urgent help requested - diagnosis?

[duketesta]

I don't know if it's related to his problem, but two weeks ago, Duke cut his face really bad on a metal fence and was prescribed anti-biotics, which we began giving him. At that time he was walking fine and running, very active.

After a few days, one night he had a severe limp in one of his hind legs. He was walking with the leg very stiffly. The next morning I noticed that the lower half of the leg was noticeably colder than his other legs. I took him to the vet, who did X-rays and diagnosed him with severe displaysia and sent us home with an anti-inflammatory, which we gave him that night.

The next morning he was in severe pain that seemed to be affecting both hind legs. I noticed him walking on the tops of his back feet. We took him to our other vet who noticed some neurological disfunction but basically agreed with the diagnosis of severe displaysia and sent him home with the steroid Prednisone, which we began giving him instead of the anti-inflammatory.

After a few more days of resting, he could sometimes walk almost normally, but then his situation worsened and he could barely get up to go to the bathroom. Both rear legs were cold and yesterday We took him to a specialist. While being examined, he began to exhibit a problem with one of his front legs. He was rolling over the foot and sort of walking on the top of that one as well. I noticed that foot was also now cold. He now has only the one front leg which is still warm and functioning normally.

The specialist sent us for a hell day of MRI, looking at the spine. We drove two hours which became very uncomfortable for Duke. Upon arriving, he flopped out of the car onto the parking lot where he lay for half an hour before being able to move inside.

I strongly suspect something else is wrong, given the migration of the symptoms to the front foot. Especially the coldness seems to be something that they don't have an answser for. This started one week ago today and I am afraid we will have to put him down due to the pain he is in and the lack of an accurate diagnosis compounded by the enormous expense of the MRI and possible further suggested surgery.

He is an incredibly obedient and loyal dog. I would spend the money for surgery if I thought that would help him but at this point I'm afraid the doctors don't know what's wrong with him and are doing only what they know how to do.

[SHADOW_THE_STAFF]

Oh my god, what an awful thing, I'm so sorry for poor Duke. Have the vets come back to you at all with a new diagnosis, or any more information? I havent heard of anything like that before.

You are in my thoughts. (((HUGS)))

[duketesta]

no new diagnosis yet - we are scheduled to visit the specialist in 2 hours to review the MRI results.
Now this morning it seems that his breathing is labored. I'm not sure if that's a result of the pain he's in or if it's a progression of whatever is afflicting him.
We love this dog so much... I know at this point he wants to live and I just wish I knew how to help him or if we should go forward with spinal surgery, considering that it now seems to be a system wide problem rather than a localized one.

[SHADOW_THE_STAFF]

I've been trying to see if there is any info on this website:

http://www.vetinfo.com/dogindex.html

but there are so many conditions on there. Not sure if maybe you want to have a look through it.

You and duke are in my thoughts.

[GSDMom]

how terrible. does he run a fever? could be a blood infection from the cut
or maybe DM is he an older dog?

I hope Duke will be ok

Bon

[filarotten]

Was the metal rusty?

[filarotten]

Check out these links on tetanus in dogs
http://familyfun.go.com/parenting/learn/activities/expert/petvettetanus/petvettetanus.html

http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/tetanus.htm


Sorry to here your baby is so sick.

[bubbatd]

Poor baby !! Keep us posted.........

[duketesta]

Thanks everyone, for your concern and information!

The metal fence that he got cut on was not rusty. Even so, I mentioned possibility of tetanus to the vet. Also mentioned botulism and heartworms as possible causes.

The specialist in Ventura now thinks that he is having blood clots causing these symptoms. What is causing the blood clots is still a question that they are looking into with more tests. But I feel better now that there is a diagnosis that explains the symptoms including the cold limbs.

Apparently this is a common condition with cats, but very unusual with dogs. I know he wants to live but I can't bear to see him suffering like this. I hope he will survive this and recover. Thanks again for your kind words and thoughts!

[filarotten]

I'm so sorry. It so hard to see your baby suffer and hurt. It hurts you too. I hope Duke will be ok. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

[Barb04]

Please keep us updated on Duke. My thoughts and prayers are with both of you that he gets better.

