Need Advice on my Part Paralized dog "ONYX"

[sacredcreatures]

Well here I am again with something that is pulling at my heart strings. My dog "Onyx" is a German Shepherd, she is 9 almost 10 years old and she also has been a Search and Rescue dog for many Sheriff departments. Last March I noticed she was kinda limping off and on but it didn't seem bad, she had just had a puppy and I figured it was from the pregnancy. By May she was draging her right leg off and on so I took her to the Vet. He said it seemed like she had a spinal problem pushing on the nerves. X-rays were negative and she did feel pain in the toes. They suggest a MRI but that cost around $2000.00 and then what? if she has a spinal tumor thats fatal,if its a disk problem it is possible to fix it but surgery is VERY expensive and lastly what happens if it shows nothing? Then what do I do? I had planned on getting her a wheelchair but now she has had accidents in the house, yet she can control her bladder and bowels so I do not understand this. I am noticing that she now drags that leg all the time and her left leg can't hold up her weight so she twists and falls over, while down she goes to the bathroom. I cry all the time because I do not have alot of choices. Put her to sleep or spend tons of money that I do not have until my late mothers house sells. Winter is really hard on her too. Not sure how we can handle the snow when it comes. So please I need your advice,and the reasons you choose what you would do? Here I am a Emergency Animal Health Specialist, yet I am freaking out over my dog. Below( next post, for some reason they didn't post in this post) is some pictures of her. This is how she stands if she gets up and the picture of her laying down is how she goes to the bathroom. Her muscle tone in the hind area is going away as well. I do have a special device to hold her back end up but she won't go to the bathroom when its on and I am so close to her. I love her with all my heart and I have had her from birth so this is so hard to decide whats best for her. So please be honest I will not feel bad or think you are bad for your advice. I just want to do whats right. Thanks Deb

 

[sacredcreatures]

Pics of Onyx

For some reason they will not post. It says the pictures are too big. Anyone know how to make them smaller?

 

[David Loftin]

I have NO idea what I would do if I was in your situation. I have two dogs.. they double as children. Its bad enough when one of them gets hurt but.. Surgery.. Pain.. and coping with it would be unbearable. I am truly sorry that you are having to deal with this.

For puting pictures up.. The easy thing would be to use a website like PhotoBucket.com and upload the pictures there and then copy and paste the

 

[Jeanne]

Oh Deb, I am sooooo sorry to hear about this. I honestly would probably lose it if this happened to Abbie. Only you can make the final decision, you need to do what will be best for her. If you can't post the pics, email them to me and I will post them for you

 

[Grinning Geckos]

Something very similar happened to my parent's German pinscher. I forget exactly what the cause was ... I think it was a doggy form of MS. She would yelp in pain every now and then, loose sensation in her legs, trip and fall, loose her bowels. Some days were better than worse. There was nothing they could do for her. They kept her as long as they could, but eventually they put her to sleep. It was awful to have to do, but in the end, I do think it was best. The worst part was, by that time she was totally paralised from the waist back, and she didn't know anything was wrong anymore.

Boy...I haven't thought of this for a long time.

Well, the awful thing was Baby was her happy playful self on the front end. When they gave her the shots, she just got a look on her face like "Why?". Man, I'm crying about it all over again after all these years.

Neither choice is going to be easy, and there may not be anything you can do. Just from what you were saying, it sounds a LOT like Baby when everything started. I can get you in touch with my parents if you like ... it may help you make a decision.

 

[Jeanne]

When they gave her the shots, she just got a look on her face like "Why?". Man, I'm crying about it all over again after all these years.

I am getting teary eyed just thinking about that. It's amazing how much these animals mean to us.

