(no subject)
Family went to the beach this week, in the Outer Banks, off the coast of North Carolina. My family's gone there since my mom was a baby, and lots have settled there permanently, too, so that was fun. Also, my aunt and uncle from Memphis came, as well as my cousin, her husband, and their two kids (9 wks and 2). It was so much fun! It was also handy to have them, as my cousin is a vet. See, here's what happened:
We have an 11-year-old Bassett Hound. Bassetts usually live 10-12 years, so 11 is definently old. And she acts old. She's achy and slow, plus there's been this ear infection that we haven't quite been able to kick. So arriving at the beach, Mariah was slow (as usual) and having some trouble hearing. No big. That was Sunday. By Monday, she was completely blind and deaf. My cousin suspected that she had blood in her eyes, but had no clue what was causing it. On Tuesday, we went to the vet, where Mariah was diagnosed with Lymphoma. We were repeatedly told that Lymphoma is the cancer most responsive to chemo-therapy, but, when pressed, the tellers also admitted that even with it, she would only live about a year more. Furthermore, my cousin filled in how wickedly expensive it is. We took her to an eye specialist, as well, who comfirmed the blood-in-the-eyes theory and tied it to the Lymphona. We took her back to the house, where she collapsed and slept the rest of the day.
By Wednesday night, her inner eyelids had swollen to the point where we could no longer ever see her eyes and she refused to eat her regular food (which has never happened with this dog). On Thursday, we got some leftover ham into her, but mostly we were terrified that she wouldn't make it home to her Monday vet appointment. She pulled through, however, and is home. She still won't eat her food, and only some of other foods she's fed, and she's occaisionally sick to her stomach, but we can see her eyes again, and she still uses her nose and follows scents and responds to anyone who nears or touches her. Additionally, we met a couple on the beach who had four dogs (including a bassett),and they told us that they had had a dog who developed cancer, and when they couldn't afford the typical treatments, they tried holistic things, like accupuncture, instead. The dog lived another year and, from their accounts, was happy throughout it. So we're giving that some thought, too.
The bottom line is that we're not giving up on this dog.
Despite all of the drama and fear, it was a good vacation, but I'm glad we're back. I've got to go live in Adam's house now.
We have an 11-year-old Bassett Hound. Bassetts usually live 10-12 years, so 11 is definently old. And she acts old. She's achy and slow, plus there's been this ear infection that we haven't quite been able to kick. So arriving at the beach, Mariah was slow (as usual) and having some trouble hearing. No big. That was Sunday. By Monday, she was completely blind and deaf. My cousin suspected that she had blood in her eyes, but had no clue what was causing it. On Tuesday, we went to the vet, where Mariah was diagnosed with Lymphoma. We were repeatedly told that Lymphoma is the cancer most responsive to chemo-therapy, but, when pressed, the tellers also admitted that even with it, she would only live about a year more. Furthermore, my cousin filled in how wickedly expensive it is. We took her to an eye specialist, as well, who comfirmed the blood-in-the-eyes theory and tied it to the Lymphona. We took her back to the house, where she collapsed and slept the rest of the day.
By Wednesday night, her inner eyelids had swollen to the point where we could no longer ever see her eyes and she refused to eat her regular food (which has never happened with this dog). On Thursday, we got some leftover ham into her, but mostly we were terrified that she wouldn't make it home to her Monday vet appointment. She pulled through, however, and is home. She still won't eat her food, and only some of other foods she's fed, and she's occaisionally sick to her stomach, but we can see her eyes again, and she still uses her nose and follows scents and responds to anyone who nears or touches her. Additionally, we met a couple on the beach who had four dogs (including a bassett),and they told us that they had had a dog who developed cancer, and when they couldn't afford the typical treatments, they tried holistic things, like accupuncture, instead. The dog lived another year and, from their accounts, was happy throughout it. So we're giving that some thought, too.
The bottom line is that we're not giving up on this dog.
Despite all of the drama and fear, it was a good vacation, but I'm glad we're back. I've got to go live in Adam's house now.