Lemonlime

Thinking of you and your little girl. As you know I just lot my boy to a rare form of IMHA. He didnt make any improvement at his time in hospital but its good to hear that Zoe is fighting as hard as she can. Which state are you in?

Thankyou everyone for your thoughts and kind words.

Fellow was given his wings tonight. Its the hardest decision I have ever had to make in my life. After calling the vet at 12pm to get an update before I headed to bed, she told me that he was getting worse. His PCV was at 22 but he was extremely unwell and very depressed. She was worried that he may take a turn for the worse over night and was worried about blood clots in the lungs and brain. After thinking very hard on it, we decided to put him to rest while he wasnt in any pain. We didnt want to risk him developing clots or further complications and dying in pain, he didnt deserve that. The vet felt that putting Fellow to sleep was the best thing for his case as it was so severe they held no hope for him. Even if by some miracle he would have survived, his quality of life would not have been good and he would have been medicated for the rest of his life. The medication takes its toll on the body and they said he may relapse or develop further problems. He is getting cremated tomorrow and will live on my bedside table in our bedroom where he slept every night. Goodbye baby boy

They have said that he may fight it and live healthy for another 10 years, but the most likely senario is that he will need to be on medication, either for months or years, they dont have answers. I feel physically sick thinking that I may have to PTS, the house is so different without him already. It is a bastard of a decision to make. In one sense my decision was easier as my boy had been ill for some time before he 'crashed'. I remember walking in to see him and just knowing. I could see in his eyes that he was tired and I knew I could not put him through more.

He is a Border Collie, 4 years old, never been to the vet in his life for anything other than a dental check up. He doesnt get annual vaccinations. I have however noticed in the past that he tires very easily (swimming, chasing balls), compared to our other dogs. I have no idea if this is at all related to this disease, but its something ive always said about him. The vet said his body is fighting as hard as it can, but the disease just keeps fighting back at him and destroying cells as fast as he makes them and he wont improve until the Atopica kicks in, that is IF his body responds to it. I could tell by the vets face tonight that she doesnt hold much hope for him.

Thankyou for being so honest. I understand you have been through this too. I just dont know what to do, 2 days ago be was my happy boofy boy, and now he is so incredibly ill. Im in two minds. I feel that I havent given him enough of a chance to fight this, but then I wonder if I am fighting a losing battle and putting him through hell so that I can keep him around for myself. :D :D This happened with our boy. I hope like crazy your boy pulls through, but one lesson I learned from my experience was that we should have more seriously considered the possibility that our boy would die, and how we would like him to go. The vets dropped hints I realise in retrospect (eg "he's a very sick boy") but we didn't realise that was code for "there is a more than even chance your dog will die" He went at 4am, away from us in an emergency overnight clinic. Not what I ever would have wanted. If I were faced with the same situation again with this disease, I would probably either ask for him to be PTS once his PCV hit 15 or take him home with us to pass. I struggled a bit about whether to post this as I don't want to be a downer at this difficult time. However, it's something I would discuss with your OH. Would your vet allow you to come in overnight if he became critical and needed to be PTS (or take him home with you overnight so that you can be with him?) I have heard of dogs with PCVs of 5 surviving so there is definitely hope. It's times like this you wish for that magical book that would tell you exactly what to do Hang in there.

Hi everyone, I went to see him again today, he slept the whole time. His heart rate isnt very strong it seemed and it looked like he was skipping beats. The vet had a talk today and said he doesnt have a good survival rate. Textbook is 50/50 but because blood is still present in his urine, he has a lower chance of survival. I can see what they are trying to get at...I just dont know what to do and dont want to admit it to myself. Yesterday they were so hopeful but its a bastard of a disease. They said that he will eventually need a blood transfusion, he was down to 22 when I saw him last. They dont have a crystal ball. They said he may beat the odds against him and make a full recovery, or he may not make it. They said that they have the equipment and drugs to keep him alive but it all depends how deep our pockets are and if and how he responds to the Atopica drug which can take up to 2 weeks to kick in with no guarantees. The problem is the waiting...do I wait for the Atopica to start working and put him through hell in the mean time, or do I lay him to rest now. I have just paid $500 for 3 boxes of Atopica and I feel I owe him the chance to try, but on the other hand, it is destroying me seeing him like this, he has such pain in his eyes. I really wish someone would tell me what to do. I dont want to give up on my baby boy but I dont want to put him through unnecessary pain with no guarantee of the outcome. If he was an elderly dog I would let him go, but he is only 4 and a VERY special dog to me. He comes everywhere with me, everyone loves him, he is absolutely amazing and I couldnt imagine life without him here.

