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Good and bad
16 years ago
General
Ok, i'll start with the good news! :D
That friend of mine mentioned in my last journal if fine. She just decided to go to a meditation camp without telling her housemates about it. :/
Ok, not for the bad news... :(
My mum came to visit me this morning with some unpleasant news about my Beagle, Jackson.
About 7 months ago he started to limp, this wasn't very surprising as he is a small dog with a big attitude. Jackson shares the yard with him mother Kes and Bruno our mastiff. Bruno is a very kind de-sexed boy, and Jackson likes to steal his food and dominate him all of the time. Occasionally Bruno will bark at him and push him out of the way clumsily. So we all assumed Jackson limp was a result of Bruno stepping on Jackson or something similar.
After taking Jackson to the Vet we found out that it wasn't a fracture like we all thought, but a problem with a join in his leg. The cost to have this fixed would have been nearly $1,000. None of us have this kind of money just laying around, and the vets said there was a good chance that it would heal on its own, and if he did have surgery there was no guarantee it would work.
So, we brought Jackson some pain killers and for a while his leg started to look better. He was putting his foot down occasionally and looked happy. :)
This didn't last.
The same thing is now happening to all of his legs. It is painful for him to put any pressure on any of his legs, so he cannot walk much at all (and that is WITH painkillers) The vets do not know the exact cause of this, and the only treatment they can offer is to do surgery on all four legs, the vague quote was around $5,000
And again, there is no guarantee. Even so, Jackson isn't an old dog. It isn't his time to go and if I had the money I would spend it in a heartbeat, so DO NOT judge me or call me heartless for what I am going to do.
I am going to have him put down. If there was any alternative I would take it, but there is none.
I feel terrible. I just spent the last 3 hours balling my eyes out and i'm starting to tear up again.
I've known Jackson his entire life. I was there when he was born, when he opened his eyes, when he learned to run, jump and wrestle the other pups. I watched him leave, and he came back to us with the name 'Hugo' because the couple who brought him changed their mind, he left again, and came back with the name 'Star' because the couple who brought him didn't think to ask their landlord, he left a third time to a lovely old couple and came back again to me, this time called 'Jackson', because the couple where planning to retire, but didn't and the felt guilty leaving him alone.
He escaped our yard countless times by digging holes under the fence, but he came back. He escaped again by digging more holes, he came back and we poured cement around the fence. He escaped through the gate, he came back and we wired it shut. He escaped by running through the house and out the front door, he came back and we added an extra gate between the back door and the yard. He created holes in the fence and escaped, he came back and we put up an electric fence. And he kept on escaping no matter what we did. Unlike the other dogs, he found a way to get past it. But he always came back.
I didn't think I would ever lose his to some stupid joint problem.
Jackson has been my friend since the days of neopets, Pokemon cards and and packing lunch-boxes for primary school.
He trusts me and i'm the one who has to... (not to sound dramatic, but I can't finish that sentence.)
Instead, have an adorable picture of him, from one of the many times he went missing:
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs8/i/20....._ninykinin.jpg
That friend of mine mentioned in my last journal if fine. She just decided to go to a meditation camp without telling her housemates about it. :/
Ok, not for the bad news... :(
My mum came to visit me this morning with some unpleasant news about my Beagle, Jackson.
About 7 months ago he started to limp, this wasn't very surprising as he is a small dog with a big attitude. Jackson shares the yard with him mother Kes and Bruno our mastiff. Bruno is a very kind de-sexed boy, and Jackson likes to steal his food and dominate him all of the time. Occasionally Bruno will bark at him and push him out of the way clumsily. So we all assumed Jackson limp was a result of Bruno stepping on Jackson or something similar.
After taking Jackson to the Vet we found out that it wasn't a fracture like we all thought, but a problem with a join in his leg. The cost to have this fixed would have been nearly $1,000. None of us have this kind of money just laying around, and the vets said there was a good chance that it would heal on its own, and if he did have surgery there was no guarantee it would work.
So, we brought Jackson some pain killers and for a while his leg started to look better. He was putting his foot down occasionally and looked happy. :)
This didn't last.
The same thing is now happening to all of his legs. It is painful for him to put any pressure on any of his legs, so he cannot walk much at all (and that is WITH painkillers) The vets do not know the exact cause of this, and the only treatment they can offer is to do surgery on all four legs, the vague quote was around $5,000
And again, there is no guarantee. Even so, Jackson isn't an old dog. It isn't his time to go and if I had the money I would spend it in a heartbeat, so DO NOT judge me or call me heartless for what I am going to do.
I am going to have him put down. If there was any alternative I would take it, but there is none.
I feel terrible. I just spent the last 3 hours balling my eyes out and i'm starting to tear up again.
I've known Jackson his entire life. I was there when he was born, when he opened his eyes, when he learned to run, jump and wrestle the other pups. I watched him leave, and he came back to us with the name 'Hugo' because the couple who brought him changed their mind, he left again, and came back with the name 'Star' because the couple who brought him didn't think to ask their landlord, he left a third time to a lovely old couple and came back again to me, this time called 'Jackson', because the couple where planning to retire, but didn't and the felt guilty leaving him alone.
He escaped our yard countless times by digging holes under the fence, but he came back. He escaped again by digging more holes, he came back and we poured cement around the fence. He escaped through the gate, he came back and we wired it shut. He escaped by running through the house and out the front door, he came back and we added an extra gate between the back door and the yard. He created holes in the fence and escaped, he came back and we put up an electric fence. And he kept on escaping no matter what we did. Unlike the other dogs, he found a way to get past it. But he always came back.
I didn't think I would ever lose his to some stupid joint problem.
Jackson has been my friend since the days of neopets, Pokemon cards and and packing lunch-boxes for primary school.
He trusts me and i'm the one who has to... (not to sound dramatic, but I can't finish that sentence.)
Instead, have an adorable picture of him, from one of the many times he went missing:
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs8/i/20....._ninykinin.jpg
I wish vet bills had a 'pay by installments' option. Bloody hell. If He was a human we would have some options. :/
I am currently trying to convince my partner to go halves for pet insurance for our cat- A silly cat who likes to lay in the middle of the road and rub his face up against cars in the driveway. x_x;;;
We know for sure it isn't caused by a fracture or anything because there is no swelling, and from what I have been told the x-rays show that the joints are oddly shaped. I don't think it could possibly be a misdiagnosis from the information I have been given, they just don't know what caused it so it could come back after surgery.
However, if you know of any free websites of Australia call centers who give an opinion based on a list of symptoms, I'd be very glad to give it a go.
I'm having a doggy wheelchair made up for him in hopes that is will take off some of the weight from his legs and slow the Arthritis and muscle deterioration. When I visited the family house he didn't look too bad. He wouldn't walk much, but his tail was still wagging so I don't feel like it would be right to put him to sleep when he still finds some enjoyment out of life.
He certainly seemed to brighten up when he saw me the other day though, so I think it would be best if I took the time away from my house and stayed in Murray bridge with my parents for a week while we test out his new wheels.
But if that doesn't work he will be put to sleep. I know that eventually all of his legs will completely go and he wont be able to put any weight at all on them, so I will have to put him down in the end. I'm just praying that this wheelchair will give him a few more years. He is only 8, it doesn't seem right that his mother will most likely outlive him.
*insert hopeful sad-face*