westiemum

Thank you both - gee I hope it does get easier - the very sudden tears have taken me quite by surprise - they come when I least expect it.

Yeah I meant quilt - damn auto-correct! Actually using upholstery fabric for a quilt when you have dogs who sleep on the bed is a great idea DD - much more hard wearing and and opens up the choices no end! Thanks!! Might do that next time!

DD its so good to hear Danny is on the mend - yes its amazing how much stuff can come up out of a little dog. Mac was on Doxycycline for the last 8 -10 months of his life and did very well on it. Its an oldie but a goodie. I hope Danny does well on it too. BTW thats a gorgeous quite you have on your bed!

Yes her front leg might be a problem for a doggie wheelchair - and it might not. Cross that one when you come to it. I reached a point with Mac where he still loved pottering around in the park, but couldn't walk that far anymore. So I started looking for a solution and Perse found it for me - a second hand Phil and Teds 3 wheeler pram thingo - one I could put Mac in, wheel one-handed and still manage the other two westies on the double lead. Yes we created a great stir when people realised it was an elderly dog and not a baby! It was $50 on Gumtree and all I bought was a new tire and a new handle bar grip - all off eBay from memory. Here's Mac in the Macmobile: Hope it helps.

Isabel you've worked your way through this this far really well. If you get to a point where you would like to consider a doggy wheelchair for Jindi, I can put you in touch with a great friend of mine who is an expert in the area and can help with advice. Just send me a PM.

Thank you everyone. The truth is I'm still struggling. I know its quite irrational but I'm still wondering what else I could have done for him... I know intellectually I did all I could, but...

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate your kind words. Gee I miss him... he's left a huge hole for such a little dog.

Idiopathic head tremors is probably an accurate clinical diagnosis. Andy, my littlest westie has what the vet eventually diagnosed as idiopathic focal epilepsy - and its exactly like Snook describes and like the dog in Andy is so infrequent and so mild the vet has never wanted to medicate him. In fact come to think of it theist time I observed him seizing was probably 10 - 12 months ago - although as Snook points out that doesn't mean its not happening when I'm not here. When it happens I just hold him and cuddle him until it stops - anywhere between 3 and 7 or 8 minutes (his last one was an unusually long one). He then gets pretty sleepy and is a bit quiet for 12 hours or so before he's back to his usual bouncy self. Years ago, I think it was the vet who said that this type of epilepsy is centred on the cerebellum which is the base of the brain at the back of the head - and may be caused by injury. In Andy's case as the vet surmised that as a puppy farm rescue who was very badly treated, its quite possible his is an acquired epilepsy as the result of something like a kick to the back of the head - but of course we'll never know. Hope that helps. ETA: keeping a diary is really important to help your vet and you decide if there are any changes to frequency or intensity or nature of the seizures over time which warrants more or different treatment. So make sure you write the date and time the seizure and describe it as accurately as possible. Also note what you did to help your dog. Its amazing how your inaccurate your recollections can be if you don't write it down.

I also forgot to add - as I'm sure your vet discussed with you, you need to weigh up the possibility of losing her during surgery too???? - as I'm sure it will be not only risky but lengthy too. Awful decision to have to make... Prayers with you.

I'm so sorry Isabel. This is heartbreaking news and a Hobson's Choice. In a sense you are damned if you do and damned if you don't. Sheez... I'm really not sure what I'd do, but based on the little we have here I think I'd go with the quality of life option too - the surgery and chemo option sounds horrendous - and horribly hard on her and on you for probably relatively little gain. And if she gets to the point where she has lost mobility but can still use her front legs, maybe a doggie wheelchair might be a possibility. I've seen them improve many dogs lives immeasurably even if only for a few months. Anyway, just some initial thoughts. Big hugs.

Bad girl Perse! Bad girl!

I'm so sorry to hear Isabel. As a fellow westie owner and having lost one of mine only back in November, and knowing it was going to happen, I do know how devastated you must feel. And the trouble with westies is they can be so stoic! They can be in quite a lot of pain before showing it. So my suggestion at the moment while you wait for your path results is to get Jindi's pain relief under control as much as possible. Good pain relief will make a big difference to her quality of life. I made a decision to put my Mac on long-term once a day Loxicom (pain relief and anti-inflammatory) despite it not being recommended for long-term use - I discussed it with his specialist vet and we decided that on balance, effective pain control was the most important for the remaining time he had - however long that might be. Good luck tomorrow and come back to talk anytime. We'll be here.

What a beautiful boy. Its so hard to lose them - my prayers are with you.

Magnificent boy DD - and such a credit to you - 17 years!!!

I took Sarah as a 5 year old to 7 weeks of puppy training with Adelaide Pet Dog training when I first got her as she seemed to need confidence - and despite her being the oldest dog there by some years it was brilliant and did her the world of good. The trainer later confessed to me she wasn't usually very fond of small white dogs, but thought Sarah was fabulous. I was the proudest Mummy there - and Sarah taught those puppies a thing or too about loose lead walking and recall - she learned very quickly and was great at it! So as others have said - IMO its about finding the right class.

Was meant to be - great story! Good luck to Jack and his owner for the rest of their lives!

