Winnie De Fluffy
Winston aka WinnieDFluffy is an almost 7 year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi that we've had since he was 8 weeks old. He came from a kennel near Berwyn, NE. This is an update on Winston's issues of late. Things are not going well, but he's still high spirited, ornery & still fights with his traffic cone.
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| Winston in 2011 |
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| Biopsy |
In January he was involved in a dog fight & his throat became hugely swollen. The Doc biopsied the area when it was realized that it wasn't an abscess. It wasn't cancerous but it was infected so he went on antibiotics for a few weeks. He never quite picked up from that. he seemed depressed, droopy & not himself. Then he began to fall down when he was chasing things--Like he'd fall over when doing a tight cornering maneuver. We thought it was a disc in his back. In early May the situation worsened somewhat & I took him to the vet. She watched him run & thought something was going on, but probably not a huge issue. We put him on Rimadyl for possible arthritis & he seemed to do well.
Then, in early June the situation went south. He had trouble getting up one morning. I bathed him in a warm bath thinking it would help. It didn't. An hour later he was completely unable to rise. I took him to the vet. (Yes--the commentary about arriving with a wet fluffy Pembroke were hysterical..but the vet admitted my thought process was legit) We thought he'd blown a disc in his back. That's not an uncommon thing for a Corgi. It wouldn't be a good thing, nor is it fixable but there are some work-around solutions for it. Then the Xray. The vet worriedly called his wife in. (A married pair of vets--they're great!) Then...after a few 'Wow! Damn! Look at that!'..they called me in. Then the verdict. "He has the worst case of hip dysplasia we've ever seen in a dog." His right hip is completely dislocated & probably has been for at least a year--maybe two. His other hip isn't far behind.
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| Christmas 2012 |
We've known for years that he has 'issues' with his feet. As in, he will bite you if you handle them too much. Like--really bite you. Which is why he no longer travels with me or is allowed out with children. Now, seeing the xrays, I wonder why the dog has not hunted us down & killed us for the things we've asked of him. He's endured an amazing amount of pain over the years. I asked the vet why the dog had not shown signs of illness long before this & the reply was, "You gotta be some kind of tough to be this size (12" tall) and be bred to work cattle!" That made sense...but it didn't make us feel better.
Soo, the plan was this. He obviously has a systemic infection that is exacerbating the situation. Blood work shows that his kidney function may be slightly impaired. He's obviously miserable. He'll be on Rimadyl & antibiotics for at least 2 months until the infection has cleared and then he'll have a 'salvage' surgery in which the ball of the affected femur will be removed. The scar tissue will create a fake joint, he'll be out of pain & have 70% function. Not 100%--but frankly he'll have more function than he has right now & he wont be in pain. Not a bad solution. He will also be neutered during the surgery. It's irresponsible to breed a dog with this disease.It's hereditary. And the doc says in dogs this age, the prostate is big & puts pressure on the inside of the pelvis causing added pressure--especially with such significant deformity as he has. So...off we go.
Three weeks later my daughter & I went to Rome for a 16 day pilgrimage, leaving the medication in the hands of his owner, Dev. Well, a mis-communication about the dosages left Winston feeling invincible. He had a blast. He was getting Rimadyl twice a day, not once a day. He felt no pain & was back in business. He went to the mud bog races, swam in the Rendezvous ponds, rode in pick ups...and then I got home. He ran out of Rimadyl Thursday before I got home Friday & the boys never told me until too late Friday night. So...he went 4 days with no meds. He was unable to rise on Monday morning. I was at the vets when they opened, got my butt chewed for overdosing the dog, got the Rimadyl refilled, added Tramadol for pain and the dog was up & going in an hour. That's how dependent he is on his pain meds.
I felt he was almost ready for his surgery & told them in two weeks I'd bring him in for pre-op blood work.
Well, two weeks were almost over when Winston had bloody nose. He'd gotten hit, marginally we thought, by the corner of a 'for sale' sign Dev was holding in the afternoon. It hit him in the side of his muzzle. He yipped--we moved on--it seemed like no big deal. Two hours later he was gushing blood on my floor. I worked for an hour & a half to staunch it. It'd stop then start again when he'd sneeze or try to cough the clot out....he was scared, I was frustrated--there was blood spray EVERYWHERE. And the vet wouldn't answer the phone on a Sunday night. So...I called another vet. She said to give him 1 1/2 Tramadol to calm him--and maybe he'd be too loopy to sneeze. I knew that it would take another hour--but gave it to him anyway. I hollered at a friend who owns Corgi's and is a whiz at using Essential Oils (doTerra brand) and she was literally 2 blocks away--texted me 'I'll be right there'.
She steps in, hands me a bottle of 'Geranium Oil' which I put it on his muzzle...like 20 drops.....and it quit bleeding. Poof. Like that. Instantly. 2 hours later he coughed up a blood clot--and I put 10 more drops on 'just in case'. Amazing stuff.
Guess what---he's allergic to that much oil. Had to take him to the vet the next day (Monday) for his pre-op blood work & Doc notices his hugely swollen face.Doc says he smells real good though.(It was like having a walking air freshener) So...he got a steroid for the reaction & pre-op blood work.(my friend & i think it was a case of overkill--next time use 3-5 drops NOT 20 or 30--we didn't tell the vet that)I'm also using a blend of doTerra oils on his pelvis area to help with pain twice a day. And a blend on his feet for infection..which really do seem to help. And he likes the associated back rub. He's not so keen on the oils on his pads...but we do it anyway.
Ann gave him a bath when he got home.
OK...Wednesday the Vet calls & says---we got a problem. His BUN & Creatinine are high. He's in kidney failure--early early stage...come get some special food for him (low protein) and we need a urine sample. You're kidding? He's 12 inches tall---and you want me to collect urine while he's pee'ing on something. Not gonna happen. But....it did...I got creative, distracted him enough that I actually did collect some. (a glad container...a leash...a fat chick chasing a pee'ing dog....yeah--the mental picture) And.....I hope you aren't worn out yet....it only gets better....
He has no UTI, no kidney stones...but blood in urine. From his prostate. Which is leaving in the hip surgery when he gets castrated...which the vet had forgotten about. So....special food for 2 weeks. another blood test...then hip surgery etc ad nauseum.
Oh...and I cant wrap his pills in bacon any more. Got chewed for that one. It's the leading cause of pancreatitis in dogs....Seriously? No Bacon???
They must think I"m trying to kill this dog.
Two more weeks--then we'll attempt pre-op blood work again. It's August 2nd.
Comment
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Comment by SJK on August 15, 2013 at 8:28pm
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Oh wow that went from bad to worse pretty fast. I hope he can get on top of this asap. Get well soon Winston! Such a pretty boy too. I'd never heard of the bacon issue so that's interesting...
When my dog got sick and needed a midstream urine sample I watched how the tech did it... he had a jar with the sterile container in it taped to a long stick and just whisked it into the stream when my dog had to go (and he had to GO being an untreated diabetic at the time). That method would probably still be difficult with a corgi though...
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Comment by Rebecca on August 4, 2013 at 4:40am
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So sorry to hear about everything that is going on. I'm sending positive thoughts your way!
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