Kelly_Louise

Ain't that the truth! It's such a relief when he gives me all the options, and gives us a plan of attack to follow. Kind of like taking the worrying out of your hands... giving us some kind of direction when we feel overwhelmed by this nasty disease. You have a Cushinoid chiquito? You sound like you've been on this journey too Aww thank you PuddleDuck... I have to admit, she's an extremely special dog. Not quite sure what I'll ever to without my best buddy one day... although I'll have the other (lovely) git to keep me on my toes The owners aren't special, just very dedicated to our beautiful old girl to see she gets all her chances... and she deserves them cause she's proven alot of people wrong on her almost 12 year journey and continues to do so. Thanks for all of your support guys - it really does mean alot.

I guess it's much easier to be upbeat when you've had good news, and she appears to be well. With this disease, I guess we can only concentrate on the good, and not worry about the 'what ifs' unless unexpected symptoms arise. It's easier too because I know that she will be re-tested in another month to ensure the new slightly lower dosage is okay for her. Due to having a few hiccups this year the 3 month re-testing makes me a bit nervous - so much can go wrong in that time... but it's best for Chloe not to have to have so many tests. I don't want her last few years being spent continually at the vet. Her specialist being overwhelmingly pleased, and her test results coming back - not just okay - but really good, is very encouraging. I think we need a reminder every now and then that we're on the right track, and then we all breathe a cautioned sigh of relief. Wouldn't wish this disease on anyone - or their families... Lucky I have such a big supportive base here, what would we do without you guys?

Will do gladly Loraine - thanks muchly for your reassurance and thoughts, perhaps it's not as dramatic as what I imagined, I may have even over-reacted (who ME? NEVER! ) - but at the end of the day it's better to be safe than sorry... and now I know that she's on the right track with her meds and *hopefully* we can breeze through the holiday season without a hiccup. For an old dog that has Cushings, pretty bad arthritis and steel rod enforced legs - and she STILL demands to go for no less than two walks a day - that's got to be a pretty good sign doesn't it? Few would pick her as an almost twelve year old dog (except when she's a bit stiff or overdone the exercise) - she really has done well. The upside of it is... at least her journey continues Doesn't get better than that right now.

FRODO WITH THE POT ON HIS HEAD Love it!!!

So, first up - the good news. Her levels from the ACTH stim test were quite good - a little lower than expected, but within normal range and she's under very good control. Still, her medication has been reduced (from 20mg twice a day to 15mg twice a day) just to ensure she doesn't drop into the danger zone. Specialist ran some other tests (which we weren't charged for ) which indicated that her liver, kidney, and red blood cell count were all great. Specialist was VERY happy with her, in fact, he said it's the best he's seen her since her diagnosis. So what could be the 'but' you ask? Well, there is nothing to explain her pale gums (other than a one off incident). He did however, during his examination of her say that her abdomen felt quite full. He said that if we see further symptoms like pale gums etc - she may have to go in for an ultrasound, as the full abdomen 'may' indicate a problem with her spleen (ie a tumour) that is having a small bleed - dropping her blood pressure and hence pale gums. Although, he did say if that WAS the case (and at this point he sees it unneccesary for the ultrasound providing she shows no more symptoms) it is only a small bleed as all her bloodworks indicate a good function. So, although it doesn't explain her pale gums etc (and her gums were very normal when he checked her, in fact were normal not long after I noticed they were pale) - I guess we can just assume all is good and it was a one off incident (ie an insect bite etc) unless we see further symptoms - which we will be monitoring very closely. Basically he summed up with - if we hadn't made him aware of the symptoms I saw - then he would have no reason to assume she was anything but healthy from all the signs he saw... however the 'but' is weighing heavily on my mind, and I pray we don't see any more pale gums or associated symptoms... My darling girl never ceases to amaze us... Go Chloe Go!

Me either... I'm on hold again for the specialist as I couldn't wait either The longer I wait the more my mind makes up 'possibilities'. He is still with a patient, but hopefully the verdict will be soon.

Just found another 2 of these two buddies - Kaitlyn and Sash. Think she loves kids much?

And here is one of Sash with her good friend Kaitlyn - who is the daughter of Sasha's trainer. Here they are just checking out the action together...

Here is a few photos of my nephew Jayden, and his good friend Sashy - Sash loves little kids, the added bonus is she is right at eye level and can steal food just before it goes in the mouth LOL.

Yes, I know this feeling all too well. From a belly scratch, to a skin inspection... from play to gum inspection... from just watching her be a dog, to monitoring how much she is drinking or peeing... My whole family find they do it now, by default. It's just the way it is now. :D Still, I guess with this disease it's better to be over-worried than ignore the symptoms or not monitor at all. My specialist has been good, I call him with every change we see - and he generally reassures me and has been very spot on with Chloe so far - which is pretty good seeing this disease is so unpredictable. Thank you for your thoughts, I am just waiting for the specialist to call back - he was doing his rounds this morning when I called. Hopefully will have some good news soon.

Ooops only now just saw the updated pics - he looks wonderful. Thank you so much for taking him in Mrs T - you have done a wonderful thing. Not only that, but people like you renew our faith in mankind. Best wishes to you and your family. What a lovely boy he looks - he must know how very lucky he is now. Puppy will now have a very merry Christmas without doubt. Please come back and give us further updates so we can follow this lovely pups progress - hopefully he gets an awesome home (if you let him go LOL - not sure if I could :D ).

