University of Georgia for diagnostic testing

Opps, almost left out the most worrisome... Justus now has a hard lump between his beautiful eyes and swelling on his muzzle, both sides.
 
Calliesmom said:
I did not post about this when we did it but Cranberry went to Auburn small pet vet teaching hospital in early March.
there weren't any real covid concerns back then so I was able to go in with him and talk to the vets/students.
Since 2016, he's had very sporadic incidents of having trouble standing/walking which I thought was due to a pinched nerve. the first vet to see him just after the first incident said that couldn't be the cause and wanted to test for meningitis (spinal tap) and other things with a head CT. they wanted to do that stuff then and when I asked if he would need to be anaesthetized for those, they said yes. and then I said, he had breakfast this morning so we'll pass. they wanted $2000 to do the head CT and we did not do it then.
so last year after Cran's er visit, he had 3 episodes- one in Sep, one in Dec and then one in Feb while we were at our vet for his annual. he did an exam and decided Cran needed to see a neurologist and get a head CT. so we went to Auburn- plan was an exam, head CT and go home later that day.
so when the neurologist checked him out, he focused on the rear end saying he thought it might be lumbosacral disease and that he wanted the orthopedic specialists to check Cran out too. so from no food/water after 9 pm the night before and getting to our appt in the morning, they decided to keep him overnight so everyone could have a chance to examine him and get all the tests that were needed. I had some food since we were travelling so I left that with them and went home by myself. so he ended up getting xrays, ultrasound and mri of his back. he was diagnosed with several herniated discs- not bad enough for surgery so he got some meds and plans for rehab work, acupuncture/chiropractic if I could find someone close to treat him. and all that for just a little more than first vet wanted to charge for just a head CT. so he never got a head CT and essentially has pinched nerves.
all in all, I would go back to Auburn if we needed that level of care and I'm sure that the vets at UGA will be just as good.
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Isn't it awful what the CT and diagnostics can cost! I am really struggling with it and haven't been presented the estimate yet. Just diagnosing will be huge, and treatment... I feel sick. But, I have to know. Transitional Cell Carcinoma (bladder cancer) robbed me of my Bobby at 8 years old.

I saw Cranberry, he looks so good until that hitch in his step. I think you are doing the right thing for you and your good boy, and I pray that these boys are with us for more years of loving and spoiling, and that we can do that for them too. Hugs.
 
2GoodDogs said:
Our fear is nasal carcinoma, the reality is it could be a nasty infection, a polyp, a foreign something. That's why we are going to UGA, to find some answers.

Here is what led us to this.

In July, one morning I had the not so bright idea to toss his breakfast kibble in one of those slow feeders. This one was green plastic with varying lengths of tall plastic fronds. He being the hungry boy he is dove head first into the dish and came up with bleeding nose, and it was a lot of blood.

I took him in to the vet and he prescribed antibiotics and mentioned a UGA referral. I was pretty sure it was an injury and went home with the antibiotics, the bleeding stopped and did not come back ... until it did.

October 8 it came back. There was no injury only a lot of bleeding. He would bleed, sneeze and finally it would stop. And start. And stop. That evening we were at the emergency vet. They took x-rays and did a blood test. His white cell count was really high. They recommended he go home on antibiotics and would refer to UGA if I wanted. The vet told me he was not a radiologist and he saw some the whatever it is and he, in his opinion, did not think it was a cancerous mass. So we went home and did a round of Clavamox.

At the last dose of clavamox, the bleeding came back. I went running to our regular vet and asked for a referral to UGA, and he prescribed another antibiotic, I can't think of the name of right now. The antibiotics are (knocking wood) working great, there is no bleeding and he is acting very normal. There is some sneezing (dry) and coughing (dry) at night. One night in particular it was very upsetting, very snoring like and then went away and that level of obstructed breathing hasn't returned.

Meanwhile, I googled bloody nose and became terrified. It could be cancer, could be something else.

We all pray for something curable, right? This dog that has given me so much, taken me so far. I even risked my life to save him a few weeks ago when a hike to the waterfall went wrong...

