Poultry Talk Ontario (pto.ca)

Duchess (the doberman mix) and Jester (mother pug, seated on the right, poor girl has already lost one eye) both had nasty issues with allergies since mid-August. Duchess was first and she’s worn a cone and been taking pills since then (where’s a hard frost when you want one (to shut down pollens and allergens)).

Jester got itchy in mid September (dogs will break skin and create nasty wounds if left unchecked) and it was a different vet at the same clinic and she recommended an “allergy shot”. So we did that to instant effect.

But Jester has taken a nasty turn with major kidney problems (she’s maybe 8 years old and came as a rescue). She is overweight (no thanks to treats from neighbours (my parents live in front)) and now she sleeps all the time, is very tired, and has no desire to eat or do anything. The problem seemed to come on suddenly Saturday and we took her to a vet the same day. Memory now tells us that she was not herself since the spring, losing strength and not following along on pasture walks (we wrote it off to weight and a nasty hot summer but now we see the pattern).

She is now on a “kidney friendly” diet, but today she has kept nothing down, and we have yet to be successful at getting a urine sample (the blood test on Saturday told us a lot). We have to walk the other three and Carla was busy the last two days so Jester was left behind on short walks (thus no sample).

Did the “allergy shot” send her kidneys out of whack or make things worse? Did she eat something nasty (such as a pill my mother lost) or been fed moldy bread?

We prepare ourselves for the worst.

my advice: if your dog is not acting normal get him/her checked out and don’t wait for nastier problems.

Best wishes for a full recovery!

Poor girl. Hoping the new diet helps.

Sorry to hear, hope your vet can help.

So sorry to hear, Baronrenfrew. I hope things will turn around for Jester. Thinking positive for her recovery.

so sorry baron. hopefully she'll come around.....
sometimes its shocking how they can hide it from us....like our GSP we lost to cancer, this tiny tumour that we were told was benign on testing had grown all up through his pelvis and spinal cord...and we had no clue, until the last 3 days with him, which were horrible and of course over a weekend when vets are closed. they sure get into our hearts and stick there. which is exactly what they should do! hopefully the vets can help with something. i seriously doubt an allergy shot would have done anything to kidneys, usually it's something like radiator fluid or eating a battery (we had a dog come into the vet college for that one....chewed through the battery and ate it, and did a number on the kidneys) or kidney disease which dogs can get just like people. hoping her tummy settles down and she manages to reach an equilibrium to keep on going comfortably for a while....

thanks you all, its strange to have a pet that is so sick.

people call them “fur babies”, but you don’t ask certain questions with children; at what point do you stop throwing money at your vet (we like them and they work hard but money is tight right now); or at what point do you “put them down” or “put them out of their misery?”

(and I can’t imagine a world where we pay for health care, or go bankrupt if you get sick)

the cycle of life and death is almost an everyday thing on the farm, whether its a predator killing your chickens, you “processing” them, or sending a pig or cow off to the butcher. you don’t have to like it, you just have to do it.

it doesn’t make it any easier.

My parents are alive and well (relatively) and in their mid 80’s and live in front of the house, but the “Trooper” song comes to mind.

“we’re here for a good time, not a long time, so have a good time, the sun can’t shine every day.”

thanks again, Bert

Jester
my “momma bear”
Rest in Peace

Oct 3 2018

I'm so sorry