Update--Sammy.

niknak1128 · October 2012

My mom and I went to visit with him tonight. He still can't come home. He didn't eat all day. They had us try because they said sometimes the dogs will eat better with their families. But no luck. He licked and smelled the wet food a few times but didn't actually eat any of it. Zero interest in the dry food.

Good news is that his kidney levels are way down. Crit was at 2.6 today and BUN was at 43.3. (That's lower than it was before his very first vet visit a month ago).

He's still on imodium. Still on high iv fluids. Put him back on injectable anti-biotics because he stopped eating so wouldn't take the oral meds.

They did a comprehensive bloodwork panel and there was really nothing concerning. His liver is up a little bit but that's nothing new.. it has been for a long time.

Vet said that she's leaning more toward pancreatitis. Could still be cancer but she said usually with cancer they can see it somewhere. His lymph nodes, organs, and lungs were all clear. She said his spleen presented a little off but nothing concerning. Prostate was slightly enlarged but still nothing concerning.

She said he's been sleeping a lot.. but that's not really out of character for Sam. I mean Sam never moves unless he has to.. even when he's super healthy and happy. He's literally the laziest dog I've ever known!

So they're going to call us in the morning. My saint of a mother has spent $2500 so far and had to put down another $1500 today!! But we both talked to the vet and decided that if we take him home now it's premature and the $$ she's spent is pointless because we haven't found a cause and we don't have all the testing back yet.

Ugh.. I hate sick animals. It's so hard. My big pregnant butt could not reach him on the floor while I was sitting in a chair so I just got down on the floor with him and he laid his head on my lap and slept. I had a t-shirt and a sweatshirt on so I took off my t-shirt and left it there for him so he would at least have the scent of mommy and home. Boo! Hopefully he gets to come home soon.

pb&fluff · October 2012

I have been waiting for your update all evening! So glad to hear his kidney levels are going down, that's great news.

You're doing everything you can for him and hopefully you'll get to bring him home soon. You did the right thing leaving him there; he's not ready to come home. I love that you left his shirt for him. I can't imagine what pets feel when they're not around their owners. ((hugs)) chin up!

niknak1128 · October 2012

The t-shirt was my moms idea. I said I wish I had brought a blanket from home for him to snuggle with and my mom said well leave your t-shirt.. so I did that instead. I just thought having something from home and something that smelled like me might comfort him. He wanted to go home so badly. He kept trying to follow us. I had to walk him back to the kennel.

So what my mom paid now will cover all costs until Tuesday. After that, we would have to pay more and she really can't. So we're really hoping that by Monday which is when the vet expects test results back.. we'll have an action plan. I literally have no extra cash until Wednesday but if my mom had to pay for meds that I could pay her back for.. I can probably swing that. It's just hard because we've already spent $630 of our own before he was even admitted there so part of why we don't have it is because we already spent it. On top of that, we've been working on credit card pay offs so I don't even have an open card that I could use.

I might look into care credit if what they find is treatable and it's more than I can pay up front. They make you put down a 75% down payment and they give you an estimate that's high end and so if he gets better before that they might not end up using all of that.

I'm crossing my fingers. REALLY hoping this is just something infectious that we can treat. They were going to throw in an extra anti-biotic just to cover their bases. If his platelets drop lower, they'll do steroids but she said they need test results before that because steroids can make some conditions worse.

My poor little guy. I'm a little disturbed at my Jacob though! (our black lab) Because he seems alarmingly unaffected that his little brother Sammy is not home! I told him this morning that I'm disappointed in him for not being a good big brother! He just looked at me like hey I have the bed to myself.. my family to myself.. all the food to myself.. I'm a dog.. lol Geeesh.

atangiblewish · October 2012

i am so sorry you are having to go through this.

Gregermis · October 2012

awwwww ((hugs)) still sending lots of T&Ps!! My dad has pancreatitis attacks occasionally. The not eating is good if that's the case (they pump dad's stomach and stop his digestive system while his pancreas is calming down). Hope Sammy gets better and can come home soon!

pinktrojanbride120107 · October 2012

First, your mom sounds like an awesome lady. Second, I'm glad Sammy is doing better. Third, still sending lots of T&Ps that your furbaby gets better. I can't imagine.

orangegoggles · October 2012

((Hugs)) I am sorry he wasn't quite ready to come home. Hoping things improve and he comes home soon. Good idea about the t-shirt. I bet that provided some comfort for him.

Want a personalized experience?

Update--Sammy.

Re: Update--Sammy.

Choose Another Board

Search Boards