He's been having issues, we took him yesterday for an xray and biopsy and long story short, we probably won't be waiting for the 4-5 day biopsy results. They wanted to keep him overnight b/c of how late they did the xray and how dangerous it is for a 130lb dog coming out of anesthesia to get around. I was not thrilled, but I can barely get him in my car w/o that issue, so fine. They told me to call in the am. I called at 9am and she told me he was fine and she'd have the vet call me. At 1:45 I told DH to call back. They said the same thing.
WHY WON'T ANYONE TALK TO US? They basically gave us the worst news yesterday already. Our plan was to have a good weekend with him, provided they drained enough of whatever the problem is (lots of medical stuff I didn't understand) and he'd be semi comfortable. I already have a call into the in-home euthanasia lady and she's available whichever day we need her. So, nothing short of them telling me he's already gone is going to make anything any worse.
And that is what I'm thinking right now b/c they won't talk to us. Dh is going up there now that he's off work.
Sorry, I had to get that out. I don't need any hugs or anything, we all know it sucks. But I am overreacting to them not calling back, right?
Do I think you're over-reacting go them not calling back by being upset? No. But I wouldn't assume the worst, either. IDK if this is consolation or not, but my dog died in the vet's care, and they told us *immediately*. I truly do not think that this is something they would sit on.
It's very possible that there are lots of specifics that the dr wants to discuss with you and hasn't been able to, but waitin gALL DAY is not okay. Honestly in your shoes, I would tell them that they could either put me on hold and have the dr come talk to me after his current patient, or I would be coming down to the office to wait there. This is not ok to leave you hanging. I would be pissed.
Ok, so the receptionist called DH back and said to pick him up around 4:45. BUT WHY? Dumb DH of course asks NO questions. At least he's seemingly ok though.
I'm glad you finally heard something. Hopefully they were just keeping him for observation. It can take bit for the anesthesia to wear off, maybe? They might have been waiting for him to be able to eat too. I hope you enjoy whatever time you have left with your guy. ::hugs::
I'm so sorry. I'm glad you'll be able to take him home this afternoon. I hope you are able to enjoy the weekend with him. Losing a dog is so fucking hard. All the hugs.
Post by MixedBerryJam on Mar 18, 2016 16:12:26 GMT -5
Oh, I'm glad you finally heard from them, even if you don't have any actual answers yet. I was just going to say not to worry because Fridays seem to be pretty busy at my vet's office, at least. I hope your guy has a good weekend, and that the issues aren't as serious as you're worried they are.
Please do a follow up post once you find out what is really going on. Meanwhile, even though you didn't ask for hugs, I'm gonna give you one anyway! (( jlt19))
Ok, so the receptionist called DH back and said to pick him up around 4:45. BUT WHY? Dumb DH of course asks NO questions. At least he's seemingly ok though.
I'm assuming the dr will be available then to talk to you about what to expect at home? Thinking of you and yoir family.
Post by tellmesomethingood on Mar 18, 2016 17:53:29 GMT -5
My mom works for a vet and I know that only the vet is supposed to give info for liability reasons. That sucks that they wouldn't say anything. They could have said something about why they wouldn't give an update.
Finally got him home. The vet said that I should wait until the biopsy results because if it is just fatty it may ne ok now. There was a lot of dead tissue in the middle and that's what caused the swelling and protrusion. He thinks he removed most of the dead tissue, but couldn't remove he whole mass because it was touching his spine and it would probably cause nerve damage. Or something. A lot went over my head. But he said three times that we should wait until the results, so we will. He's definitely not "normal" but he's probably in pain and stressed so hopefully tomorrow will be better. Thanks for the hugs and support.
I'm really sorry. We lost two dogs in the last year - this just made me realize the anniversary of the first is tomorrow. Our third dog had a leg amputated two weeks ago. I hope you get good news and you don't have to wait forever to know. And when it comes time I highly recommend the at home euthanasia you mentioned. We used that and it was so nice.
jlt19, How'd your dog do last night? Hope he's on the mend! That's an awesome cone your daughter made him. I'm sure it will lift his spirits!
Not so great. He just stared at the stairs so we decided DH would sleep on the couch near him. About 1am DH and him came up (I guess he kept walking and whining at the stairs). He whimpered because he knew he couldn't get on the bed. I slept on the floor next to him. It took 20 min to get him to come downstairs today. His back legs aren't looking right when he walks. We think maybe some nerve damage was already done during the invasive biopsy.
We'll stay with him all weekend and see if it's still just the anaesthesia wearing off from Thursday, but we doubt it. I'll be sleeping in the family room with him until further notice. If he gets stuck upstairs we're screwed. He's 130lbs. He also won't eat, It's even hard to get him to take the antibiotics in cheese. We won't make him stay like this though. He's miserable. Literally the doorbell just rang and he barely popped his head up.
My good friend is coming tomorrow to take pics and we'll make a decision for Monday I guess if there's no improvement. The vet was semi encouraging, but this isn't him.
Sorry for the ramble. Thanks for thinking of us and asking about him.
Post by MixedBerryJam on Mar 19, 2016 13:32:34 GMT -5
Aw, I'm sorry he's not bouncing back like you hoped. Re: giving him meds, would it be easier to crush them and put them in cottage cheese or apple sauce (or heck, chicken soup or anything that might interest him)? That's been working pretty well for my dog, who's having to be on a super low-fat diet because of a liver/gall bladder thing we can't seem to get control of. Good luck!