Just a quick update. Two PCV tests later and he is now down to 23. Fellow has AIHA which is a regenerative form, which is a lot rarer than the non regenerative form. This means his red blood cells are being destroyed at a rapid rate, and even though his body is producing lots of new cells, he is losing them just as quickly. The vet said he is still responding to drugs and his PCV levels havent dropped dramatically yet. We are desperately trying to avoid a blood transfusion as they are worried his body will reject the new blood.

Peacefrog, fingers crossed for your girl!!!!!!!! I have been to see my boy and he looks like crap but he IS responding to the drugs. He is on 3 different drugs, very strong. The vet wants to hit his immune system hard and shock his body into producing red cells, it is his only hope. Basic IMHA drugs alone wont save him, he is extremely anemic. She said his body is fighting and creating new red blood cells like crazy, we are trying to flush his kidney to prevent a kidney infection he cant fight because he is still urinating a lot of blood. But then you run the risk of the IV fluids thinning the blood. So far so good. His PCV levels are still at 30. This is gut wrenching

I last heard from the vet at 1pm, his blood count had only dropped 1 to 30. He is apparently a little trooper like I knew he would be but obviously not feeling well. He is still urinating large amounts of blood. I will go to visit him at 5pm and speak to the vet. I dont think I will move him to the specialist unless the vet feels it is a must, while he is stable and comfy where he is, I dont want to upset him more. Thankyou for your well wishes, I need them!!!!!!!!!

Thankyou everyone for your kind words. Danois I have joined that group, they are a wonderful bunch of people! He ate last night and was stable, his blood count dropped to 31, which could be worse. He has started on cortisone and atopica, we went straight for aggressive treatment since we were so lucky we caught it early, the disadvantage is his form on IMHA is in his blood stream and it is very aggressive. We have the option of keeping him where he is and continuing fighting with drugs, or I can be referred to the specialist who can do a host of tests to find out the cause of this and where to go from here. I dont know what to do, im so scared I will make the wrong choice. Please keep my boy in your thoughts :D

My dog was rushed to the emergency vet tonight and has been diagnosed with "Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia" (IMHA) (to be confirmed by a lab tomorrow but vet is certain) To say I am crushed is an understatement. We have been told that he has a very aggressive form but the good news is we caught it early. His blood count is at 33 tonight and they are monitoring him over night. He was fine yesterday and depressed and urinating blood tonight, Im in total shock. He is my heart dog. The vet mentioned starting chemo. Does anyone who has been through this have any advice or experiences to share? (I am of course listening to my vet) but I want to hear from people who have been through this.

Toyota Corolla...mine is a 2007 and its amazing what it fits in. I can easily set up 2 medium crates in with the seats folded down. I previously had a station wagon but I definately dont miss it! The Corollas are very roomy.

Advance

Argh my partner threw the packet out. The logo "Sentinent" is the same font as "Sentinal" and the little logo above it is very familiar, pretty sure ive seen it on a worming packet before. If you get to Coles, it is in silver packaging with Dalmations on it.

Picked up a small bag of Sentinent Dry Food at Coles yesterday. Has anyone heard of this? Ingredients looked ok for a supermarket food ($13 for 3kg). Pretty positive it is made by the company that makes the Sentinal wormers, the logo is oddly familiar ETA link: http://www.yoghurtplus.com.au/

is there any brands you could recommend, or ones that should be avoided Only use DOG toothpaste. It doesnt foam like human toothpaste and doesnt need to be rinsed.

A client of mines little dog was affected by this, she now has kidney disease.

Yeah come on Amanda, spill the beans!! I absolutely love Polly, send her my way P.S I think your keeping Lacey

Are you keeping any Amanda? Who gets Miss Polly? She is deeeeeevine

I told you NO you tube!!

Im looking to purchase a digital camcorder and not really sure what sort of video quality I would get between the different brands. Mum has a JVC Everio ($400ish) and im happy with the quality it produces. I dont want to spend more than $500 and have seen some ok looking Canons and Panasonics but was hoping some of you who have mid priced digi camcorders could show me video examples or fill me in

They are gorgeous Amanda. Was talking to a BC owner down at dog club the other week (a friend of yours I gather), we got to talking and how much she loved Polly Pocket, small world!

Its exclusive to Big W, full of cereal, smells like cardboard

How awful! Is this puppy from a registered breeder (as Dancinbcs asked)? If so, have you contacted them to let them know what they are producing in the way of hips?