A community for special dogs... and their families and caregivers

All Blog Posts (15)

need info.,new member, dog hasn't been dx yet, how to do it, what symptoms, Tx?

Hi my name is Devon. My 15 yr.old standard female poodle's name is Samantha. Sam has these symptoms that have been progressing starting in January of 2009. (except for her constant swallowing which she has had for nearly a year before her breathing problem started). Four vets have not been able to tell me what the problem is. The vets want to sedate her and look into her esophagus. I feel at her age with her temperment it is not a good idea. Sam becomes EXTREMELY nervous and begons to pant at th… Continue

Added by Devon Gizelbach on August 22, 2009 at 6:48pm — 5 Comments

Don't give up.

(Cross-posted to the ME dogs Yahoogroup list) This is a note for any of our newly diagnosed folks who may be wondering if your dog can have quality of life with ME. I don’t want to call anyone out by name – I think many of us have had these doubts and questions. I can only share abou… Continue

Added by Lara Kretler on June 14, 2009 at 11:17am — 2 Comments

Jack's back home again :)

This amazing dog of ours has done it again - somehow beaten the odds and fought his way back from death's door. The rollercoaster of ME has been harder on us than him I think! He handles everything so well. He hated the nasal oxygen tube and was so glad to get it out. He's now res… Continue

Added by Lara Kretler on May 30, 2009 at 7:45am — 2 Comments

Jack is critical.

(This is a note I posted to the ME yahoogroups list - I am just too weary to type another update from scratch. Sorry for the repeat!) Jack the triple-whammy dog recovered like a champ from his thymoma surgery and over the past two weeks has gotten healthier and stronger every day. No MG symptoms (still on the Mestinon though), a few MG symptoms at night but wearing a Pro-Collar helped with that, and he was doing *great* - we were thrilled and so grateful! He's been wanting to go on longer and l… Continue

Added by Lara Kretler on May 28, 2009 at 7:30am — No Comments

One Week Since Jack's Thymoma Surgery: Success!

Jack had his thymectomy (thymoma removal surgery) at OSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital on 5/13/09 and by one week after surgery he was almost back to his normal healthy self! He has been eating like a pig, sleeping lots and going for walks morning and night (short walks at first, but… Continue

Added by Lara Kretler on May 22, 2009 at 8:52pm — No Comments

Three days post-surgery

Last Wednesday (5/6/09), Jack was admitted to OSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital for a full day of testing and observation. He was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis (MG) and it was found that both that and his megaesophagus (ME) were caused by the presence of a thymoma - cancerous tumor… Continue

Added by Lara Kretler on May 16, 2009 at 11:00am — 3 Comments

New Schedule

It has been nearly a year since Dakota's diagnosis and I hate to say it, but I am surprised he is still with us. He continues to be pretty stable with only a few bouts of AP over the Winter. In January we decided to try chiropracty. We went once a week for about 8 weeks and Dakota's overall happiness and health certainly improved. He has more energy and is more active than he has been in months. We were hoping that the spinal manipulation would help dislodge something and his esophagus might ge… Continue

Added by Kolene on May 14, 2009 at 4:02pm — 1 Comment

The Triple Whammy: Jack's new diagnosis

Jack spent the day (and my husband Eric and I spent half the day) at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Thanks to the great vets there, we now have a definitive diagnosis for Jack - some real answers and hopefully solutions. Unfortun… Continue

Added by Lara Kretler on May 6, 2009 at 8:30pm — 1 Comment

Remission... and Relapse

My dog Jack definitely has megaesophagus - as diagnosed by our vet and multiple x-rays - but for about three months he had no symptoms and could eat and drink like a normal dog! We don't know how or why this "remission" happened. I was afraid to post about it here because I didn't wa… Continue

Added by Lara Kretler on May 4, 2009 at 2:00pm — 2 Comments

Walking for a Cure

My Meggie is a lymphoma survivor a well as a megaesophagus survivor. Here's her success story and our attempt to fight back: SPECIAL SURVIVOR TO PARTICIPATE IN STOKES CO. RELAY FOR LIFE Meggie Olivia Taylor is a cancer survivor who has beaten the odds. Diagnosed with t-cell lymphoma on Jan. 31, 2008 and given 6 to 8 months to live, the 10-year-old will participate in the May 15 Relay for Life in Stokes County, NC. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, Relay for Life is an annual 24-hour wa… Continue

Added by Cindy Taylor on April 22, 2009 at 8:47pm — 2 Comments

january

our new year's resolution has been to spend as much time together enjoying ourselves. we have been going strong here since the dx in sept with cass, only getting better. but we now have AP and, though she is not "sickly" , she is gacking up several times a day and does not sleep well at night. so we are on an adjusted schedule around here :0) we have hauled out the humidifier and converted all of the "good" towels to dog towels, and i now have a 2 a.m. reservation every morning ( the witching, e… Continue

Added by Dawn (and Tim, the Dogfather) on January 26, 2009 at 11:24am — 1 Comment

Hitting a Home Run for Draco - "Kiss it Goodbye"

We're hoping this little Shar Pei pupster boy will soon be able to ditch his hospital gown. Draco's megaesophagus was logically worsened by the sliding-type hiatal herniation. Surgical intervention was a must, and Thursday was his day. Draco is *still* in ICU at Tuft's University Cummin… Continue

Added by Peg M. on January 26, 2009 at 2:30am — 2 Comments

Jack's new throne!

After one month of living with a dog with Megaesophagus, Jack is a p… Continue

Added by Lara Kretler on December 27, 2008 at 10:51pm — 4 Comments

Morgan and Ruby - German Shepherd brother and sister

Here is my tale of how I acquired Morgan and Ruby: I am a one-person pet rescue in Northeast Iowa and had a puppy brought to me in April of 2008. This puppy, Riley, couldn't seem to keep any food down and the owners had found homes for all the other pups and didn't know what to do for Riley. They were right - poor Riley couldn't keep ANY food down! Luckily, my vet was coming out to the house to bring all my rescue dogs up-to-date on their shots, so I had him take a look at Riley. He diagnosed R… Continue

Added by Debbie on December 5, 2008 at 8:57pm — 2 Comments

Dakota's Daily Schedule

I thought it may be helpful to let you know what works for us. My husband and I both work full-time and in the beginning it was a HUGE challenge to find the time to get Dakota's daily calories down him - he just kept losing weight until we made some adjustments. This is what we determined: Feeding him Natural Balance canned Venison & Sweet Potatoes 13 oz cans, Dakota would need 4 cans per day to maintain a weight of about 75 lbs (he was 78 before ME and down to 66 upon diagnosis). Since Dak… Continue

Added by Kolene on December 5, 2008 at 11:00am — 1 Comment