I promised some happy health updates today, and most of them are that. I also want to share a few other odds and ends after the updates.
Samantha‘s update is not all bad, but not as good as we’d hoped. The good news is that when she had her blood test this week to check her thyroid, it came back normal! However, she still isn’t eating as well as we’d like, has lost a little more weight, and is not as social as usual either. We think we’re looking at one of three things: the lack of appetite could be a side effect of the thyroid meds, she could have some kind of inflammatory bowel disease, and worst case scenario she does have cancer. The vet doesn’t feel it’s the meds, and since they’re working I don’t want to rush to take her off them. She also thinks we should try some probiotics in case it’s IBD, and possibly prednisone in case it’s lymphoma in her digestive tract. For now, we’re just doing our best to keep her eating and monitoring her weight, while we decide what the best next step might be. She is mostly acting normally….still loving and affectionate, but just hiding out more than we’d like.
The old guy, Conrad, is still hanging in there! There is nothing wrong with his appetite, and as long as he’s eating and drinking well like he is, getting around OK, and sleeping peacefully we think he wants to stick around. He is a fighter, that’s for sure!
Luke‘s knees have been doing great. Since the snow and ice are gone, one knee has only popped out once when he slipped on the wood floor. He’s been running around the yard like a maniac, jumping over obstacles and on and off things, without having any issues.
Sheba has recovered completely from her surgery, and so far there is no sign of the cancer returning (knock wood). She is active, happy, and feeling great. She had one flare up of her arthritis, but two doses of Rimadyl took care of that and she’s been great since.
We were concerned because Cricket had developed a limp in her back left leg. It was off and on, and usually only after playing hard and then resting and stiffening up. We didn’t want to rush her to the vet. We suspect she might have knee issues like Luke’s (she’s always had an odd gait to her walk, as well as sitting funny sometimes), or that she’s getting arthritis. We shortened play sessions for a while, and put her on the joint supplement we give Luke and we’ve barely seen the limp for over a week now, even after some longer play sessions.
I’ve been having some good luck in other ways….we have won some fun stuff lately on some other blogs! We won twice from our friend Oz the Terrier, and we will share those items when we receive them.
We won this book from Pixel Blue Eyes and her Mom Jenny, autographed by the author. I enjoyed the first book in this series immensely (you can read my review here), and plan for this to be my summer reading. I will write a review of this one too, so you can hear how it is! Thanks, Pixel and Jenny!
A huge thanks to Cathy, Harley, and Jax at Groovy Goldendoodles, I am way overdue sharing this fun Power Decal that I won from them (I kept waiting to install it until my car was washed from all the winter dirt and salt). This lights up at night when you’re driving! It is powered by a motion and light detector….pretty cool. The photo doesn’t really do it justice.
We made the NetWoof news again!! I will share more about what we won when we receive our package which is on its way (hint: I’ll have lots more fun reading to do this summer!). Thanks so much to Melissa, Bentley, and especially the birthday boy, Pierre, for this great giveaway! Visit them at MKClinton.com, for lots of news and fun.
We had our own giveaway a few weeks back and one of our winners sent us a photo of her dog Layla with her winnings. We’re glad to see they are enjoying the books. Layla’s mother has her own website Auction4PetSupplies.com. Here you can buy and sell all kinds of pet supplies, and a portion of the sales benefit rescues. Check it out, they have a lot of great stuff on there, and you can even sell some of your own unused supplies, which I think we all have some of!
I’ve been a little distracted with everything going on with Sam, but I do plan to get back to and complete my series on vaccinations, if you’ve been following that. I hope to get back on track next week.
Today we are joining the Thursday Barks & Bytes blog hop. Thank you to our hosts 2 Brown Dawgs blog, and Heart Like a Dog. Please visit other blogs through the links below!
Thanks for all the updates – I’ve been thinking of your crew! Incidentally, for the IBD, we got Cooper on probiotics after his last flare-up. We were really nervous because he couldn’t afford to lose another ounce in case he had a bad reaction, but it’s been fabulous! His stomach is in better shape than it’s been for a long time! Hope it helps sweet Samantha!
Thank you, Maggie. Now that things are settling down with adding the prednisone, I think we’ll try the probiotics too. I’m hoping we can wean her off the pred and she’ll continue to be OK…we’ll see. I’m always thinking of you and your crew too….and looking forward to meeting you at BlogPaws!
Sounds like everyone is doing pretty well! Mom wants to know if the vet checked Samantha’s mouth. Her kitty got mouth cancer and some of her behavior sounds like Sam’s. We hope she’ll be okay still. Love Dolly
Thank your Mom for thinking of that, Dolly. The vet did check Sam’s mouth before her hyperthyroid diagnosis. She needed some dental work, but that was it.
