Dog part 3

My birthday party Halloween 2007

Dog and Diesel This is where they spend most their time

"Honey you feel awful furry this morning"

Winter Fun

"You talking to me?"

So over the past 5 years after we moved to where we are now Dog has come into aging quite well. Other then the thyroid problem, which she is medicated for, she has been healthy. Getting old suited her fine she liked to avoid Colton because he was always in her face bugging him, she never growled or snapped at him, which surprised me because if he was bugging me like that I probably would have. So she has spent the majority of her time sleeping on my bed to stay clear. Now Colton knows that she loves her belly scratched and gives her the loving she likes. But she has gotten gray in the face and moves slower then she use to. But by gosh if she see's a cat she still thinks she's a puppy and will chase them. The only bad memory I have of Dog is earlier this summer we found 3 kittens who's mother had abandoned. We were going to nurse them back to health and find homes for them. Well Dog got into the pen where I was keeping them and killed them, she just mouthed and shook them until they were dead and then dropped them. I was so mad at her I sent her away to my Mom's for 4 days. I knew it was her natural instinct and everything but I was so mad because Colton had seen it and he was very upset. I forgave her and let her come home. We also added another Dog to our family about a year and a half ago, he's a English Mastiff and his name is Diesel. Dog does not like him at all! But he has learned to leave her alone and steer clear when she comes around. We also have a cat that is outside, this is the only cat that stood up to the dog's when it came around and they tried chasing it, he would not budge and batted them in the face giving them some scratches, he was a stray that stuck around so we name him Stray. And a goldfish named Nickname. So back to Dog. We had noticed a couple times that she didn't seem herself, she would come out of the bedroom more then usual, wander around, she just wasn't herself. We had watched her mom die from seizures and after she would have seizures she would act the same way, I told Brad that I thought Dog was having them and we weren't seeing them because she was either in the bedroom or we were gone. So I made her an appointment at the Vet for a Tuesday, we went in she was not having symptoms and seemed fine, we made an appointment for the following Thursday to do blood work to re-test her thyroid to see if it was off balance. The Sunday before her appointment I woke up to the bed shaking (she sleeps right next to the bed on my side) looked over and she was having a seizure. I got down with her and tried to keep her calm until she came out of it. Called the emergency Vet, they said as long as her temperature was good there was nothing we could do until Monday morning. I call Monday morning and get her an appointment for 3 that day. Brad calls me (I was on my way to Michigan's Adventure) not a half hour later, she was having another seizure. He had to wait for her to come to and she still couldn't move, and have the neighbor lady's come help him carrier her to the car on a blanket. I would have canceled my trip but there was nothing I could do, she would be at the vets all day having test's. They tested her blood and 2 things came back abnormal, her blood sugar was 24, normal range for dog's is 75-100, and she had high amount of ammonia in her system. The vet thought with her symptoms and test that we should test what was called a live shunt, she had to send it out so we didn't know until Thursday that it was not a liver shunt. The whole week she was having these spells and now we know it was her blood sugar dropping. So I had to take Diesel in because he had bites all over his belly, the vet said bring Dog too and we will send out another test, glucose test. So we did, that was last Friday we got the results Wednesday that they are pretty sure she has what is called an insulinoma, a tumor on her pancreas. This tumor secretes insulin all the time so it is taking all the sugar out of her body, if we don't keep her feed every 4-5 hours it makes her blood sugar plummet causing all these symptoms and seizures. So that brings me to tomorrow, the vet said it's is treatable with surgery or diet and prednizone, which is a steroid that will stimulate her body to produce more sugar. I'm taking her to Michigan State University(MSU) tomorrow to have a consultation. MSU is the best Vet school in Michigan. They will reveiw her case and give us advise about what's best for her and her quality of life. There is a lot of different things that factor in to this. These tumors can spread to the lungs, when removed they sometimes come back, and after surgery most only live 1-2 years. This has been very stressful for Brad and I, we love her like a child. It is very costly, if she has everything done they would do for surgery, x-ray, ultrasound, and cat scan it can cost up to $4,500.00. The money is not an immediate issue for us we will figure that out if we have to. My main concern is her life and what is best for her. We are having to force feed her right now because she is so sick of eating all the time, and we have to keep changing what we give her because she gets sick of it fast. The thought of losing her brings tears to my eye's, I had to have my horse put down when I was 17 and my mom had to have our 15 year old Cocker Spaniel put down too around the same time. I know what that loss is and it is heartbreaking for me. I'm praying I can make the right decision and be ok with whatever that is.

I will update after tomorrow when I know more.