NBR: Puppy.. what would you do?

niknak1128

Good Morning Ladies. I haven't posted in a while. Some of you might remember my dog Sammy. The short story is that he's been sick since September. Started with throwing up and diarrhea. Spent a week in an ER hospital.. yet to find a diagnosis. We know that there was a tick in our house that came in on one of the dogs. We suspect he was bit but we also suspect that he has some sort of microscopic cancer that they can't find. (this is the suspicion of the ER physician). Fast forward to now, he's been off steroids for probably a month. He's starting to act weird again. I can't even explain it.. but just not like Sammy. He's groaning a lot. Making this really weird noise that I can't even describe. He's still eating and barking and all of that. 

So here's my concern.  We have spent over a thousand dollars on blood tests and medications. My mom spent 4k at the ER hospital on him. We still do not know what's wrong with him and we suspect its some type of microscopic cancer that couldn't be located. My dog as been poked and prodded so much. We've exhausted our resources in regards of $$.  

2nd issue.. he is still crapping all over my floors. We're renovating the basement and did not intend on ripping out the carpet. We had to rip out the carpet because he was sneaking down there and crapping. (not regular crap.. diarrhea that's impossible to get up). We had to rip out the carpet in my brand new babies nursery because he crapped in it so much.  Our living room carpet is totally stained.. there's about 4 stains in the center of the room. I've spent $400 getting my carpets professionally cleaned. I've literally had them cleaned 4 times since September.

What do I do?  My gut feeling tells me that Sammy is not well and that likely I need to put him down. I have my mom who makes me feel like he's her investment and I'm wasting all the money she spent. I know if I put him back on prednisone he will probably do ok but for how long? On top of that, even on the steroids he was still crapping all over the place.  

I have no more money to spend. I just resigned my position to stay at home with my kids. I'm nervous about that as it is and I really cannot afford to spend any more money.. even if it's 300 on blood tests. I have one more paycheck coming in February but then we're giving this stay home mom thing a shot and I really will not have any extra cash.  On top of that, my kids play on these floors. It absolutely makes me sick to have my baby sleep in a room that's full of crap and I'm afraid I'm going to replace the carpet and he's going to ruin that too and I can't afford to keep replacing flooring.

 Ugh. Someone help me. What do I do? what's the right thing? Because I don't know anymore. 

s0ulchicken

First and foremost, I am so sorry you're dealing with this. Pets are family too, and having to make these decisions in a most unenviable situation to be in. I have worked in animal rescue for many years now, and have had to make that same difficult choice myself too many times. One of the biggest factors in my decision making is quality of life. Is the dog happy and comfortable in his current state? If the answer is no, is there anything that I can do within my means to improve his quality of life? I also look at any other issues. I would see his elimination problem as a huge concern. The hygiene issue is a big one for me. My home is a sanctuary for both my children and the animals we care for, but if my children cannot play "safely" then Houston we have a problem! As far as your mom's "investment" in Sammy...would she consider taking him in?
I do not have an answer for you, it is something that only you and your family can decide. I am so sorry though, that you are in this heart wrenching position. Huge, giant hugs to you and Sammy. You two will figure it out together.

niknak1128

Yes, he does seem ok relatively. Aside from this new groaning and moaning that he's been doing. But he's kind of a groany dog anyways.. I mean he doesn't like to be bothered.. if she's sleeping and you bug him.. he groans.. that's normal for him. But now he's groaning anytime he moves really and he's making this really weird sound that almost makes me think he's trying to get sick but he hasn't thrown up since September. 

Second question.. yes and no.  Yes, I could afford prednisone. No, I cannot afford continued blood testing like they want. No, I can't afford any further testing. I just quit my job. I have one more paycheck coming. .it's gonna be pretty tight as it is and I just can't afford to sink more money into it as sad as that makes me. I also feel like between my mom and myself we've already put in 5k and how far do you go?

ugh. The poop is a HUGE problem for me. First of all, I feel like obviously there's something still wrong with him if he's still having this problem. Secondly, how much longer do I continue to clean it up and clean it up and clean it up. I mean my kids play on these floors.  

JulyMomma2U2

I had posted on your post a while back.. did you ever have his liver enzymes checked?  This is identical to my parents dog.. they, too, spent SO much money on him.. and, I argued with the vet to have them check his liver.. they swore it wasn't the case.. lo and behold, it was.. he gets a medication put on his food every day and was fine for an additional 5 years with no more diarrhea!

