

Reading your post choked me up - feel the same way about pets - they are family without a doubt. So very sorry you're going through this - isn't it just maddening that cats and dogs have relatively short life spans, making it impossible to avoid the grieving process? My 2 cats are going on 10 and 9, and I'm already bracing myself for the inevitable :(. They are both showing some signs of aging, and I'm vigilant about caring for them.

Good luck with William - hope he recovers his stamina so you get to keep him around a while longer

.

Love,
Kari

Gloria · Post by **Gloria** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 2:36 pm

Rich,

Reading about William brought back memories of our dog going through a similar decline. It's heartbreaking. I hope William will provide you with many more months of love.

I think that the sadness of losing a beloved pet is the reason that we haven't had any more since our dog left us. I don't want to go through that again. Many people do, of course, and they are rewarded with more years of devotion from another pet.

Gloria

Pat · Post by **Pat** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:34 pm

Oh, Rich, I am so very sorry about William. It is so hard to lose a pet. We lost Ginger a couple of years ago and still have her son, Prince, a golden. He is 11 now and know that our time with him is limited. You must grieve just like when a human passes. It hurts but will lessen as time goes by. Will be thinking of you and William.

Pat

mbeezie · Post by **mbeezie** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:54 pm

Rich,

My heart goes out to you. Hopefully William will rally and stay with you a bit longer. We had a scare with our 15 year old dog a few days ago. I'm pretty sure she had a TIA or small stroke but she is now bouncing around again. I think she is preparing me . . .maybe William is doing the same.

Hugs,

Mary Beth

Polly · Post by **Polly** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:10 am

Oh Rich dear,

I can relate to every single word you wrote. It is agonizing to say the least. Worrying day to day, hoping against hope, not wanting your beloved family member to suffer, dreading life without him........so many conflicting emotions all at once. I'm not at all surprised that you now have straight D - that happened to me during Rusty's last week of life, although I had had loose BMs for some weeks before that. There is no question in my mind about the impact of such severe stress.

Will be thinking and praying for you, your wife, and William. I understand COMPLETELY and wish I could give you a big hug. Hang in there and be strong for your boy. Remember, he will react more to YOUR feelings and emotions than he will to his own infirmities.

Lots of love,

Polly

JoAnn · Post by **JoAnn** » Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:25 pm

Rich, I'm so sorry to hear about your dog. We've been in that situation several times in our lives and it is so hard. They are such a part of our family and the fabric of our lives. I've grieved and cried as much over my animals as I have over humans that I've loved. We have always moved on and quickly brought a new dog or dogs into our lives, or they seem to have found us. Not that you ever replace them, but each one seems to bring something wonderful and unique to us. My thoughts and prayers are with you as you go through this time with William,
Love JoAnn

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:50 am

Rich,

My heart goes out to you and your wife since I have been through almost the same thing with one pet we had. Hope things improve for you and I am sure you will know when it is the right time for William. It is not an easy thing at all to make that decision and can totally understand the D reaction.

You are all in my prayers - pets need them too!

Love, Maggie