Our appointment is Monday, November 2.
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Oh 2Good, I hope and pray you get good news...just reading this I can understand how scared you must be! Sending healing thoughts and prayers!:hugs:hugs
 
Piper's mom said:
Was Cran the one that had the issue while at the vet? Glad you finally figured out what was the cause and we're finally able to work out a treatment...finding the problem is half the battle!
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yes Cran and Dixie were in for their annual- and Cran had laid down- we were doing sit, stand, down for cookies- and he had trouble getting up again. that's when the vet walked in the room so I was like- there you go... I had gotten some video of one of the early incidents but it's hard to tell what's really going on from that. and trying to get the video when it's happening is also challenging.
so the vet's initial thought was stroke type issue- something brain wise- and that's why he referred us. some of my friends thought that too but I never thought it was in his head- I thought it was something rear end related but it's actually more in the middle of his back.
trying to keep Jocu and Destin from jumping all over him when they play has been interesting and not always successful:((:uhoh::rolleyes2:
 
2GoodDogs said:
Isn't it awful what the CT and diagnostics can cost! I am really struggling with it and haven't been presented the estimate yet. Just diagnosing will be huge, and treatment... I feel sick. But, I have to know. Transitional Cell Carcinoma (bladder cancer) robbed me of my Bobby at 8 years old.

I saw Cranberry, he looks so good until that hitch in his step. I think you are doing the right thing for you and your good boy, and I pray that these boys are with us for more years of loving and spoiling, and that we can do that for them too. Hugs.
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I do hope that you get some good news but yeah- just knowing what is actually going on makes a lot of difference.
Cran left Auburn with some meds but not a prescription for continuing those meds. they had several things that we could do- acupuncture, chiropractic, laser treatments, rehab conditioning......
we started with the rehab because my theory was that when he lost weight last year, he also lost muscle tone and that if we strengthened his back/core that his spine would be better stabilized. we've been able to occasionally get chiro and acupuncture but he might do better if we could do that stuff more regularly.
 
Sharon7 said:
Holy cow - I'm very sorry to hear about this as well! Poor Cran - do you have any idea how this started?
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how it started- just guesses....
the first incident was at the holidays a few years ago- my dad doesn't have a fenced yard so the dogs have to go out on tieouts. everyone was outside while I unloaded the car and when I was done, Cran was laying near a tree and had gotten wrapped up. so not sure exactly what happened. I unhooked him and he didn't stand up so I carried him into the house and then went back outside to get the other three. he was playing with them a couple hours later. then the next morning, he has some stumbling/walking issues and that's where I got some video.
I was able to show all his videos to the Auburn neurologist who said that they didn't look like a head issue. and then his initial physical exam pointed him to other areas to investigate.
 
Calliesmom said:
yes Cran and Dixie were in for their annual- and Cran had laid down- we were doing sit, stand, down for cookies- and he had trouble getting up again. that's when the vet walked in the room so I was like- there you go... I had gotten some video of one of the early incidents but it's hard to tell what's really going on from that. and trying to get the video when it's happening is also challenging.
so the vet's initial thought was stroke type issue- something brain wise- and that's why he referred us. some of my friends thought that too but I never thought it was in his head- I thought it was something rear end related but it's actually more in the middle of his back.
trying to keep Jocu and Destin from jumping all over him when they play has been interesting and not always successful:((:uhoh::rolleyes2:
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I can totally understand how difficult it must be with multiple dogs when you have one who has an injury! It was hard keeping Piper away from Finnie when he hurt his hock (before we knew it was the hock) I can't imagine with 4...double the trouble!
 
Wow so sorry about Justus - how frightened and worried you must be. Sending you all good thoughts and prayers that the University vets can find an answer and that it isn't something awful. Sometimes you just feel like you are waiting for the other shoe to drop.... been there. :hugs
 
Dropped Justus off this morning at UGA in Athens. It is a big facility, I would have loved to go inside but due to Covid 19 restrictions had to say goodbye in the parking lot. He's staying until Wednesday. Today they did blood work, he will have a CT Scan in the morning and then they will proceed to the rhinoscopy if necessary. The doctor and student on his case were very thorough in the diagnostic planning and hopefully tomorrow we will know if he's got cancer, fungal infection, bacterial infection, benign tumor or polyps. It seems unlikely that it is a foreign object due to the lump, and swelling on his face. They reported tonight that he is charming the staff and has conned a few treats and more pets and pats than usually offered to their patients. :D

He was absolutely himself yesterday, we spent hours at the park enjoying great weather and a few friends with frisbees.

Flyer and I wait anxiously ... we miss our big 'un.
 
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