 

[pawsfoot]

I have never actually had to deal with this situation personally. Working at a vets office I saw it all though. I saw people make choices I thought were wrong and those that I could never bring myself to make. I never had a dog as a child. My mom was a neat freak and until she got her Yorkie we never had anything but cats. My one cat had cancer and had to be put to sleep, but my parents made that choice. Although now I see how animals are like my children. I would go pretty much over the deep end to save my pets. But that is just me. All I can say is do what you can to make her happy now. If her quality of life is going and she no longer looks happy when you come home or no longer wants to look happy than maybe it is just time to let her go. I do think her bathroom problem may be that she is just soooo exhausted and she trys to get to the door, but when she falls it scares her and she may pee. Also if it is a spinal thing the nerves in your spine control everything from movement to contraction of the bladder. If it is a tumor then maybe it has grown to the point that it is not only involving her leg, but now the nerves that control her bladder. Whatever the pressure is it may be getting worse. I'm sorry to say that, but as a nurse and a former vet tech that is my humble opinion. I'm so very sorry for your situation Deb and I wish you the best of luck in making this extremely hard decision. I can offer the name of a good neuro specialist in VA if you need it, but the price of the MRI is still around $2000 from her.

 

[sacredcreatures]

Hi Vicky, I would be very interested in the neuros name. You can put it here or PM me. I can get a wheelchair made for $199.00 plus $30.00. That will help me with my decision because after she gets used to it I will be able to tell better about bladder control. I also notice her stools are smaller than before and she isn't able to reach back and clean herself as well as before. I too have worked for many Vets and I have seem different illnesses and injuries that can cause similar problems. I guess thats why I do not know which way to go sometimes. I feel like I must do all I can, I owe her that much, But then again if she will have alot of pain and still more problems then I would want to keep her from such misery just to keep her alive for myself and put her to sleep. Lastly she is happy, eats very well and sometimes forgets her backend doesn't work well and she starts to prance. Thats the days I just can't put her to sleep! I cry everyday.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I really need to hear them.
Grinning Geckos I think talking to someone about this would be a good idea. But I do not want to bring back the pain of loosing their dog all over again. Use your best Judgement on this and if you think it will be alright them PM me their number. Thanks for telling your story, I am sure it brought back painful memories. Jeanne is going to resize my photos and we will get them on soon, Thanks Jeanne, Hugs to you all Deb

 

[Jeanne]

Deb, I sent you the resized pictures, I don't have enough disk space left to attach them myself, otherwise I would attach them myself.

I also don't want to use my Photobucket account, because I may delete them by accident and then they will no longer be linked her.


She is a beautiful dog, I really hope she makes it through this.

 

[sacredcreatures]

Pics of Onyx..Tx Jeanne

Jeanne resized these for me so I can show Onyx to you. You can tell in one of the pics how her leg is way out and the loos of muscle tone, in the other pic you can see her right leg with the toes buckled under and lastly in the other pic when she goes to the bathroom she just lays down, sometimes I have to position her just right so she doesn't pee on herself poor girl. I think Tuesday I will get her back in to the Vet and see what he thinks too. as to if she is getting worse and all that. I really think the reason she seems to be worse is because she only had two front legs and the left rear is unable to carry her weight anymore. So she basically drags her back end But she can stand just not quite right and sometimes she even tries to run.

 

[pawsfoot]

Deb,
The neurosurgeon that I think is probably one of the best on the east coast is Betsy Dayrell-Hart. She is located at South Paws Veterinary Specialists and Emergency Center. They have a website www.southpaws.com. They are located in Fairfax, VA. I went to see her because my Carin Terrier has a special seizure disorder and no other vet/specialist could figure it out. It may take a couple of weeks to get an appointment with her. She can get pretty booked. Her regular appointment costs about $120.00 and normally she wants them to come on an empty stomach. If anything maybe she could tell you her opinion without having to spend the $2000.00 on an MRI.

I know that it can be hard to have a background as a vet tech. I think it somewhat impairs our judgement. In one sense if you were only a "parent" of an animal then you would do all that you could humanly possible to save it. In another sense you have that "vet tech" sense that is telling you that you may be doing too much. It is a very hard decision. If you can afford it I think you should see her before you make any major decisions. She may be able to shed some light on this that your regular vet could not. I wish you a lot of luck in making these decisions.