[duketesta]

I'm sorry to say that Duke's condition seemed to be deteriorating rapidly. He suffered from an extremely rare condition where his kidneys were "leaking" protein that was causing his blood to clot. My wife and I made the very difficult and tearful decision to put our big baby to sleep today, to end his suffering. I hope he can forgive us for not finding a cure that would have allowed him to regain his health, but the specialists were very pessimistic about possible treatments and we couldn't bear seeing him suffer every day like he has for the past week.

We adopted this adorable mutt in 2002 and he was only with us for just over 3 years - I know we will miss him so much. I have some pictures of him on line at http://www.joetesta.com/duke and I hope to get together more pictures to make a memorial page for him.

Thank you very much everyone for your kind words and thoughts.

[fillyone]

I'm so very sorry for your loss.
Barb

[Whitedobelover]

Iam sorry foryour loss. Made my eyes tear up also. I am so sorry. hugs and kisses.

[filarotten]

I am so sorry you had to make that decision, it tears your heart out. You did the right thing by not making him suffer any longer. He will always be in your heart and you in his. My thoughts are with you.

[Wings]

Sorry to hear He has to be put down, but I'm sure he knows you have done your best to help him

[duketesta]

Thank you everyone. Here is Duke's story. Sorry if this breaks your heart but I think it helps me to remember and write about him now.

During the summer of 2002 I was working for a small local newspaper that was just starting. One of my many tasks was going to the local animal shelter to take photos of pets available for adoption. At the end of May, I took photos of a number of pets including this large skinny dog with his ribs showing through. He had been a stray so his age and breed were unknown and he did not have a name. He was cute in a homely way and had deep, thoughtful, sad eyes. When I returned at the end of June, I was sorry to find that he was still in the shelter, looking sadder than ever. He seemed resolved to live out his last days in his cold cage at the shelter. When I came by his cage, he lifted his head up to see who was there then sadly lowered it as if he was giving up on any hope for a future. He had been there for 5 weeks and no one wanted this big guy. I made the decision that it was time to add a dog to my life and on July 11th, I adopted him and brought him home.
I remember trying to call him dozens of different dog names to see if he responded to any of them. Since he didn't, we named him Duke after a dog my grandfather had many years ago. His stature was dukely and with his big head, he bore a slight resemblance to Scooby Doo. We considered calling him Scooby Duke but ultimately we just called him Duke. He had an intimidating bark and an imposing size, and I felt that he would be a good protector of us and our home.
When we got him home, he was happy to eat the food we gave him. He was a loner. He was not very affectionate at all and didn't allow us to hug him, stand over him, or touch his feet. He was about 72 pounds. He was listed as a rottweiler mix, but it was always interesting to have people try to determine his ancestry. Suggestions included mixes of great dane, sharpei, doberman, various hounds, and labrador.
Over time, he gained weight so his ribs stopped showing and he became more friendly and playful as he got used to us and he became very protective of his new home. We learned his likes (hiking, eating bread and spaghetti) and dislikes (the beach, eating fruit and vegetables) and he learned that we were not going to hurt him. We gave him love and affection every day. Eventually he allowed us to hug him, stand over him, and even rub his feet. He was a good dog. He must have had a very strict upbringing; he never once tried to get on our furniture, and if I tried to tug him onto the sofa with me, he would escape from my grasp to run away. He also refused to go up any stairs for the first two years we had him, until after coaxing and training with treats, he would cautiously climb up and down stairs.

