Pray for Bodie

Wiszard · Mar 26, 2008

My Viszla, Bodie, is 12 years old and is showing it. When I went to feed him last night, he didn't get up to eat. I fed him a little later than usual so I just figured he was tired. I went out to see him this morning and he hadn't eaten. This is not like him. I gave him some meat that was left over from the night before just cuz' I wanted him to eat something. He laid around all day today. I spent time with him and made the kids do the same. He wouldn't eat tonight either. I tried to get him to eat pizza crust and he wouldn't eat it. I feel he is on his last leg. I'm gonna sleep with him outside tonight just in case it is his last. Please say a prayer that if he goes...it's quick. Thanks guys.

Steve

sageadvice · Mar 26, 2008

Done deal Steve! My best bud up here lost his yellow lab "rosie" to old age and plum tuckered last friday. Tuff time indeed. I feel your hurt.

Wiszard · Mar 26, 2008

Thanks, Sage. Gonna sleep with him in the garage tonight. I've spent about the last hour with him and he just kinda looks around the garage like he's never been in there or something. I just hope he's still with me in the morning. I appreciate your prayers and I know he does too. Talk to you later.

Steve

nickman · Mar 26, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Mar-27-08 AT 01:55AM (MST)[p]Steve, You are in that inevitable situation that every dog lover has been forced to experience. I can sympathize.

For whatever reason, nature does not allow enough years in our dogs lives.

It, for me anyway, has been way more traumatic than the loss of some close relatives. The loss of a good dog is natures way of prooving that grown men can be made to cry.

I have been blessed with 3 great dogs in my life, that lived into thier teens and then went on to wherever good dogs go. I doubt I will see them again, since they were way better than me.

I always have 2 now; my Chocolate Lab is nine and my Brit is two next month. 2 dogs pretty much assures me that I will always have one that is younger and then losing the older one is not so devastating......

Get a new puppy right away, it softens the blow like nothing else. It is easier on the kids too.

runamuk · Mar 26, 2008

has Pancreatis been ruled out?
i had an old dog acting the same way, took him to the vet, they treated him for pancreatis, and he lived for a couple more years.

he sure looks like a good dog, my prayers of comfort are with him and you..

Wiszard · Mar 27, 2008

Well, he made it through the night and I'm takin him in to the vet today at 2:15. I made him a really good bowl of food this morning with beef bouillon cubes and he didn't take a bite. We tried hotdogs and the same result. About 10 minutes ago, I tried some left-over mashed potatoes and he ate them right out of my hand. For some reason he won't put forth any effort to eat. I'm hoping the vet has an answer for me. He got up in the middle of the night and pissed in the garage (not happy about it but kinda am cuz that means at least he is functioning correctly). He just is laying around in the sun today. I appreciate your concerns guys. I'll let you know what the vet says later on today. Thanks again!

Steve

Wiszard · Mar 27, 2008

Doc took some blood and looked him over really well. Nothing jumped out at the doc to say that he is visibly ill. I'll find out tomorrow what the blood tests show. Thanks to all who responded.

Steve

He ate a couple of hotdogs today which is good. Still drinking water, peeing and pooping so that is good as well.

sageadvice · Mar 27, 2008

Thanks for the update Steve.

Zigga · Mar 27, 2008

LAST EDITED ON Mar-27-08 AT 10:11PM (MST)[p]My Golden would have been 10 years old yesterday but cancer took her back in October. She quit eating and was very lethargic so I took her to the vet and she said it was cancer and that she needed to be put down immediately. Two days later we did it. My father had just passed away from cancer unexpectedly 6 weeks earlier so all those feelings came rushing back. My Golden was easy to get over after burying my Dad but I still miss her dearly. There is a song by Crystal Shawanda called "You Can Let Go" that will bring a tear to your eye. Death isn't suppose to be easy. Hang in there. Here she is staring a hole through a herd of elk across the canyon.

overton · Mar 27, 2008

Wiszard

Hope he makes it.

Ransom

Chef · Mar 27, 2008

Hoping for the best here too.

Wiszard · Mar 27, 2008

Thanks guys. I just got him to eat some ham but she still won't eat his regular food...which he never had a problem with. Hopefully the blood tests will tell me something.

