A shocking week the reason behind my absence

[Mandybstorm]

hi everyone, sorry if I haven't responded to anyone's posts this week but had a nightmare going on at home.

My 6 year old Labrador was taken ill very suddenly on Sunday night. We needed the emergency vet and I did think that we may lose her.

To cut a very long story short it appears that she had developed mastitis which quickly started to turn into a type of septicaemia making her very ill. It happened within a matter of hours and was very scary to watch. She has needed constant nursing in the following days but now appears to be recovering.

This is quite rare in a dog that has not had puppies I believe and the cause is thought to of been a false pregnancy.

She has been taking a large number of different drugs which have left her totally spaced out. We did think that we wouldn't be able to make it down on the 19th after all!

She is back at the vets on Monday morning for test results (to make sure there are no underlying cancers).  She seems a fair bit brighter today so we are hoping she will be well enough to cope with a week on a boat. Feel totally wiped out physically and emotionally!

 

I'm sure the other dog owners out there will appreciate what a scare we have had. She is such a special girl and I can't believe we came so close to losing her without warning. Anyway fingers crossed for good results on Monday and I will try to respond to any posts and personal messages over the next few days.

xx

[MauriceMynah]

I know Labs aren't the longest lived of breeds but I'm sure she has a good few years left in her yet. I lost my dog (patterdale) last year, (he was 16) so I know what a gut wrenching time it is for you.

Please keep us posted,

[Janice]

Hope all goes well for you on Monday.

Jan

[diesel falcon]

we have a thirteen year old lab, she,s got lumps and bumps all over and limps like an old lady through arthuritus(i know) but she,s the happiest  rolling around having her tummy rubbed ,so your wipper snapper 6 year old has a long to go!!

hope the news on monday is good

[SueH]

My heart goes out to you.

 

Dogs become so much part of the family that it is soul destroying when you lose them, particularly if they are not very old.

 

There are 5 labs in our street and they are all different characters and love nothing else in trying to mob Rosie!

 

Hope all goes well and that it is good news.

 

SueH

[loribear]

hi mandy , my heart goes out to you, i lost our cat last year , she was 19, a pixie bobcat & she had a heart murmur & hyperthyroidism & then she kept having seizures , so we thought it was time to put her down, it was the hardest ive ever had to do, dogs or cats when you've had them awhile become part of your family, they're like a miniature human being, & have the same feelings as us too, i'm sure your dog has many more years to live, i'll have my fingers crossed for you on monday. lori

[donnygeoff]

Hi Mandy...

 

I hope all goes well and that "your special girl" has a full recovery...

 

Give her the holiday to remember....

 

Treat it as her last...(I have treated my girl..(lady) to her last holiday for the last 5 years)

 

They don't give up when loved....

 

[650xs]

love me dogs too so my thorghts are with you too

give them all a pat they don't ask for much in return ..........

[Oddfellow]

Such a scary thing, especially when they can't tell you where it hurts, and so close to your holiday too.

 

Chin up - it'll all come good,

[Mandybstorm]

cheers :dance

All went well at the vets today. He said she is making good progress. Nothing bad showed up on the tests other than a yeast infection and a very nasty bacteria that I have now totally forgotten the name of!

She has been given another 10 days worth of medication (antibiotics) with instructions to go back for another check up as soon as we get home from the broads. We have been advised to have her spayed once she has fully recovered. A slight blow as I would of loved to have a pup from her but her health is way more important.

 

Counting down the days now until we are on the boat and I can RELAX!!!

[MauriceMynah]

I can almost hear the cheering from here. Great news. Now try to relax a bit in practice for your holiday.

[SueH]

Great news.

 

We had to have Rosie spayed as part of the deal with the breeder when we got her.  Not a cheap exercise, but worth it in the long term for her health.

 

SueH

[littlesprite]

That's really good news,

There's always times when Sprite drives me up the wall but what would I do without him.

[diesel falcon]

Top dog!! re spayed labs, bitches can have problems with bladder control in later life, as ours has now , but has only come on in the last 6 months but   she,s 13  but worth consideration, a popular saying is let them have one litter then have it done, at 6 years though she,s a little old , give her a while to recover before the opp, if thinking about having it done read this first, all the best,

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Dogs/Incontinence-in-female-Labrador/show/971027

[Boaters]

Great news,lets hope she has many years left to enjoy the Broads and you.We lost our dog at 16 and our sons English Bull Terrier at 16 also who spent much time with us (She was our Avatar )

We have two tortoises which we have had one Tommy for over forty years who is about. 80 and Binky his girl friend who is maybe older who came to us about ten years ago .Tommy managed to get her pregnant somehow ,as we thought he would be boast all that ! But the eggs did not survive despite the efforts of the Reptile center .They say a dog is for life ,but a Tortoise is for life and more it seems ,looks like we shall have to include them in a will unless there are any takers !?!,LOL

[Labrador]

Do have her spayed, We had a lab who had phantom pregnancies and had mastitis a couple of times.

She was diagnosed diabetic at the age of twelve, which the vet reckoned her not having had pups all that time and not being spayed could have contributed to it. She eventually went blind as a result of being diabetic, but still survived four more years.