What beautiful gentle eyes he has... I'm so glad someone has given him a second chance, pray that he recovers soon - and goes on to the best home a dog could ever ask for... nothing short of what he deserves after what he's been through. If it was a deliberate act, I can only hope the person feels the pains of hunger, and loneliness too. Perhaps once they've experienced the torture they might think twice about inflicting it on another living, feeling being. Best wishes to you bubba, may you go on to a happy life of food, warmth, love, security and belonging.

Sash doing her thing...

And another...

Sashy on her first go at 'agility' - she's a natural

God bless old dogs - Menace is a gorgeous old boy. His back end might be going - but he looks one happy dog. What a fantastic friend to have brought so much happiness into your life. I hope you have a few more years with him yet, and he gets all the cuddles and love any dog could ever ask for.

Thank you for your thoughts and support 4kelpies - they are much appreciated, and have strengthened my spirit! I'm sure the old girl will be fine - there's still too much of the cheeky devil in her eyes for it to be her time yet Thank goodness.

Thanks for your thoughts as always Loraine - I was also hoping for a bit of a calmer ride for a little while, moreso for Chloe's benefit, but it's just not to be. I try to be positive, but always find myself assuming the worst these days... the upside of that is that when she comes marching through another episode, I'm always pleasantly surprised. I feel that it may just be too much medication, but I've been proven wrong many times before with this unpredictable disease. Thank you for your ongoing support, I feel good that she is going into be tested so we know for sure what's going on... because not knowing is the worst part. HOpefully some good news either tonight or tomorrow :D PS. Thanks to Zed for his prayers too

Thanks Erny - I know you've been there too. It would be nice if she could just have a mild symptom and not have us panic it's something much worse. But we've learnt now that the smallest of changes means something much bigger and needs to be caught early. I guess that's where the worry and stress comes in. Worrying that we may miss something, worrying that we may be over-worrying and putting her through unwarranted testing and draining the bank account unneccesarily - it's such a fine line. But in saying that, when you've known your dog for 12 years like we have - you just know when something isn't right. It's just frightening because as I said, last week I was congratulating mum on the fantastic job she's done with her because she looked the picture of health and vitality. She still looks great - however two small things nagged on my mind and I knew something was amiss. I take plenty of quiet time with my girl to just enjoy every second we have with her... we had our own quiet time for a couple of hours yesterday, we just sat and talked. She gave cuddles and kisses. She's not ready to give up yet. Lucky she has a family that adore her... we've done everything in our power and knowledge so far to get her to be in such good condition (with all the setbacks) at almost 12 years old - so no matter what happens - I will always feel proud knowing we did everything we could for Chloe and she's had every chance. So many others are not that lucky. The specialist is always amazed at her condition... for an older dog that's been through the wars, she's come through better than anyone expected. Let's hope it continues. I feel at least less worried knowing she will see her specialist - and we will know for sure what is happening. He is a great man, I trust him and this whole experience would be so much more stressful if we hadn't found such a caring specialist who just seems to know Chloe. It's a relief handing her over to him (even though she doesn't like going).

Thank you Bokezu - means alot after you losing your dear boy... These diseases are so stressful. I'm lucky my girl is such a little trooper, and my family - although they don't fully understand the disease - are so supportive. We can only take one step at a time, so test first and then we know where to go from there.

Chloe goes in for an ACTH stim test tomorrow which should eliminate out a few things and hopefully point us in the right direction with her health. Fingers crossed it is just a medication dosage issue.

I'm worried about Chloe. Just last week I was saying how fantastic she looked – so well – full of energy etc… yesterday I noticed her gums were quite pale. After a couple of hours they seemed to return to normal, however it's a massive worry. I'm just waiting for the specialist to call me back now. I'm hoping that she is just receiving too much medication and on the verge of becoming Addisonian and perhaps will be taken off the meds for a while, however I'm worried it may be something worse… like kidney failure, or auto immune anaemia (not sure of the technical term) - even though just a few months ago her specialist said her kidney function was fine. The last time she became Addisonian, we didn't even really know – the symptoms just weren't obvious, so we need to be really careful with her now and look for the smallest of changes. She appears well otherwise, although her legs did seem a bit weaker than normal yesterday. But she was still energetic, hungry, and jumped all over me (which she very rarely does). She even insisted on going for 2 walks… I feel so worried. She's been such a trooper through all the tests, medications etc for Cushings disease. It's such a nasty disease, as is Addisons disease. I worry we are pushing her too hard, although I regularly just sit with her quietly to see if she is trying to tell me it's time for her to go… and she never appears to. And it's something that I deliberately look for to ensure I never miss it so she will suffer, no matter how much I don't want to see it. Anyway, guess it's just a vent. It's terrible not knowing what's going on, and means more testing. I just wish it was simpler, so we weren't always so worried about Chloe and she could just live happily for a while instead of being so up and down… I'm worried we will miss something and she will become worse...

Yesterday we found out another very special furry friend of ours - an old rescue GSD named Bonnie - had also been given her wings the same day as Diesel. I like to think that they made their journey to rainbow bridge together :rolleyes: What was already a sad day for us with the news of Diesel, was doubly so. RIP lovely Bonnie, take care of Diesel and run free with our many other furry friends that have made their way to the bridge. Maddie misses you very much, as do your human family and friends.

Sasha vomits promptly at about 5.15pm on any day where she hasn't eaten her breakfast for some reason. Took me a while to figure it out - but once it was suggested that her tummy was empty, we very rarely have this episode anymore. She only gets fed a small amount in the mornings, and a couple of Schmackos - but it's enough to stop her belly getting aggravated by being empty. We use Interceptor Spectrum chews too - never any ill affects here.

RIP beautiful girl. I'm sorry that humans let you down so badly, and you had to pay with your life. You deserved better. I pray you are happy and healthy again at Rainbow Bridge.