Thanks for asking about Zevon. He's really out of it because of his pain med patch, but we still have to watch him carefully because he refuses to recognize his limitations. He's suppose to be on 6 to 8 weeks of crate rest. It's very hard on him to not be able to follow us around the house, or run to the window to bark at anyone with the nerve to walk by. We still don't know if the steroid therapy has helped. We're having to use a support strap to allow him to walk because he can't put weight on his back legs and they splay out from under him. This morning I watched while my husband took him out to relieve himself, (the dog, not my husband!). I watched in horror while Zevon squatted to urinate as Bruce continued to support him with the strap. Of course, Z peed all over our new, expensive support strap! Nothing lasts long in this house!
He has refused food and hasn't eaten since Monday at 4:30pm. (except for a bit of dog biscuit which he held in his mouth for 30 seconds before deciding it was a good idea to chew and eat it). I'm thinking it's because of the fentanyl patch. I may remove it early and see if it helps.
Nina
Hideyo Yamamoto wrote:
Hi, Nina. How is Zevon?
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Nina Sent: Monday, March 07, 2005 10:43 PM To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org Subject: OT - We need your prayers
Hi Everyone,
Bruce and I just got back from the Vet. Our 8 year old German Shepherd Dog, Zevon has been having trouble with his back legs for the last couple of months. I guess I've been in denial and have been giving him stuff for arthritis etc. The vet (not his regular ortho surgeon, he's out of town at conferences), suspects either a disc problem or something
called, Degenerative Myelopathy, (a degenerative neurologic disease), something GSDs are prone to apparently. He had to stay at the vet overnight to treat him intravenously with steroids to see if whatever is
causing his paralysis lessens. The ER vet said that there is a chance that the steroid therapy alone could help him regain the full use of his
legs, (let's hope so, tonight's therapy is costing over $1100 bucks and we haven't even started diagnostic work yet). If this doesn't help him,
Bruce and I have a tough decision to make. About 4 years ago, Zevon took a leap off a very high cliff in Santa Barbara trying to get to the surf below. He sustained severe sprains on both his front legs and we were told by three vets to have him PTS before we found a surgeon that took on his case and saved his life. Zevon is a highly energetic dog that never lets pain get in his way of having a good time. The operations and months of recooperative down-stays were extremely hard on
him. He is also vulnerable to reinjury of his front legs and now with his back legs in jeopardy, not to mention the fact that he's no longer a
young dog, make his prognosis for a quality life in a wheel chair very poor. Please include him in your prayers. Please pray that tonight's treatment brings us a miracle of at least temporary recovery. He's so important to our household, we all love him so much, dogs, cats and humans alike. He's such a sweet soul, I don't know how we'd get along without him.
Thanks for caring, Nina
