# Again with Felony



## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

I think it's time. She hasn't eaten a meal for 36 hours(freeze dried liver and pupperoni are acceptable), she keeps drawing her "jimmy' leg up to her belly. She refused a walk last night. I can't begin to tell all that she has gone through and recovered from...lymphoma, seizures, possible mast cell cancer on her paw pads. This is the first time that I think that she's in pain. She won't take tramadol and her prednisone belly is tight as a drum.

Going to her oncologist first thing in the a.m. but I think that I'll be seeing her out on Thursday. I hope that I'm wrong (again) but I can tell that she is hurting.


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I am so sorry. We'll be here for you.


----------



## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Really sorry to hear that. Saying goodbye is by far the worst part of owning dogs... it really never gets easier, but I'm sure she'll tell you when it's her time.


----------



## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

Thanks so much...her breathing is all hitchy and she flinches when I even look at her bad paw. This time feels different and my husband has checked out. He doesn't cope at all well with family ailments. He's a hospital physician and he really shuts down when a loved one is ill.


----------



## shilohsmom (Jul 14, 2003)

I'm so very, very sorry. My thoughts and prayers are with you both during this awful time. Please keep us updated as time allows.


----------



## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

Fel got some IV antibiotics, dilaudid, and sub q fluids this a.m. She has codeine for pain management at home. The toe was worse this a.m but the swelling is going down now. I've been putting water compresses on it all evening.
I know that her time is growing short and I'm at peace with that. I can't stand to see her in pain. I'm relieved to see her begging for some of my son's chinese food. I think we may have a few good days left. I've held it together all day, now I want to cry.


----------



## mysweetkaos (Sep 20, 2011)

So sorry you are going through all of this. You are taking great care of her.


----------



## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

This place is really a comfort to me. She's better again today and slept in our bed last night.
Havoc is bit put out by all the attention that she's getting but for breakfast, he got three different kinds of foods as Felony refused her regular wet food, turned up her nose a Merrick and held out for tripe.
A good thing that happened was that a lady at the clinic heard me refer to Felony's hospice vet and asked me about hospice care for her dog. She was very pleased to hear that such a thing existed.

I know that I only post about her health when it's bad. I don't want anyone to think that I'm going to extreme measures to keep her alive while she suffers. Ninety percent of the time she doesn't know that she's sick. She's a very jolly dog, one of those pit bulls that smile at everyone. It's so frustrating that out of all of her illnesses, a swollen toe is the one that hurts her, There's an obvious infection but no clue as to the source.


----------



## mysweetkaos (Sep 20, 2011)

I bet Havoc is just faking being upset...to get extra treats I don't think anyone thinks you are going to extreme measures to keep her alive while she suffers. At least I don't. Trust me I have been giving my Kaos 2x weekly adequan injections, 2x daily times on heating pads, suppliments, meds, etc. I will do it all gladly....until the day I can't keep the pain under control. I had no idea there were actual hospice vets either....I'll have to look into that. Good luck with Felony....never had a pit, but had friends who did, they were great dogs!


----------



## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

It's amazing how well Felony responds to the hot compresses--the toe is visibly smaller after 15 or so minutes of moist heat! She's pretty zonked on the codeine but no pain, no pain. Our hospice vet is amazing. The end of life care is so much easier when it's about maintaining quality of life rather than staving off the inevitable. We will not consider any invasive procedures or any hospital stays. She hates the taste of Tramadol, so we switch to codeine. Her tail is wagging when she's awake.

I have to go out tonight and tomorrow but my friend is coming over to keep her company.


----------



## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Our senior Basset hated tramadol as well...I used Vicodin in his last weeks.


----------



## Bridget (Apr 5, 2004)

I am sorry to hear this and hope she is feeling better. How old is Felony?


----------



## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

I think you are doing a wonderful job keeping Felony as pain free as possible. I hope that is what I can do for mine. May you have a great Christmas with Miss Felony and the rest of your family.Hopefully her toe stops being a pain.


----------



## blehmannwa (Jan 11, 2011)

Felony is almost 11 but she was diagnosed with lymphoma in Aug 2010. We started chemo but she was in the 5% of dogs who can't tolerate it. We almost lost her and she had several miserable days in the hospital. We started a different regimen at home: steroids, denamarin. and leukeran. The median survival time was 4 mths and we've had almost 16 great months.

She is eating pupperoni, freeze dried liver, and table scraps. She only wants water from the lake. The toe is less swollen so I'm going to stop codeine tomorrow and see if her appetite improves.

Thank you for all your help.


----------