A couple of weeks agao, when he cut his face on the fence and it swelled up right away, I was so worried that something was wrong with him. I had a bad feeling that we might lose him and I told him over and over what a good dog he had been. We took him to the vet who said he should be fine and prescribed anti-biotics.
One night about a week later, I came home from work and noticed he had a terrible limp with one of his rear legs. Since he had seemed fine in the morning, I assumed he had strained or injured it running around inside the house. I never imagined this was the final manifestation of his horrible condition. We hadn't really noticed the tell-tale signs of his recent weight loss, skinnier feet and legs, and less energy. Those we just attributed to his diet (trying to get him to lose some weight so as to go easier on his joints) and his increasing age (we guessed about 8).
After visits to two vets, both of whom diagnosed hip displaysia despite my complaints of his cold leg, his condition worsened and we noticed him walking on the tops of his back feet in obvious pain. Both back feet were now ice cold. We were referred to a specialist who suspected a spinal problem and sent us the same day on a two hour car ride for an MRI. I noticed that in addition to his back feet, one of his front feet was now cold and he was having trouble walking on the top of that foot too. Poor Duke was in so much discomfort on the two hour car ride to the MRI place, squirming and whining in the back seat and he couldn't even stand when we got there. When I opened the door for him, he tried to jump out but just flopped onto the pavement and lay on the parking lot for half an hour before gaining the strength to stand so I could carry him over to the door. I was so worried for him.
The next morning, the specialist had planned to operate on his spine, but did not see the spinal condition he had expected on the MRI.
After another day of tests at the specialist, it was determined that he had an aortic embolism, a huge blood clot in his main artery. More tests showed that his kidneys were leaking protein, an extremely rare condition in dogs that resulted in excessive blood clotting. The doctors at the specialist's office told us that his condition was very serious and that euthanasia was not a bad option at this point. Blood thinners were prescribed and we hoped our dog could beat the odds and recover from this.
After two days at home, his condition worsened. I noticed that his last good foot had now gone cold as well. He was only standing to go to the bathroom, a few times per day. We constantly brought him water which he drank laying down, and he ate his dinner laying down. He seemed to be really suffering in pain and after his assisted walks to go to the bathroom, he would sit and pant as if he just ran a mile. On his final morning (yesterday), he refused all food, even his favorite treats and went off to be by himself in our bedroom. His back end looked horrible and swollen; we didn't know if the medicine or his progressing condition or a combination were causing him to defecate drops of blood.
We spoke to a doctor at the specialist office who didn't have an explanation for the blood and he was choking up over the phone as he told us the options were limited; that we could try blood and plasma transfusions, but that Duke's odds were not good. It was the opinion of the specialists that this would only prolong his suffering and would be for the benefit of the owners and not the dog.
We tearfully decided that we should end Duke's suffering and he was able to walk himself to the car and we helped him in. At the vet's office, he just lay on the floor panting and looking sad. Finally it was time. He obediently stood and followed me towards the door to the treatment area, walking on the top of one of his back feet. I stepped to the side and he stepped to stay with me as the assistant gently guided him back. It was heartbreaking to say good bye to our big baby and I hope he will forgive us for not trying the further treatments.
We decided to have him cremated and drove his body to the pet cemetery a few towns away and selected a beautiful urn for his ashes. It was a very sad day.
Now we have some video, many pictures, and even more memories of this obedient, loyal, loving friend whose life we changed, and who changed our lives in return. We will never forget our big baby Duke and the 3+ years we had together. We miss him terribly and hope he is in peace now and that we may meet again on the other side.
We love you Duke - we could not have asked for a better dog.

[Julie]

You added 3+ wonderful years to your dogs life. I am sure he appreciates everything you did for him. And he was able to experience some goodness in his life.

And in the end, don't feel guilty. You did everything you could and did everything right. Duke was very lucky to have you.

I don't think Duke will have to "forgive" you for not furthering treatments,
he is probably thanking you for ending his terrible pain peacefully.
And thanking you for giving him something he probably never had before......
A good home..
and love...

[Gempress]

I'm sorry to hear about that, but you did the right thing. I think that's the hardest part of owning a dog: deciding when it's time to let them rest. You gave Duke a very happy life. I hope you don't let this heartbreak deter you from having another dog in the future.

[bubbatd]

My heart aches for you....RIP Duke , I'm so happy you had 3 loved years and bless your owners for easing your pain and doing the right thing.

[Barb04]

I'm so sorry to hear about Duke. He will live on forever in your heart and memories. You don't need his forgiveness, he knew you did the best to help him. Please take it one day at a time and know Duke is watching over you.

[Chithedobe]

I'm in tears as I write this...
God Bless you for giving Duke 3 years of love and compassion. I can't imagine what his life would have been like if you hadn't adopted him. I'm so sorry for your loss. Your story with Duke is very similar to mine with my Spike.