I think the death of a dog is so brutal because they, for the most part, are real. Theres no "fake" about them. They are what they are. They'll never talk behind your back, make excuses and they'll always be by your side when you need them to be. They are really the best best friend a guy could have. They really deserve to live sa long as a human does.

Zigga- that is a bitchin' picture. She really looks like she's enjoying herself. I'm sure she appreciated all you did with her and for her. Sorry for your loss.

Steve

overton · Mar 27, 2008

Wiszard

Sent you a PM.

Ransom

BeanMan · Mar 27, 2008

Wiszard,

I'm thinking about you and your dog. Hoping for good results.

Beanman

kilowatt · Mar 27, 2008

Steve,

Hopefully the Vet. can find something out to help. I have had two dogs that I lost and they are like children, it hurts so much to see them in pain and/or not responding. My last dog was a sweetheart, a mix dog that was so closr to the wife and I but she had problems at the age of only 5 that I had to put her down at the Vets office. I held her in my arms while he gave her the shot and I knew as soon as she went limp in my arms she was gone and no breathing.
I made a vow to never own another dog, but like and treat the ones I know with love and kindness.

Hope that she comes out of this illness and if not, she will know that you were there for her.

Brian

Wiszard · Mar 27, 2008

Thanks guys! Kilowatt- I had to have my parents golden retreiver down about 10 years ago while they were in China on vacation. She got hit by a car and picked up by the county. They contacted me and I had to call them at their hotel in China and break the news to them. The county had transported her to the vet and the vet said if they fixed her injuries, she'd live a miserable life. My parents had to make the decision to put her down while on vacation. No final goodbyes...just instructions to put the dog they've had for 9 years down. How shitty is that? I had to go to the vet and be there while the vet gave her the shot. Even though she wasn't my dog, it was so hard to leave that office. Once I left I knew that was the end. None of my family would ever see her again. It's a very hard thing to go through. So, you still have never had another dog, kilowatt?

Steve

kilowatt · Mar 28, 2008

Steve,

No more dogs for us, just my sisters dog when she visits and my neighbors dog that we see all of the time, the wife keeps it here at our house almost every Wed. and we have become attached to this dog too. So smart and loves to run in my big back yard. She is a German Wirehair Griffon and she "pointed" on a hen turkey in the back yard two weeks ago....from inside our family room. LOL

I also went with my Mom about 5 years ago to have her dog put to sleep he was dying from Cancer and could hardly walk, that was a tuff one for both Mom & I. And two years later I was there when my Mom passed away in her house. Hard to deal with this kind of problems but we must do what is best at the time.

Brian

BigWooley · Mar 28, 2008

This is one of the few topics that will bring any grown man who has ever owned a good dog, hunter or not, to tears. You and Bodie will be in my prayers. i cant stand the thought of loosin my GSP Danner, He'll be two this summer. My first dog and a hell of a good dog. Could not imagine the folks constantly owning Great Danes with their 5 or 6 year lifespan. Just couldnt do it. Good luck, and again he will be in my prayers.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." -- Abraham Lincoln

Slide · Mar 28, 2008

You and your best friend have my prayers and thoughts, good luck and I wish you the best.

Slide

Wiszard · Mar 28, 2008

Thanks guys! I spoke with the vet today and the bloodwork came back that he is anemic. He couldn't tell me if there was cancer present. I'm no vet so it was a little hard to follow. His red bloodcells were low and do not reproduce as quickly as they should. This accounts for his stiffness and being lethargic. As for the eating, he said to start feeding him burger with rice and this will give him the protein he needs. Antibiotics will help with any infections he's got that may be affecting him. I cooked up some antelope burger with rice and he scarfed it. He hasn't anything substantial for 2.5 days so I was very happy to see him eat that. Luckily, I've got a lot of burger in the garage freezer! He seems to be doing alright. So, I am happy with the outcome for now. I'll just feed him a ton of good stuff and hopefully he'll regain some strength. I'll contact the vet next week and give him an update on how he is doing. I wanna thank everyone for their kind words and prayers. It really means a lot. Maybe it was your prayers that made the outcome what it is. I'm glad Bodie is still with me.

Steve