 

[Zbiz]

It looks like what happened to my dog. He use to play in the woods about 5 hours a day. He must of fell and hurt his back, we found him laying on the porch. We tried to get him to stand but he just fell over. His back legs were limp. We rushed him to the hospital. They took Xrays ect. and found that one of his discs between his vertebre bursted from an impact of some sort. Fluid from the disc went into his spinal column, which caused swelling. This put pressure on his nerve and cause his paralysis. His one leg responded much better than the other. So we had hope. They put him on fluids and gave him pain and anti-inflamitories(i think thats how its spelled). The next day we got a phone call that his right leg is allowing some weight on it. We were amazed. a week later his running around. Hes not 100% and will never be. 2 years later at 13 years old my dog is goin strong he still runs faster than me lol. Your dog looks to have spirit and drive. Have you tried to put him on anti-inflamitories? Cuz if that didnt work for my dog then we would of had to have the surgery. I HOPE your dog gets better, *praying for you*.

 

[The NY Gecko]

I dont know much about illnesses, but, i know that theres a disease in people where the muscle tissue starts breaking down. Is it possible for dogs to get this and thats what might be causing this?

 

[Perefalcon]

I'll tell you exactly what we just had to etll Rob's Dad's Girlfriend...who's GSD Sadie also is having some serious issues with her back hip for apparently no reason...

It's hard on us, these animals become our best friends...and we would nearly die for them and if it came down to it, many of them have died for us...and with the training your dog has as a S&R dog...most likely she would lay her life on the line to save you...but...if there is nothing that can be done, do the one thing that can give her peace...

After nearly 2 months of watching Sadie suffer...even with the aid of pain meds you can see it in her eyes that she hurts...Julee decided that she will be put down...

I've always believed in one thing when it comes to these noble animals that attach themselves to our hearts, It is not the Quantity, but the Quality of life that they have with us.

When Jerry Lee jumped through that window last march and I found him laying in his own blood...I was willing to do anything for him, we nearly lost our house because we paid for his surgery first...it wasn't nearly as expensive as what you're talking about, only $500 roughly...but that lazy, lovable little jerk that loves to try and lay on me any time he can...he's still here...but if there had been nothing to do but watch him suffer afterwards from severed tendons, I can honestly say I would have put him down, just to save him the pain...not me...him.

This is entirely up to you in the long run, but you need to step back and ask yourself, from an objective point of view..."Am I keeping this dog alive to spare myself the pain?" And as hard as it is...answer that question honestly.

I'm rooting for you and him to have a good recovery...I know how GSDs can be...it's hard not to melt with those eyes looking at you

 

[brandy101010]

I'm very sorry you are going through this.
German shepherds are very prone to hip Dysplasia and Pinched nerves and such. Sorry I'm not good with medical terms. My mother was a german shepard breeder while I was growing up. I have seen this kind of thing many times. German shepherds were bred to have that slope in their back. It may look beautiful but I really belive that this is why so many of them have this problem, and I think they should start trying to breed it out of them.

A wheel chair is a great idea and will greatly improve the life of your dog.

I'm going to be honest with you because I would want you to be honest with me so I am going to tell you that in every case I have seen, the dog eventually had to be put down. BUT, as long as you can control the pain and and the dog is still living a happy life you do not have to put him to sleep. You will know when it's time. When the dog shows no interest in activity and seems depressed he is probably in a great deal of pain. I know there are surgeries that I have heard of working but they are not 100% affective. (Last I heard) There are also supplements that are said to help slow the process of hip dysplasia. I can't remember what it is. but I will look it up and see if I can find it for you.
I am by no means an expert I'm am just telling you my experiences and opinions. I wish the best for you and your dog. I will reply again when I find the name of that supplement.

 

[brandy101010]

Here is a new dog food I found that is supposed to help with hip dysplasia

http://www.dogshealth.com/show_items_cat.php

Hear is a link to a forum I found where someone is having a similar problem and seems like there are some people giving her some great advice. There is info about the supplements there.

http://www.oes.org/page2/5863~Harley_My_German_Shepherd_has_hip_dysplasia.html

Here is a study on a sciatic nerve surgery. If you want the whole report you have to buy it though. :main_angry:

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/tpns/2003/00000013/00000008/art00004

I hope some of this helps. If I come across anything else that may be of use to you I will post it here.

