Bonniebank

Hi Caninecoach, How are you and your husband coping? So sorry I was tired last night and misunderstood. I thought you were referring to gastric torsion. (Probably the nice bottle of red didn't help either!) I have a lot of info in my old text books. I'm retired now so I don't know how up to date they would be. Most of it is on portosystemic shunt (PSS). It can be hereditary or acquired but is more likely hereditary in a young pup, as acquired PSS is usually the result of progressive liver disease. Dogs suffering from cirrhosis, hepatitis or congestive heart failure can have increased pressure inside their livers. The extrahepatic shunt is outside the liver and the intrahepatic shunt is inside the liver. Typically, smaller dogs have extrahepatic shunts and larger dogs have intrahepatic shunts, (hence samadii's girl had an intrahepatic shunt). My books state breed predilections as Miniature Schnauzers and Yorkies. So far I can't find anything on PSS that specifically mentions Shelties but I'll keep looking for you. I'll also email a close friend of mine who has bred and exhibited Shelties for over 40 years to ask her if she has known of any cases. Have you spoken to Loch's breeder and/or the owner of his sire? If not, maybe best to wait until you know for sure. I think you are very brave to have an autopsy done on poor Loch. Not only will it give you closure but I thank Loch on behalf of all Shelties. If it is indeed congenital in Shelties, then knowing about it and increasing awareness in breeding programs, may save other puppies (and their owners) from going through what you are going through. If it saves one other puppie's life, then little Loch has left a legacy. When you get some answers I'll be happy to photocopy whatever I have and send it to you if it will help you get through. It's the not knowing or understanding that makes it even harder to grieve. Take care, Sam :D

For sweet Annie Please welcome our little mates who have arrived at the Bridge recently. I think there must have been a conspiracy amongst our Shelties recently. They must have made a pact to go together. Hesapandabear Laddie Braveheart is going to be very busy with his little gang of Shelties! oh...and Roo.and Keera..honorary Shelties just for this journey to the Bridge.

Oh God, why baby Loch????? That's not fair to take a life before it's hardly begun. So my Sheltie Pepper and baby Loch will be escorted around the bridge by Hesapandabear Laddie Braveheart. I know they'll be welcomed into the Clan. I have a feeling that Roo will join them too, pretending to be a Sheltie.

Hi caninecoach. On my way to bed but I will see what I have on liver shunt and post for you. I have had Shelties for many years and have never (nor have I known of) one of them with this problem. Gastric torsion due to bloat is prevalent in deep chested breeds but I haven't known of Shelties to have this. Will get back to you if I can find out anything. Sam

Keep holding on Jodie. We're all still with you. ;)

If only we knew what they were thinking. ;) It must be very sad for a dog to lose it's mate and be left alone (without a dog I mean). I keep trying to talk to my other dogs about Pepper going but I'm sure (as I have so many here) they are probably saying "oh no. We are so sad. I bags her bed and her toys and her share of food!" p.s. I don't mean any disrespect by this post. Just trying to see a lighter side of things for me.

Thank you AkitaSam. I brought her ashes home today so I feel that part of her has come back to me. I'm involved in a few other threads on here that I feel passionately about and I'm finding that trying to help other dogs is also helping me. I hope you aren't doing too badly. Cheers, Sam

I'm so sorry for your sadness Rozzie. What a wonderful last chance you gave the old bloke. Run free little Keera. You can now see again!

OMG KP! Did you lose 3 animals yesterday???? I can't begin to understand how you must be feeling! If Ted had parvo, you must be very careful about your premises. Do you still have other dogs? Silly to wish you a "happy" birthday but I'm just hoping you get through it ok.

Oh gosh. What memories in those photos! What a handsome chap! Thank you for sharing him with us. God speed Sammy from the Bonniebank gang.