Best of luck.. I really do understand what you're going through.. my parents did it for almost 2 years with their dog.  He just passed last year at age 13.

princesscb22

I'm so sorry you are going through this!! (((HUGE HUGS)))

I just wanted to say that I know exactly what you're going through.  Our lab has had issues for the past 5 years.  She would have episodes of vomiting and diarrhea.  FINALLY last year she got so bad the vet did exploratory surgery on her, expecting cancer.  They found she was suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease and that she did not have cancer.  They put her on prednisone.  We felt so relieved once we finally got a diagnosis.  The medicines they prescribed her really seemed to help.

Fast forward to this year, she started getting sick again in December.  Not nearly as sick as she was last year.  But she stopped eating this time.  Ultimately, a couple days later, she passed away here at home.  We weren't expecting it at all.  We were heartbroken.  The vet performed an autopsy, and found that her disease had morphed into cancer, which ultimately took her life at age 10.  We didn't end up having to make the impossible decision you are faced with, but we came very close a couple times.  And I can tell you we lost a lot of sleep over it!

This isn't an easy situation to be in! I'm so sorry you are dealing with this! I have no advice as to what you should do....that decision is ultimately up to you and DH.  I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in this battle.  We fought a long, hard battle with our beloved dog too!!  (((HUGS)))

niknak1128

Thanks ladies. It's so hard. DH called the vet and told them that he seems to be getting sick again. The vet said it's almost $300 total for putting him down and getting his ashes. DH can't bury him now because the ground is frozen and I absolutely refuse to let me be creamated with a bunch of other animals. 

I don't know. I told him to hold off on making the appointment because I'm still processing all of it. I'm just sad. I really thought we were doing the right thing by taking him for a 2nd opinion at the ER hospital. We all felt like we were doing what was right for Sam. Now I wonder if we just did what was right for us.. what made us feel better. Now I feel like I put my poor dog through all of this just to end up at the same place. Of course, I know theres no way to know what the right or wrong thing is. I just hate to keep going with treatment because Sammy has been through so much already and frankly so have we.

On the flip side, I feel like it's so stupid to complain about pooping in the house when you're talking about his life but I also have to think about my children and that I'm providing a safe and sanitary environment for them and right now I feel like my house is disgusting. I mean I've done everything I can to keep it clean but he keeps doing it over and over. I bet three times/week I'm waking up in the morning having to clean up diarrhea.

I'm just going to think on it until DH gets paid.. we can't do it until then anyways and just let it sit with me for a while so I can be sure I'm making the right choice. Man I hate this part about having pets. it's so hard.  

nattn

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. It's so hard to make the decision to let go of a pet, but at the same time, you have to weigh the hardship on your family that keeping Sammy around will bring. You have already spent so much and still don't have a clear diagnoses. You can't blame yourself for that. In my experience, you could spend a lot more time and money trying to figure out what's going on, but in the end, there's a very good chance that it will still not be the outcome we all wish for. It does sound like it could be cancer or another serious illness.

I do have one suggestion that may be a long shot, but it wouldn't cost much. Quite a few dogs have pancreatitis and it can be very difficult to diagnose. You could try putting Sammy on a very low fat diet and see if his bowel movements improve. If you want to try it, I would feed him twice a day, put him on a diet food, and replace half of his food with plain white rice. You could also give him a spoonful of plain yogurt to act as a probiotic. The rice and dog food you give him should be 1 cup per 25 lbs of ideal body weight per day. (If he's 50 lbs and not over or under weight, he should get 2 cups of food for the day.) Like I said, it may be a long shot, but it's the simplest possibility I can think of from what you're describing.

BarooGirl

NikNak, I am sorry. Making the decision is just horrible.

I was thinking about Sammy and you lastnight and wondered how things were going.

We put our amazing Phoebe down 3 weeks ago and it still hurts. She was mentally fine but was losing all feelings from her back feet up and could hardly walk (still felt just fine and wasnt in pain) she also lost control of holding her urine and bowels. It was such a hard thing to do but was the kindest thing. Her quality of life and dignity were slipping quickly.

I am sorry you are faced with this decision too.