Smoke request for a faithful friend

Prayers from AZ. We lost our cat last year and it was really hard. I cried, and so did Karen, for a long time. It seemed that when we finally got a new kitten that the pain eased and now we can more easily talk about Sheba. I dread the day I have to go through this again. Be there with Buddy to the end. Take care!!
 
I got some good news, some bad. Buddy's liver levels were so high that they had to dilute the serum to get a reading. But the vet thinks that he'll recover if we take him off of the Rimadyl.

The doc is suggesting going to Adequan, an injectible non-steroid something or other. The initial treatment is a shot every four days for a total of seven treatments, then a shot as needed. It is supposed to work real well.

The only road bump to this is the cost. It'll cost anywhere between $100-150 a shot (low end from PetMeds, high end from my vet). I'm not sure how I'm going to fund this. I might just get a signature loan to cover the initial series and see how he does. By then I should be out of school for the summer and working full-time.

The good news is that Buddy doesn't have to be put down and should recover. He seemed a little better this morning.. ate the tbls of food perscribed by the vet. I'm hoping his stomach settled down too.

Thank you all for your support last night and today. I thought I was about to live my worse nightmare.

I'll keep you all posted on how this works out.
 
Good news, and glad to hear, Alan.

Maybe Buddy ate something poisonous? That might affect the liver... Some clean-dog smelling incense up later.


Mike
 
Sorry that I missed this earlier...but I always include our special friends in my Smoke and Song.
 
More good news... I think I totally screwed up the medicine costs. I suck at metric conversions and I had some bad information to work off of too. I *think* the actual costs will be closer to $20 a shot vs. the $100-150 I originally figured. Much easier to live with.

I could be wrong again, but I think it is closer than my original figure. Buddy is still getting better... he was out in the yard barking at a car a few minutes ago and is curled up sleeping on my air mattress now. He has a lot of sleep to catch up on.

I want to thank everyone again for the smoke/prayers. Buddy is proof that they do indeed work (I always knew that anyway). AND it is just more proof that the Cantina is still the best place on the Internet.
 
Great news! Best wishes for his continued recovery, $20 a shot isn't bad to keep an old friend happy and healthy.
 
Great news, man. I know what a soft heart you have for our furry friends. I'm glad you get to spend more time with this one.

John
 
good thoughts for you, the doggy, and cheap meds :)

bladite
 
Got here late... glad to see Buddy has perked up. :thumbup: Keep the faith! I know it will happen one day but don't beat yourself up when the final decision has to be made. I've held my share of buddies when the final bell tolled... always felt it was the last thing I could do for my pet. Then the tears flow and you can't seem to turn them off. You'll get through it with a little help from your friends (2-legged & 4-legged).
 
I saw a quote the other day (could have been a bumpersticker)... "Lord make me the kind of person my dog thinks I am..." :).

It kind of says it all about our canine companions.

Buddy is continuing to get better. He's almost back on a regular diet and hasn't vomited in 36 hours. He's starting to get really stiff and sore as the Rimadyl gets out of his system, but that was expected. At least it appears his liver is bouncing back slowly but surely.

A.
 
i had a doggie with arthritis who was on metacam, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory for years without side effects, tho some dogs do have them or find it is not effective, sounds safer that rimadyl, which either works, or it as you have seen , can severely injure a dog. worth mentioning to your vet.
 
kronckew,

I did give metacam a try last year for a month. It didn't seem to work for Buddy and just getting him to take it was a battle each day. But from what I've read on the animal health boards, metacam has similar affects on the liver/kidneys as rimadyl. You have to watch the liver functions closely. Deramaxx is another one commonly used, but it tears up the stomach. I'm looking forward to giving the Adequan a shot.

On another note, Buddy did have a relapse of vomiting last night. I think it was my fault though... I gave him a Benadryl wrapped up in a slice of American cheese. He really can't handle fatty/oily food at the moment. His liver is too stressed. That cheese, coupled with the type of canned food I'd been giving him (just enough to make his dry food moist) pushed him off the edge again. So he's back on a bland diet for a day, then slowly working back to a normal diet... this time with a healthier canned food mix.

A.
 
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