Bondi may have more time…or he did last April. Now? Bad decline

This topic has 17 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 10 months ago by zn.

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April 21, 2018 at 10:38 am #85296

zn
Moderator

Bondi has a reprieve, though I don’t know yet how certain that is. Here’s the issue. He went one place for his surgeries and chemo, and another place as his regular vet. Last week the regular vet said his condition was very bad (tumor in his bladder). In this situation, if you let the dog “tell” you he’s too sick, it’s a fully blocked bladder, which is extremely awful and normally you do not let that happen. But the surgery place called me and volunteered a free ultra-sound because they did not think it was that dire. I just got back from them and they said it’s not as bad as the vet was stating. They recommended a new drug (piroxicam) and to wait a week to see what difference it makes. I also made an appointment with the vet on Monday to try and reconcile all this contradictory info, if that’s even possible. We deeply appreciate all the kind words from everyone the other day, but the strange place I find myself in right now is that we have contradictory views on how short-term bad (or not) this is. Right now, I honestly don’t know. The good news is, he is around for at least a little while longer and maybe (I don’t know yet) more than that.

April 21, 2018 at 1:34 pm #85304

nittany ram
Moderator

Yay, some hope. That is good news.

Fingers crossed.

April 21, 2018 at 9:18 pm #85310

canadaram
Participant

Well thank goodness for the surgeons. Hoping for the best.

April 21, 2018 at 9:57 pm #85311

InvaderRam
Moderator

i had no idea. i know what you’re going through. i really hope for the best.

April 21, 2018 at 10:22 pm #85312

zn
Moderator

InvaderRam wrote:

i had no idea. i know what you’re going through. i really hope for the best.

Here’s where it all started the other day. http://theramshuddle.com/topic/have-to-take-the-dog-in-for-the-last-time/

April 23, 2018 at 2:51 pm #85340

zn
Moderator

News. The new cancer is incurable though it can be, with luck, kept minimal with chemo. But his quality of life will decline steadily. There is no time frame–so there’s no concrete way to make a decision TODAY. Mostly, not always but mostly, he’s just a happy normal dog but there are some effects. I have to keep an eye on him to see how he holds up. But sooner or later a decision is coming.

April 23, 2018 at 3:00 pm #85341

joemad
Participant

that’s a tough decision…… good luck…..

April 23, 2018 at 8:33 pm #85346

InvaderRam
Moderator

zn wrote:

News. The new cancer is incurable though it can be, with luck, kept minimal with chemo. But his quality of life will decline steadily. There is no time frame–so there’s no concrete way to make a decision TODAY. Mostly, not always but mostly, he’s just a happy normal dog but there are some effects. I have to keep an eye on him to see how he holds up. But sooner or later a decision is coming.

that’s tough. i had to make a decision last year similar to the one you’re faced with. hopefully, you don’t have to make it anytime soon, and bondi still has some quality time left.

April 23, 2018 at 10:33 pm #85350

zn
Moderator

InvaderRam wrote:

that’s tough. i had to make a decision last year similar to the one you’re faced with. hopefully, you don’t have to make it anytime soon, and bondi still has some quality time left.

Tell me your story. I would appreciate it.

April 23, 2018 at 11:07 pm #85352

InvaderRam
Moderator

my dog was a hemophiliac. we adopted him from a shelter, but they had no idea he had that problem aside from some bleeding problems when they pulled his baby teeth.

he’d have episodes every now and then, but neither we nor the vet had any idea what was going on. then last year, he became paralyzed from his midsection down. at first they thought it was just a herniated disc, and we opted for surgery. but when they cut him open, that’s when they realized he had a blood disorder. they couldn’t get the bleeding to stop. we gave him some plasma treatments, but he wasn’t getting better.

i had to make the decision to put him to sleep. if he did survive, which wasn’t even guaranteed, his quality of life would have been poor.

in short. it really really sucked.

April 23, 2018 at 11:39 pm #85353

zn
Moderator

I’m sorry to hear that, IR. I understand your loss.

People who don’t have dogs often wonder how owners and their dog can bond that way, but it;s genetic in dogs. They have a very direct psychological need to connect with people. That can be distorted by people abusing them, but when everything is normal, it;s very real. The study of dogs has reached a pretty high level and all of this is confirmed.

November 8, 2018 at 5:12 pm #93544

zn
Moderator

Forgive me for indulging, in the midst of all that is much heavier and deserving of our attention, a little bit of emotion for our family dog.

He held on for a while but it looks bad now. Weak, won’t eat, detached. I go to the vet tomorrow for a chemo treatment and will straightforwardly ask if he should even get the treatment–why compound the suffering with chemo if it isn’t going to help anymore?. It looks like we’re counting down days.

I just feel better sharing this. Everyone has been through it and knows how it is.

I fear there will be more news soon.

November 8, 2018 at 9:31 pm #93560

InvaderRam
Moderator

keep us updated. and i will keep you and your family in my thoughts.

November 9, 2018 at 1:53 pm #93587

zn
Moderator

InvaderRam wrote:

keep us updated. and i will keep you and your family in my thoughts.

Well whatever you did worked.

This was an episode caused by the new chemo.

I keep getting jerked from one place to another on this emotionally. Saw the vet,we;ll go forward with the new chemo at a lower dosage. So he has more time, though that’s within a framework where he wasn’t supposed to last a year after the surgery but nearly has.

He’s declining but this last few days was just an episode and so no decision is urgent. Didn’t mean to cry wolf, but–you should have seen him. Vet thinks we addressed it though.

When I got him home I had to leave him in the backseat of the car for a sec, which he doesn’t like. Suddenly The Spouse bursts out of the house in pajamas (she has a night shift of course) and was excitedly going “I heard him bark! He barked!” To her, when I left for the vet it was all gloom, and then she hears him barking in the car and that means he’s better (he had not barked or moved for a couple of days), which in her mind is a miracle compared to the last couple of days.

So it’s like that. He has a bit of time though that will have a limit. Haven’t reached the limit yet though.

November 9, 2018 at 7:35 pm #93602

InvaderRam
Moderator

i’ve been there. it’s hard knowing what the right thing to do is. but i’m sure you’ll do it.

sounds like he’s doing g better which is good. just enjoy the time you have with him is the only thing i can say.

November 10, 2018 at 11:46 am #93639

wv
Participant

Masada died many years ago.
There’s a reason i aint got another dog.
I cant even read about this stuff.

w
v

November 10, 2018 at 6:49 pm #93651

zn
Moderator

wv wrote:

I cant even read about this stuff.

Believe me I understand.

November 10, 2018 at 6:49 pm #93652

zn
Moderator

wv wrote:

I cant even read about this stuff.

Believe me I understand.
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