 

[sacredcreatures]

Thanks Everyone for the info thus far. I do want to point one thing out though, Her hips are perfect, All my Search and Rescue dogs have Penn Hip at 4 months of age then OFA at 1 year and unless they have top notch hips then we do not train these dogs. So Hip dysplasia is out. Now another thing the vet said is that she isn't in pain from this because the nerves that control her back end aren't sending messages to her telling her how to walk. They assume its either a disk problem pinching on the nerves, a Spinal tumor that as it grows it starts pinching on the neves which is fatal at some point, or a dengenative disease affecting the nerves,causing pressure on the nerves, she is on two meds one is for inflammation and the other is for the nerves, hoping to help them to get some messages out. So basically its something to do with nerves. So I am taking her to another Vet getting her wheelchair in two weeks and go from there. The Vet doesn't feel she is in pain back there but without a wheel chair pulling herself using the front legs is hard on her front leg joints and also she can get sores on the leg that drags. So Basically I will go to her Ortho Vet and see what he says and go from there. This Vet fixed her elbow after 9-11 when she fell through debris and chipped the bone in her elbow which caused her alot of pain. I tried the toe pinch test yesterday and she didn't pull away so no feeling in the right leg at all. Its all just so hard not sure really how they feel when they cannot tell us. But the fack that she is active and eats well and still kisses me, howls when we have kids around( its how she worries about them) Her mind is fine and thats why its so hard to make a decision. But keep ideas coming in and hopefully I can figure out what to do. Her Birthday is Jan 24th so I just couldn't do anything drastic before that. Thanks again everyone! Deb

 

[Mel&Keith]

Is there anyway you can get your current or possibly the new vet to help you out with the MRI? When I found out that my Boston had Cushing's Disease the vet wanted to do an ultrasound of her adrenal gland to find out if her type was operable but I didn't have the extra $400 for it. Everyone in the office felt bad for her and talked the mobile ultra sound specialist in to doing it for free while he was there one day. I probably wouldn't have been able to afford the surgery anyway but it was nice to find out that it was pituitary so I didn't have to wonder if I was making the right choices with her treatment.
Good luck with the Ortho vet, I hope you get the answers you need. Sending tons of happy thoughts and hugs you way!

 

[Perefalcon]

I figured when you said she was a S&R dog that she was prolly OFA...ours is too...only way to be sure with those dogs...Sadie was OFA as well, she didn't have displasia, she fell and something went terribly wrong...Just to let everyone know....she passed on her own yesterday...Julee called us up when I got home from work to tell us...I guess before they went to work, she talked to Sadie and told her "Just go to sleep and don't wake up, I won't forget about you" By the time they got home from work she was just gone, laying in her bed like always...they were taking her to the vet next week to be put down...but she was ready to go now...she was only 8 years old.

 

[pawsfoot]

Deb,
In my very few 5 yrs of working around animals I would like to say if this is a herniated disc that is putting pressure on her nerves it will likely be fixed by surgery. She may even fully recover. I do want to warn you that I have seen many dogs go through the surgery and lose the affected leg because the nerves never truly recovered from the pinching. This may be an extremely painful experience for you to see her with only 3 legs, but believe me when I say that dogs can live very fulfilled lives that way. I once had a dog into the office that I had been seeing since I started. He was probably 5 when I started to work there. A year after he had somewhat of the same experience your dog is having. They had to file for Care Credit and finally got the money to pay for they surgery. The dog never regained control of his leg so it had to be amputated. Today he is the happiest 3-legged dog I had seen. Moral of the story: If you can afford it and this is not a life threatening thing for your dog, please give it the chance. I have seen many people also say "put my dog to sleep, I want nothing to do with a 3-legged dog." That upsets me. Just because your dog will not be useful as a confirmation animal does not mean it should not live. By no means am I saying you would put yours to sleep, I'm just kind of ranting because someone I know just did that to their dog who was going to lose a limb. I hope that everything gets straightened out with your dog. Please consider Care Credit as a way to help. It's like a credit card for dogs. I think they have a website. They give you an amount of money they will help and then give you so many months or even a year to pay it off. I don't know if you thought about that, but it may help. The wheelchair will help tremendously as well.