Sweet dreams, my love

Paws, lovingly nicknamed "MegaPaws", passed away this morning after a really terrible 48 hours, the worst of his last 4 weeks.
He spiraled downward so quickly in his last 24 hours and finally let me know he was not going to be able to recover from this most recent, unrelenting episode.

I will upload photos and videos sometime soon so we can remember Paws in the happy times, and not just during his sickness.

Thank you to everyone for their love and support, and for all the messages and calls too.

Right now, Momma is crying and cuddling with his brother, Trot, and are going to get through this difficult time together.

Like Paws always says, "Big love & Woofs to all."

Woof.

So sorry to disappoint, but...

still not doing well.

After what Momma thought was going to be a good night because I didn't get sick, she has been following me around with the WetVac for the last 3 hours.  These pictures show why.

See the food?  I ate that at 9:30pm LAST NIGHT.  It just sits in my esophagus while trying to get into my tummy.  So when it comes back up, it looks just like when it went in. 

Pretty icky so sorry if it grosses you out, but it's what Momma deals with everyday.

For now, Momma gave me more medicine but it really needs to stay in my tummy.
So cross your paws.

Woof!

How much will the feeding tube cost?

Momma is being asked by many people how much my feeding tube will cost.  
First, thank you so much to everyone for your interest, kindness and support.

So far, it looks like it will be nearly $2,500, after all is said and done - surgery, bloodwork, anesthesia, formulas, equipment, etc.
She is waiting for an itemized list from the specialty vet and will then have more information.
But it's going to cost a lot.

Momma's not sure how just yet, but she says I WILL get the tube.
She says people will love me and want to help me.  I sure hope so.

Momma will post the information as soon as the vet gets it to her, but she wanted to pass along what she knows so far.

Thanks for your love to everyone!!

Woof!

Maybe a "tiny" jinx yesterday...

Perhaps I jinxed us just a tiny bit when I told you how well I was doing yesterday.
I was fine all night until 5am when I started to regurgitate again.
And it's continued all day.


It's really because I just like to give Momma more work to do.  Even though she uses the WetVac to clean up after me, she still has to empty and clean it out. (What a yucky job!  PEE-YOO!)
WOL!  I love you Momma!


Momma is still feeding me the frozen meatballs today but cut my last 2 meals down to 3/4 of a can.  So I'm getting shortchanged BIG TIME today.  But she says she just can't stuff me with too much food otherwise it never goes down.  (This is where the feeding tube would come in handy.)


And every now and then a FULL one comes back up.  Guess it just sits in my esophagus waiting for its turn to get into my tummy.  But before it can get there, it just comes back up - and yes, it's thawed out by then.  But it's still in the fully-rounded shape of a meatball.  WOL!


And it's a very rainy day here in New England so I keep testing Momma every time she brings me to go potty.


You see...I LOVE to lick up the puddles.  BUT...then I get sick.  She even tries to put a muzzle on me so I can't drink, but I figure out how to get sips anyway.   I'm just a very thirsty puppy.  Momma says it's good that I'm still thirsty.  It's when I stop drinking that worries her.


Anyway, til next time.
Big love & Woofs to all!


Woof!

Momma told me not to jinx it, but...

...I wanted to tell you anyway.

I held down my dinner last night and we all got some sleep (finally - after 3 sleepless nights). Momma woke me up at 3:30am for my medicine, then we went right back to sleep.

And right now, three hours later, I'm holding down breakfast (a can of ground food made into frozen meatballs and 4oz of a milkshake - a total of 625 calories).

While I'm not nearly out of the woods yet, if I can continue like this for a few days, I might be on my way to recovery from this latest episode.

Momma received the report from the vet about my Wed. visit. She has more questions she needs answered about the feeding tube, procedure, costs, care, etc. Once she has those answers, Momma says she will start a campaign to raise that money so I can get the tube and recover from future episodes more quickly.

For right now, I'm just glad the last three meals have gone better than the last three weeks.

Keep your paws crossed for my 3pm lunch to go well too!

Woof!!

Still not doing well - Friday night, quick update

Momma and I are sitting here after I just finished eating a whole can of food. I ate half a can of food this afternoon and some ice but kept half of it down during the last six hours. And this morning, I didn't want to touch any food.


I haven't been well at all since Tuesday night when I started to get sick again (after I had an ok Mon. and Tues, after the previous two weeks of a nightmare.).


I had to fast overnight in case the vet wanted to do blood tests on Wed.
And I haven't been well since.


Tuesday night, Wednesday afternoon and night, all day yesterday and last night, Momma's best friends were put to good use - Bounty and the WetVac. I just couldn't keep anything down. No food. No liquid. No medicine. 


I had her cleaning up a minefield of mess all over the kitchen and living room - all day and night. And then I pant and pace all the time, so Momma tried like crazy to settle me down. Didn't work, but at least I know she loves me.


When we saw the vet on Wednesday, she said that these are exactly the times when the feeding tubes would be used - for when I'm having my episodes and I can't keep anything down. Momma could still feed me by the feeding tube so I can still get liquid and nutrition. And then when I'm feeling better, Momma can feed me like normal.


But right now, we don't have the feeding tube so Momma has to keep trying to feed me the normal way - which obviously isn't working too well lately. These last 3 weeks have been so tough.


Momma will fill in more details about the vet visit tomorrow but she just wanted me to give a quick update and let everybody know that we are still hanging in here.


Tonight, both Momma and I wish we had that tube already. It would start to make me feel a lot better. If I could just eat and keep it in, then I can get back to my old self in no time.


Then it will be back to eating pot roast (I'll never stop dreaming), bossing Trot around and moving Momma off that couch - it's still mine, Momma!! Don't get too comfy!!


Cross your paws dinner stays well and we all can try to have a better night.


Woof!

Back to regular food today - so far, so good

Well, Momma weaned me off the frozen meatballs and put me back on my dry food mix because it's less expensive than the canned food.


She grinds up the dry food into powder using the food processor, then mixes it with water, letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours to absorb the water - making my own ground food - which I still love to pretend tastes like pot roast.  Yum!


So far, I'm keeping it down (knock on wood).


My IV started to leak again today so tomorrow, when we see the new vet, hopefully, they will decide what to do.  Gotta figure out a way to keep hydrated.


I'm going to a new special vet to see if a feeding tube will be better for me.
Neither Momma nor I have any idea of what to expect.


Cross your paws!!


Woof!