[Magdalen] Doggie prayers, please

[Allan Carr]

Joey D has a flattened trachea which produces a cough that was misdiagnosed
as kennel cough in his early years.  A course of steroid pills pretty much
fixes a severe cough from that for a year or more. We also have a second
set of pills for the occasional light cough. One pill usually gets rid of
that. I don't know what kind of pill that one is.

It's odd that Joey never coughs when he's outside or during or after his
exercise, which consists of running a little less than the width of a
little league baseball field six times back and forth. That length is when
he shows some signs of tiredness. Dogs aren't allowed in the field but
there's a sidewalk on one side that he runs on, getting an occasional treat
as he runss

He's done this all thirteen years of his life and he's still in pretty good
shape, but is now hesitant to jump up on a bed or sofa and asks to be
lifted. He's about eight pounds so that's not difficult.


On Monday, November 24, 2014, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com> wrote:

> Heather, I hope what your dog has is kennel cough, because that's an easy
> fix--and then you should get her vaccinated. Years ago, when I boarders a
> dog, the kennels all required that, and I've kept it up ever since.
> Unfortunately, that wasn't what Gracie had. They did find a deep pneumonia
> that time, which our regular vet hadn't been able to see. But they did a
> bronchoscopy and an Echo, since her heart appeared enlarged, and more
> x-rays. Gave her antibiotics and steroids, and it calmed down a bit. The
> pulmonologist was quite sure it was cancer, and there was one procedure she
> suggested, but I said no at that point. I had already spent more than I
> could afford and knew that I would not put her through a course of
> treatment in any case. The vet agreed that that was reasonable.
>
> So she's basically been fine since then except for a random cough. It got
> bad one other time, and we treated it with a course of steroids.
>
> Actually, she's perked up quite a bit this morning, and after getting an
> appointment at the vet, I called back and said I'm going to hold off for
> now. Gracie took some more ice and a piece of cheese, got off the couch ,
> came into the kitchen and even went out on the porch briefly. Oh, and
> wagged her tail! So I think the worst is over. I'm going to get some
> chicken broth and cook a little rice with it.
> Kind of like having a kid with the flu...
>
> Good luck with your furry friend!
>
> > On Nov 24, 2014, at 1:31 AM, Heather Angus <hangus at ctcn.net
> <javascript:;>> wrote:
> >
> > My doggie of about 12 has just started coughing/honking like a Canada
> > goose, and I googled Dog Heavy Coughing, and read several articles, and
> I'm
> > pretty sure he has kennel cough. Apparently that's not terrible, but it
> > *can* go into pneumonia which is quite a bit worse. I'm going to at least
> > call the vet tomorrow about it, and I'm interested in learning what your
> > vet has to say about Gracie.
> >
> > On Sun, Nov 23, 2014 at 9:51 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com
> <javascript:;>>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> My dog Gracie (she CAME with the name!) has been sick since Thursday--at
> >> first just didn't want food, a little better on Friday, so I didn't call
> >> the vet.  Sicker yesterday and again today.  Not eating or drinking, not
> >> even going outside to pee.  I did get her to take some ice cubes this
> >> morning and again this afternoon, but that's it.  We're off to the vet
> in
> >> the morning.  She's probably about 7 or 8 and basically healthy, except
> for
> >> a ridiculous cough.  I spent a small fortune on it at the beginning of
> the
> >> year, and even the specialists were unable to come up with anything. She
> >> sounded like a Canada Goose for about two months. Still coughs, but
> nothing
> >> like she did at first.
> >>
> >> Even the cats are worried about her, and she has the most godawful
> >> breath--probably dehydrated by now.  I lost my beagle a year ago, not
> ready
> >> for another loss.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Grace Cangialosi
> >> Ruckersville, VA
> >>
> >> "There are a lot of amazing people out there to be thankful for--
> >> and a loving God. that's what life is about."
> >>                                                                   Robin
> >> Williams,  1951-2014
> >>
>


-- 
Allan Carr