Hope no one minds me sticking my waistcoat in here. After all, I am an expert on Collies! (I've had one ever since,... ooh,....'bout 2 months ago). No seriously, I've had Shelties for many years and I think the grooming is similar. You just have to bend down a bit further if you don't have a grooming table! I think you have to take into account the lifestyle for each individual. i.e. whether the dog is a showdog or not, whether it is an indoor or outdoor dog and the dog's everyday activities. I give mine a thorough brush/comb every evening to remove shedding hair, dirt, mud, burrs etc before coming inside. They can get pretty grubby running through the bush, swimming etc during the day. We also get ticks here all year round so it also gives me a chance to go over them all. I'm not sure what's involved in grooming the showdog but probably a lot more than I have to do with mine. If the dog lives in a neat and tidy garden and is walked where there are no burrs, mud etc, then it would probably require less grooming than my dogs would. When I groom I use different brushes depending on where I'm brushing and what I'm brushing out. The pound told me that my boy had been clipped off when he came in but his coat is growing back beautifully! BTW Erin, are you thinking of getting a Collie? If so, would you consider a rescue? There are a few around at the moment. cheers, Sam

Sezy I can't find greenpet.com.au. I tried google and it just gave me a site about pet litter. Can you help me with a link? I would love to try to communicate with Pepper if I can.

Can't believe you said that Sezy! Coco sleeps on my head, snores and purrs. I've been having migraines and her soft drone in my ear (albeit while draped across my head) has helped me to relax! ;)

I have a feeling they "use" him as a soft place to sleep! ;)

Coco the Burmese was surrendered to my vet. Not sure if she thinks she's a dog or Clancy thinks he's a cat.

Thank you Sezy ;) Just look at her! She's obviously a "tickle tummy" cat! I know this is DOGZonline but my cats think they ARE dogs! (or is it the other way round???)

Thank you so much Perry's Mum and Jodie. I'd like that Jodie. Did a few silly things today. I was feeding the dogs and dished out Pepper's dinner too. ;) You'd have thought the fact that her name is engraved on her bowl might have stopped me. I just wasn't thinking. Then I was cleaning off all her special instructions I had on a white board for my OH in case I got hit by a bus or something. They were her feeding and medications instructions etc. I was cleaning them off with metho and drinking a bottle of mineral water at the same time. Yep, you guessed it, I picked up the bottle of metho instead of the water and took a swig!!! Thankfully I didn't swallow and spat it out everywhere! It took several mouth washes to remove the taste from my mouth. That'll teach me to keep my mind on what I'm doing. During the afternoon I'd driven all the dogs to the dog park. Some locals asked after Pepper and I drove home crying and nearly had an accident. I'm going to try to keep my mind on the driving as it would be terrible if my others got hurt in an accident. Hopefully, I'll be picking up her ashes this week and bringing her home. I'll feel much better once I have her back home with us. I don't know what I'd do if it wasn't for the other dogs and my cats. I don't know about you but I find that getting involved in other threads helps to distract me a bit and apart from that, others here need help, not just me. Oh well, here we go. Bed time and the time I hate laying there awake. I think I'll sleep better when she comes home. I have her collar in bed with me (their "jewellery" I always tell them). Thank you again everyone. Sam

Thank you Jacq and ReXy, It sounds as though Pepper's social calender will be a busy one! Sam

I’m not much help to you Jodie. My thread is the previous one about my Pepper girl. I went to bed tonight but couldn’t sleep thinking about her so got up and checked the bridge forum to see if someone else was going through the same thing. I fed all the others tonight and then wondered why I had a bowl of food left over. Be brave for Roo. I’ll be thinking of you. It’s bloody awful isn’t it and just not fair.

Thank you My Sibe, You are very kind. I'd gone to bed, couldn't sleep thinking about whether I'd done the right thing, came on here and found this. I'm very grateful.

Oh Jacqui, Bless you for what you did for her. Sorry I'm so late into this thread. Her bright little eyes like currants would melt any heart. Thinking of you. Sam

R.I.P. Lucky. What a beautiful boy. My Garfield and Annie-Anne will show you to the cat section of the bridge but would you please remind them to pop over to the dog section and welcome Pepper? She's just arrived. Warn Pepper first though, as she's had a few wacks on the nose from Garfield in the past. Take care Wagsalot. He would have been lucky to be a member of your family I'm sure.

I'm so grateful to you guys for understanding. Thank you so much. I don't have family and my in-laws don't like animals so I'm stuck with you lot! Just kidding about the "stuck with you" part. Nowhere else I'd rather be at this time than with those who've been here too. and thank you Hesapandabear for Laddie Braveheart. His introduction is beside my bed to read each night. I hope Sandy will look out for her. I can't stand the thought of her being alone.

Shelmanna Night Sky ("Pepper") Bye my "smiley" girl I miss you so much alraedy After nearly 16 years that you've given me, it was the least I could do for you I hope it was the "right" time Please forgive me if I left it too long

Woohoo!!! Go Kavic! :p and we wanna hear about your qually! PM me after the trial. Where is it on?