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Rottweilers => Rottweiler Discussions => : moonlitcroatia July 31, 2006, 05:56:38 PM
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Greta turns nine on September 1st. She's almost there. I love her...that Greta girl. She's been my best friend for so long, but it is nearing the time to say goodbye. I don't know how I'm going to do it. I will write something more about her later. Hope everyone is doing well. Betti and Lou are doing great.
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Oh I am so sorry. In the very back of my mind, I know this will come for Badger too, but oh I can't hardly think of it.
I'm so sorry. I would love to see pics of her, and to hear some wonderful stories of her heroic acts!
:)
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I saw Greta & then looked to see who posted...My heart sank...Moonlit I have missed you...I have missed hearing about your puppers...I am so sorry to hear about "our" Greta. :'( ...Please know that I will be praying for you & yours & we will be here when you are ready to say more.
((((((((((Moonlit & Greta)))))))))
Love,
Chelle, Sam & Pippin
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Thank you. I will write something special for her soon. She has a lot of friends and I will have to tell them. She knows some people here, too, but I've been so busy for so long I hardly check in any more.
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Greta and Betti got into a squabble last week; it was the first row they've had in a year because Betti crawled under the baby gate and Greta jumped her. Anyway, Betti grabbed Greta's leg and she walked away with puncture wounds. I gave her antibiotics, but as the swelling from the wounds healed, the leg maintained a malformed patela. I took her to the vet and he x-rayed, coming back to say he wished he had better news, but that it was osteosarcoma (bone cancer). He said it is highly invasive and we discussed the treatment options. With this kind of cancer there are really only three treatment options: (1) Amputation, (2) Radiation Therapy, (3) Chemotherapy. The expected survival from time of diagnosis is 2-4 months. Since this cancer spreads to the lungs rapidly, the treatments serve to prolong the life of the pup, but in Greta's case I feel and think it will only prolong suffering. I care most about quality of life, so I do not want to see her suffer just so that I can have her around a few months longer. Right now she eats all kinds of people food, takes an anti-inflammatory, and relaxes a lot. We've built some ramps for her to walk down steps to avoid putting pressure on her leg (it's the right front) because with this kind of cancer bones can break easily. We are taking it one day at a time. But, like I said, I will not allow her to suffer. The hardest part will be knowing when the time is right...to let her go.
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I posted this quite a while ago-but the follow-up bloodwork was normal, so we went on with life. ------
Greta had a blood test yesterday and the vet called to say that while her kidney, liver and diabetes panels are all normal, her white blood cell count is low and her marrow count is up. This means her body is trying to fight something off and unless it is just a passing thing, such as the fact that my sister picked up a pup that was running scared in the desert along the interstate in NM last week and brought it home...and it could have passed something to Greta that her system is fighting....or ...
I don't even want to think about it. I am very sad today.
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:'(
Hugs to you...this is very sad.
Badger sends kisses
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Oh Greta!!! It's hard to make that choice! Hard to loose them but hard to keep them too!
Whatever you decide and whenever...you're in our hearts forever!
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:'( Hugs to you and Greta.
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Aww Moonlitcroatia, I am so sorry to hear about Greta. We are thinking of you both at this difficult time.
My very first rotti girl had osteosarcoma in her right back leg. She was 8 years old almost 9. We were able to keep her comfortable with meds for awhile.
She will let you know when it is time. You will know in your heart what next step to take and when. You know your girl theĀ best and can see any changes in her.
Like you said take it one day at a time and enjoy her company each day.
We are here for you .
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I'm so sorry to read this. Please come back here often. We want to be there for you. She will let you know when it's time. It's one of the greatest acts of love when we help them to the bridge when it's time for them to go. {{{hugs}}}
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I'm so sorry for you. Prayers of comfort for you and Greta coming your way.
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Our thoughts are with you and Greta right now. Moonlit, you are sure to know the right time when it is upon you. I agree that one of the most loving acts is to relieve the suffering of our most beloved pets.
Please share more of Greta with us.
Krista
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I'm so sorry to hear about your beautiful Greta. Please let us know how you both are doing.
Jennifer
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Thank you all for the kindness. What you've said is tremendously supportive. I couldn't ask for a better support group.
One of the hardest challenges is that Greta looks to me asking that I take the pain away. I know this because in the past I have always taken the pain away, made everything better. This time I can not make it better. I will add another pain medication today. She needs it. The lymph gland in her armpit is as large as a plum. My poor sweetheart! I love her so much.
Again, thank you for the encouragement. It helps me to know I am doing the right thing and not making a mistake. There is always that fear, even though I know the fear is unreasonable.
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Greta - last summer.
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Greta - last summer.
She is a beautiful girl & obviously as sweet as can be!...Know that my thoughts are with you & my heart feels you during this painful time.
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Oh, Moonlit, I'm so, SO sorry. This is the very worst aspect of loving a dog: we live long; long enough to have to say goodbye too often to these special four-legged friends. I wish there was someway to take the pain away, from her and from you. Please know that we are all with you whenever you need us!
Hugs!
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Hugs
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I'm thinking about Moonlit & Greta this morning...I hope they are o.k.
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Greta went to a lake on Sunday, August 6th. It seemed, in retrospect, too difficult of a trip for her. We put her in a raft and she rested near the beach in the shade, but when we got home she was soooooo tired and limping a lot. Next time I will go where I can park and just camp right there instead of traveling via raft and having to walk at all. :)
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And more of her...on the ride home. I put the camera over my head (I was passenger) and took the photos not knowing what she was doing in the back seat. Looks as if the first photo caught her sleeping, but in the second she's giving me a dirty look--I think because of the flash.
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Our thoughts are with you and your family including all the fur kids.
Geta reminds me so much of Bear that I have already written about.When we got the Cancer diagnosis,we opted for quality of life as well and the steriods we put him on kept him comfortable for about 6mths.
Trust that Greta will will you know.Bear did and he was very grateful to us for letting him go.His only concern was our state of mind.But he was ready and we knew he was .
Good-byes are always hard.But we will see him again,and he waits.
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In July we took Greta to a lake in central Washington state called Banks Lake. It's a high desert type of area where the lake stretches for miles. She really enjoyed being the only dog around. (This is before we knew of her illness.) It became really hot when we went fishing. The fish were cooked on the Coleman and I picked all the tiny bones out so Greta could eat them. That's why she loves fishing so much. She gets so excited. You should see her during a salmon run! During this trip mosquitoes bit her on the nose and her nose swelled up. A couple of days after we came home her eyes clouded over. I thought she had glaucoma, but it turned out to be an eye infection. Right after she began taking the antibiotics she attacked Betti. (That was the first time that happened in over a year.) Betti crawled under the baby gate and Greta cornered her. Betti bit Greta's right leg and the vet prescribed antibiotics for both Betti and Greta. So, I thought the bite wound caused Greta's leg to swell. I was pretty shocked to find out it was cancer and completely unrelated to the bite wound. I brought her in to see if her leg was broken, because that's what it looked like. Perhaps the bite wound sped up cell growth in that area, causing the cancer to show it's ugly face sooner.
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Here is a photo of Greta lying on her bed with the cold pack on her leg. She is being treated with ointment for her eyes.
The other photos show how she spends most of her time: resting. This morning she got up and was all wiggles to see everyone. She has a little stuffed Koala bear that giggles like a child, so she fondled it for a while. I was happy to see her enjoying herself. She's still taking codeine, an anti-inflammatory, and her heart pills.
She's a sweetheart.