And the day you died - and took a piece of my heart with you... see you again my beautiful little man. At the park on 20 November 2015, sniffing the air and looking heavenwards... And a last snuggle with your beloved Godfather, the hour before you returned to God...

My beloved Mac, my heart dog went to the Bridge on 20/11/2015 at 6.20 pm, in my arms and I'm finally able to write this - almost two months after he left. You were imported as puppy from a UK breeder by a notorious SA puppy farmer, probably sometime in early 2000. How unlucky that you wound up in a concrete run in the middle of nowhere, freezing in winter and boiling in summer, 2 hours from Adelaide, valued only for your reproductive ability. Little did we know how our paths would cross some years later - and how happy we both would be that we found each other! We first met on Monday 13 March 2006 - Adelaide Cup Day - at your foster parents place in the Adelaide Hills who became my very good friends and your Godparents. You were a goofy friendly westie who immediately snuggled into my lap and I fell instantly in love. It was purely by chance that I found out about you through a work colleague who after I was early for a work meeting (unheard of!) and we talked, flipped me an email about 'some dogs that need homes'. So I replied not expecting anything to come of it. Little did I know at that time that your foster Dad had chosen my email from the many he received from people interested in adopting you - and I still marvel that he chose me to be your new Mum. He said I was the only one who asked any questions!! (How could I not!). You came for a two week trial on Friday 17 March 2006 and of course you never left - it was love at first sight. You were 6 and I was 45 - and so ready to fall in love again! You had your challenges - bad teeth and breath that could clear a room. Badly matted coat and fleas. Your face stained brown from untreated suppurating ear infections that must have been so painful. We gradually got that all under control. Then later that year, running across an oval at Ocean Grove in Victoria - our first road trip together - you suddenly started limping - you had blown your ACL - which your favourite vet repaired on our return to Adelaide. Then as often happens, 6 months later from memory you blew your second ACL which we repaired as well - but unfortunately that repair failed and we went in again with a specialist repair with a visiting surgeon - who became your go to 'repairman'! We used to laugh that between him and our regular vet they had basically rebuilt you! Some years later your 'personal' specialist surgeon and repairman also performed a full left ear ablation to deal with an absolutely immovable pseudomonas infection - and despite being newly deaf, the difference that seemed to make to your life was huge. A happier, more playful, obviously painfree Mac emerged if that's possible. My beautiful boy was even more beautiful! Then as a gorgeous 13 year old, at 11 pm on Sunday 23 June 2013, the same specialist vet performed an emergency laryngeal tie-back when your vocal cords paralysed and closed your airway. I cried tears of happiness when I got you back as a new dog the following Tuesday - again the difference your special 'repairman' made to your life was spectacular. As an older dog you slowed down but still loved going to the park in the Macmobile (thanks Perse!) and pottering around, sniffing the pee-mail and rolling in the grass. Then your eyesight started failing as well as being deaf. You also developed arthritis and canine dementia, at the end often getting caught in corners and behind furniture. I learned to place my bed close enough to my bedside table so you couldn't get caught in the first place! Then gradually your back legs failed you - and in early November 2015 I had to hold up your back end to toilet for the first time and help you up when your back end collapsed - and I knew the time was coming. But it was your beloved Grandma's birthday on 6 November and you were holding up - so we made plans to return you to God on 20 November. It was a peaceful and loving day but my heart broke. You still looked so good - but had lost so much function that I knew it was time. Your Grandma and Godparents were with you as you passed very quietly and peacefully. My great comfort is that you are pain free in God's arms and we'll have eternity together. In the meantime, I so miss you my gorgeous funny little man - snuggling up under my chin across my chest in the evenings, snoring on the pillow next to me on my bed, strutting around in your Crows jumper as if you knew you were their number one fan, galloping down the hallway following Sarah and and Andy, sitting up like Jacky on the front seat of the car, rolling on the freshly cut grass, growling at Andy, sniffing Sarah's bottom, stealing blue cheese, gnawing bones on the lawn with precious few teeth, wolfing your meals down (you were never fussy!), accepting admiring pats at the coffee shop, road trips and your perfect behaviour at B and B's all over South Australia, sitting on my lap for hours and snuggling with your Godfather on your last day. The house is very empty without you. I'll never forget the feel off your fur against my face and looking into your beautiful, thoughtful brown eyes. Farewell my lovely - the most faithful loving being I've ever known. Look after Chance, our NY labrador friend who joined you last week and all our other friends who you've joined. I was so blessed to be your Mum. Until we meet again. xxx The first time I ever saw you... it was love at first sight you gorgeous goofball! And in your prime in July 2009 just before your tenth birthday:

Sheena I find the Equinade works really well - horsey type suppliers have it as well. Will be interested to hear how you get on.

Yes he was such a beautiful boy - that face... and yes they are the right way up! DOn't know how that happened...

And the last one in his Crows jumper...

People are very kind - a dear friend has just sent me three gorgeous photos she took of Mac when she was here back in July. I particularly like the one where he's curled up on the shopping bag next to my smelly shoes! But I love the one of him in his Crows jumper and drowning in a big pillow...

Just providing a DOL community service SM!!

The Orvis temper-pedic beds have dropped significantly in price - but you'd need to use a freight forwarding company - which one is best these days for price and service? Anyone know?

Not like this!!