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  1. #11
    Senior Dog Blackboy98's Avatar
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    I too wanted to say how sorry to hear of your loss. 13 years, I would give you an A+ for giving her a long, wonderful and loving life. I have never had a dog live that long.

    Please do not doubt yourself that you could have done more or sooner or better. You did what you thought was right for your girl, and you did!

    Rest gently now sweet girl, no pain when you are across The Bridge playing in the beautiful meadows with our pups.
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    Mollysmomma (12-13-2017)

  3. #12
    Best Friend Retriever ronmcq's Avatar
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    Our condolences to you and your family. It seems you did everything possible for your girl and that she lived a long and wonderful life with you.
    Run free young lady.

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    Mollysmomma (11-06-2017)

  5. #13
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    Thank you guys so much. I know in my heart it was bound to happen, but I'm really struggling as I read more and more.

    The emergency vet never gave her a preventative seizure medicine, they only treated her as they happened in the ER. Because of that, she had a final massive seizure that likely caused brain damage and killed her. It's unclear why they didn't immediately put her on a longterm seizure medicine - the vet we worked with was worried she'd be lethargic and not herself, which doesn't seem like a good reason to allow her to keep having seizures.

  6. #14
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    I don't think vets usually start anti-seizure medicine after only one seizure and you said she'd just been twitchy at the first emergency vet visit. It's a life-long commitment and they'd have wanted to do a more thorough work up before starting her on anti-seizure medicine to try to determine the cause, even when a cause cannot always be found. JenC has a sweet dog who has been having seizures, maybe she'll comment on when meds were started.

    Vet Advice: Seizures in Dogs and Canine Epilepsy | The Bark

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    Annette47 (11-07-2017)

  8. #15
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    I am sorry for your loss, especially under such circumstances. There isn't anything else you could have done. Even if they had given anti-seizure meds it may not have given her more time.

    sometimes we just don't know exactly what it was and we have to find peace in that we did all we could have given the situation. I've had to make peace with that myself after loosing my dog at 3 when her heart stopped

  9. #16
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by smartrock View Post
    JenC has a sweet dog who has been having seizures, maybe she'll comment on when meds were started.
    The typical go-to med for seizures in Phenobarbital, and it can take 3 weeks to build up in the system to be of any use. When you are dealing with an old dog, the disease behind the symptom of seizures is usually something more severe like a tumor or lesion. Daily meds probably wouldn't have solved the problem. You also can't really rely on the ER to provide daily meds, having been to the ER 2x with Wrigley's recurring seizures, we're always instructed to follow up with our vet.

    I'd have to go back and re-read your accounting of what happened. The ER is mostly good for stopping long seizures that can lead to brain damage, usually with something like Valium. But they don't treat or help you much with the management of the disease causing the problems.

    The honest truth is that it was probably already too late to do anything to save your dog. Animals are so hard to treat in that they can't tell you things are wrong.

  10. #17
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    I am so sorry for your loss. You must be in shock since it was so sudden, even though she was an older dog and you were lucky to have her for 13 long years.

    Only an autopsy could give you answers, my suspicion would be cancer, and I doubt there was anything else you could have done for her.

    Again, I am really sorry for your loss.
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  11. #18
    Puppy
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    I appreciate all of your kind words and replies.

    The vet finally called with the results of the autopsy and they're pretty hard to swallow. She had no signs of any cancer, no lesions in her brain or elsewhere. This was likely a result of late-onset epilepsy. We're still struggling with how quickly she was given up on - the vet much too quickly assumed it was cancer and we feel didn't give her a chance. When she presented it to us, she presented only two options: two cancers that were fatal and deadly.

    I hope this acts as a lesson to the vet as well as anyone who reads this - a dog who develops seizures late in life doesn't necessarily mean cancer. If we could go back in time, we would. We have to live with the regret - both of taking her to the vet that ended her life and of our decision to euthanize when in our hearts it didn't feel right, even that night.



  12. #19
    Senior Dog
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    Seizures are tricky. There's a good chance you wouldn't have been able to keep her stabilized had she been allowed to live. She may have continued to have seizures despite measures that were taken. And that, to me, would be just as bad as cancer. Seizures take their toll on dogs.

    I'm sorry you got news that proved to be so upsetting but please remember that you spared her the fear that comes with seizures.

  13. #20
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    There is a member here who lost her (young) dog to epilepsy. Just the fact that she didn't have cancer doesn't mean she wasn't suffering, or wouldn't be suffering. Don't beat yourself up, you gave her a long and happy life. Guilt associated with the decision to euthanize is common and normal, it never feels right, we either feel we made the decision too early or too late. Smarter and more experienced people than me have written here over the years "It's better one day too early than one day too late."
    Last edited by Berna; 12-13-2017 at 04:45 PM.

  14. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Berna For This Useful Post:

    Blackboy98 (12-14-2017), kimbersmom (12-13-2017), OHfemail (12-13-2017), SunDance (12-13-2017), Tanya (12-14-2017)

 



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