Well if you recall a while ago I was mentioning the abnormal growth in Winston's mouth and our rather aggravating trip to the vet's....

Well I finally found somewhere to go and had him in for an exam a week ago and then this week he was in for a dental and the removal of the growth...I won't know if it is something really bad or not until early next week sometime...I am hopful but not counting on anything right now....it's already cost a lot but....I am hoping (yet again) that we can get it all straight now and we won't have to go back for a long time!

Anyway he was pretty funny, and still is, he is still a little tipsy from being under this morning *laughs*

We'll be thinking of you guys too...vet stuff is never cheap and it seems like it is getting harder and harder to find ones you can work with and not against.

Thanks

Please update us on what the growth was?

First off thankyou guys for your interest...it means a lot.

I got the call back on the biopsy this evening...it is...a very aggressive fibrosarcoma, which means it's not good....

The Vet said that really the only way to be sure of how deep it goes and everything would be to have a MRI done first....the surgery itself is pretty serious for these types of growths they need to take bone and everything

 Right now I am at a loss of mental capabilites to be able to form a plan of action, I have a very low income and have already been stretched with the $500 job that was just completed. And now we are looking at major surgery , topped off with more major reconsructive surgery after (since they would have to take a fair bit of jaw bone out as well as some cheek bone!), and that is just scratching the surface.

I am not a fan of convetional medicine, I have observed so many times it works against the body I just wish I knew if their was a holistic way to handle this but I just don't know enough about it.

I am just really overwhelmed right now and really just trying to trust....I know there was no mistake I was supposed to have this dog....so God must have a plan for me in all of this no matter which way it goes. Please keep praying for us! It's just hard because we just went through all the tears and all 6mts ago when Diamond passed away.....I thought that it was over.

.....*smiles* you have to kind of envy the dogs life...living in the moment, day to day.....right now Winston is just laying on his bed completely sacked, and completely oblivious to all this trouble! At least I can take comfort in that.

I am sorry to hear that. I will be thinking of you both and please keep us posted.

I am so sorry!  That must be so hard, emotionally and financially.  I hope you can find some answers, I know there are pretty good low interest ways to finance vetting.  It's a personal decision though, how much you can or will spend, I am very sorry!  You also might want to consider calling around to vets, see if there are ones out there that are more reasonable.  I'm so sorry for you and your pup!

When one of my GSPs required TPLO surgery, I didn't have the cash on hand to get it done. The vet handed me an info package sponsored by GE Capital that financed vet service with a period of interest free payments on the loan. I spent  well over 5k on knee replacements for my buddy and I used this program. You may want to look into it as an option. I hope everything works out for you both.........................markerdown

It was called CreditCare, I had a 12 month interest free period on the charge. You can find more info on the program on the www. 

 I'd use it again in a heartbeat if one of my GSPs needed care. 

I'm so sorry to hear about your boy. This is not an easy decision to make ... we went through the same thing with one of our cats. After $1500 of exploratory surgery, they couldn't figure out what was wrong. They wanted to do more surgery and proactive treatment in case it was luekemia. We could see the bill ballooning and still not see a resolution.

I asked them to tell me what we could do to keep the cat comfortable if indeed she was on her last legs. They gave us some medication sent us home, and after a few weeks of hand feeding she turned the corner, and avoided some very painful and costly surgery. That was 6 years ago and she is still with us.

Moral of the story? Even though it is unthinkable to lose a beloved pet (and I have lost my fair share), and even if you can afford the treatment, is treatment or surgery the best option for your dog and for you? If not, do your best to keep him comfortable, give him lots of TLC and enjoy every minute you have together.

Diamond, so sorry to hear your news.....hope all works out for you. Winston & your family will be in my prayers.

Take care

Ann

Any updates on Winston?  How's he doing?  I hope you've had some better news in recent days.

Went to Rocky's next nail trim amd had his Vet examine his broken off canine tooth. My Vet said that it looks ok and gum line looks ok now, but to look if the tooth turns blue, it will be totally dead. Many dogs live their entire life with a canine broken off tooth with no problems. Worse  case, if it turns blue I will have my Vet pull it and Rocky will be ok without it. I am having Rocky chew on Dental rawhide chews once a week to keep his back molars clean. These Dental chew will not help the front canine teeth.... If I start ever with a GSP Pup. I will brush his teeth every day and clip his nails once a http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa168/Snickers-085/101_0847.jpg?t=1185840834week to get him used to it. Live and learn

You have a great attitude toward Winston and he is soooo fortunate to be with you. Enjoy every day you have together.  Every day is a gift that we have our dogs. Even when our dogs leave this earth, they are still with us in our hearts  Poge and Snickers are forever in my heart and Rocky is benefiting all the dog knowledge that I learned from their lives.  We lived 16 years with Poge and 14 years with Snickers.