We decided to try the prednisolone with her, and right now it seems like it might be helping! She’s been coming out of hiding more, and eating more along with taking her pills very well. So we’re hopeful.
thanks for the updates on them all, i was wondering how sam was doing. Hope she continues to eat more and more each day. Hope it’s just a strain with cricket. Congrats on all your winnings
Cricket has still been doing well, so we feel pretty good that’s all it was. We decided to try the prednisolone with Sam and it might be helping already! She’s been coming out more this weekend looking for food, and she’s been taking her pills like a champ in some Greenies pill pockets!
Glad to hear the mostly-good health report. Sending pawsitive thoughts for Samantha! Congrats on all the winnings! You should buy a lottery ticket!
I only seem to be good at winning things for the pets, or pet related. Cash would be nice too though! 🙂
Since you have so many senior pets I would say the vet report is good! I hope all of your furry ones continue to do well and a special wish for Samantha, (you know we love black kitties). Congrats on your winnings. Thanks so much for joining the hop.
That’s good news about Sheba! We purr that Samantha gets her appetite back and starts eating more.
It is hard with health issues. Katie has been doing really well, but now she walks more and more, although slowly, and she is dragging her paw. Now she has to wear a shoe again because her claw is worn down to the quick, so progress she can walk, going backwards, the shoe. Then yesterday she had the bathroom explosion, we don’t know why. She also isn’t real into eating either. Lots of ups and downs, but we are just thankful for every day with her.
You are right, Emma, and the best thing we can do is just make the most of every day. Conrad has a lot of ups and downs too and Sam seems to have good spells here and there. I guess that is all to be expected when they get older (we went through the same thing with Kobi).
Whoa.. i’m exhausted reading everything! Girl – you’ve been busy. Happy to hear everyone is improving, some faster than others but that’s okay. We’ve got plenty of time don’t we? Happy to hear you’re enjoying the decal.
Ah it’s great to see an update on everyone since I am sooo behind with my blog reading! 🙁 Your plan for Samantha sounds like a good one to me… hope that she is feeling better soon.
I’m glad all is mostly good. Hey, about Samantha, it could also be excessive fur in the tummy (our Zoe had a furball the size of a racquet ball surgically removed) or it could also be a tooth issue, stomach acid, or general nausea. Purrs from all of us.
Thank you, Brian! I did think hairballs might be an issue for Sam, but we did have xrays done and they didn’t show anything like that, just some general inflammation. But I think it could be a factor so I’ve been brushing her more and she hasn’t been throwing up hairballs as much as she was. We are trying one of the meds in the hopes that it helps.
Oh my, my heart goes out to you. It is hard enough with one or two pets experiencing health issues but to have 5 pets with ongoing issues, I just don’t know how you cope. I am a nervous wreck when just one isn’t well. I can’t imagine. You must have the patience of a Saint and you are incredibly strong.
Praying for Samantha and all of your babies. A number of pets have been diagnosed with IBD….do you know Glogirly? Her kitty (Katie), has it…maybe you could ask her how she is handling it. I am praying it is that and not the evil “c’ word
Hoping things are on the upswing permanently for all of you! xoxo
Thank you, Caren! I guess with having so many older pets it’s to be expected we’d have issues. But you would at least think the one young one could be problem free! I’m not sure I’m that strong, but I guess this is all making me stronger (isn’t that how the saying goes?).
We decided to try the prednisone for Sam and fingers crossed that it helps. I’ll keep you updated. Thanks for letting me know about Glogirly, I just might check in with her at some point.
xxoo
We are glad to hear that most of your crew is on the mend. Special snuggles and love for Samantha. I can’t wait for y’all to get your package! Hopefully, it will arrive today. Congratulations on all of your great luck!
Wow – you guys have been busy. Glad to hear all the good health news. I hope Samantha continues to improve.
POTP for Samantha and Conrad… I cross my paws for you, buddy… you won my heart for being a super cool guy. I hope for good news for Cricket’s knee and it would be great if the supplement helps :o)
Congrats to your fabulous gifts, I won the cook books too and I probably will make some of this tasty ideas for me too :o)
I think you’ve got some great housekeeping news going on and I’m very glad to hear it! Sometimes it’s so hard to know what to do and I think the ‘right’ thing is different for everyone. I’m glad you found something that is working.
Thank you for joining the blog hop!
First, congrats on all the giveaways! Holy!!! hahaha!
Second, I am sorry to hear about your sweet kitty, I am glad the update wasn’t all bad though and I do hope it isn’t cancer your dealing with. I am glad to hear Sheba is well and Lukes knees are doing good! So glad to hear the supplement is working for Cricket as well!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
I’m so glad to see so much good news! We’re still praying for Samantha but we’re glad to hear she’s got some positive results. 🙂 I’m looking forward to the continuation of your vaccination series.
Never heard of a car decal that’s powered by motion and light detector to light up at night! Interesting. Sending healing thoughts for the Samantha, Luke, Conrad, Sheba and Cricket!