August 29, 2010
Rusty as usual is the most loving dog we have ever encountered. Even if he is not feeling well he will still try to give us kissies and nuzzle us. Rusty has had a rough month, he had to go to the Vet. at least twice and it is something that just makes him so nervous. We were trying to wean him off the Prednisone so he could get alittle relief for his severe arthritis, but then his allergies took a turn for the worse. So I loaded Rusty up into the truck and went to the Vet. when we got there we realized he had lost 8 pounds in a month. Well, this really disturbed me as I have had other dogs with cancer and it's not a good sign. They went ahead and did some blood work and a urine culture to rule out a urinary tract infection. They also found 2 more lumps that look like cancer. As far as his allergies were concerned he had a bacterial infection on his skin. The blood work came back better than expected but it did show that his pancreas is inflamed. We had to wait 3 days for the results for the culture before they would prescribe antibiotics for the skin infection. They also went ahead and prescribed Tramadol for pain. The culture came back positive for a urinary tract infection and he was put on antibiotics for his skin & bladder infection. The bacteria in his bladder is very resistant to antibiotics so they will retest after he finishes his medication. To help his allergies, weight loss and pancreas he is eating chicken and rice. He is unable to tolerate any fat because of his pancreas but I'm sure this is okay with him because he gets home cooking every night. Over the past month he has become fairily imobile. His walks have become shorter and he is having more trouble with stairs. Nothing seems to bother him though, he just rolls with punches.
On a more positive note we had to take a 4 day vacation so Rusty was reunited with his original Foster Mom who took care of him and loves him to pieces and I'm sure the feeling is mutual with him. So Rusty had a little vacation of his own.
Rusty has managed to tear apart every stuffed toy we have given him and it's great to see him acting like a puppy.
The fur has really filled in around his eyes as you will see in his new pictures. He is a very handsome dog.
July 17, 2010
Rusty has been quite an exceptional dog. He has finished the antibiotics for Lyme Disease and has made a remarkable comeback. He is a lot spunkier than he was before. He is trying to go up and down steps now whereas before he wouldn't even attempt it. He still is very weak in his hind end and can't manuvre up steps but if he goes slowly he can go down.
Rusty is doing well with his allergies as he is growing hair around his eyes and looks more handsome than ever. He is still taking Prednisone so he is unable to take pain meds for his arthritis. My goal is some day wean him off of this medication.
We had sad and disappointing news after the tumor on his lip was removed. The pathology results came back that it was a form of skin cancer Amelanatic Melanoma. This type of skin cancer can metastasize to other areas of his body. At this time it is unclear as to whether this has occurred. We will just wait and see.
Rusty has made my life much easier as he has started eating regular dog kibble as long as I add water and make alittle gravy for him. Three cheers for Rusty in this area, no more cooking!!!!
June 21, 2010
Well Mr. Rusty has been very busy the past few weeks. He went to a new foster home where he now has a dog sister Bailey, a dog brother Cody, and a cat brother Gizmo. He seems to get along with everyone very well. He's even decided stealing stuffed toys from Cody and ripping them to pieces is a lot of fun!!
He had a visit with his new Vet. where they gave him shots, reviewed the medications he was on for his allergies and did a Heartworm/lyme disease test. He did test positive for Lyme Disease so he just started a round of antibiotics for that. He also had a tumor on his lower lip removed yesterday under local anesthetic and he did wonderfully!! He has decided he doesn't care for his new Vet at all because all they do is poke him with needles and give out yucky medication. Rusty will get the results from the removal of his tumor in a few days, they don't feel it is anything to worry about.
Rusty's biggests problems right now are trying to be the pickiest eater ever and his arthritis. If the Vet can wean him off of the Prednisone for his allergies he will be able to take medications for his arthritis. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
May 7, 2010
Rusty started his allergy shots two weeks ago, and the jury is still out as to whether they are going to be either helpful or effective. He is at the very beginning of the program where he is given a low, small dose of vaccine, which gradually increases over a number of weeks and then is maintained at that level. I was told to watch for possible reactions, but his head did not "swell up like a bowling ball" and his eyes did not swell and close shut. From all appearances Rusty was tolerating the shots very well – except for one very important fact. Our boy has begun chewing on his legs to the point where they will soon be open sores. He is also rubbing his head on the carpet a lot and scratching it until it bleeds. The company's literature mentioned that there was a very small possibility that the shots might not be effective. It mentioned nothing about the possibility that his body might not tolerate them. And so we now have a "flashing light" so to speak warning us that allergy shots may not be the best way to go with Rusty. Since Rusty's allergies are severe, we have been eager to do whatever we can to make him more comfortable. And he has improved remarkably. We have simply been trying to take him that extra step, however, and give him the cushion he's needed to live and function like a completely normal dog once more. And so we are awaiting the wisdom of our vet and proceeding cautiously, hoping to find a solution without abandoning the cure. (One note of interest: Among lots of other things, Rusty is allergic to human dander. How unfair is that!)
On the positive side, Rusty continues to eat with great enthusiasm and topped 70 lbs. on his last vet visit. Since his weight a year and a half ago was a healthy 84 lbs., 70 is headed back in the right direction. Rusty has a fluffy look, and so a quick glance at him does not immediately indicate that he is underweight. It's when you go into a rubbing, hugging mode that you realize that his bones are still sticking out and definitely need some padding. Rusty continues to live life happily in spite of his increased itching. His devotion to our family is evident and his eagerness to greet everyone we pass on our walks makes him very cute to watch. I recently took him to Minooka Park to enjoy some new sights and smells and he was in heaven. It's obvious this is a traveling dog who will thoroughly enjoy many new adventures as spring opens up into summer.
Rusty continues to dislike water, especially this morning's rain, and he's not too sure about grass, which means if given a choice, he'd prefer concrete. We're working on that.
April 9, 2010
Rusty is a most interesting dog, and Spring is an awesome time of year One of the surprises of the past two weeks was our catching Rusty trying to climb a tree to "introduce himself" to a big raccoon who was enjoying the warm weather in the crook of the old maple. Thankfully, the meeting didn't take place, since Rusty is not really equipped for tree climbing, and the raccoon did not seem especially eager to establish a friendship. The desire and effort were there, however, and it is obvious that Rusty had to have spent considerable time in his youth enthusiastically chasing whatever small animals ventured into his range. He has really come alive with the advent of warm weather, as he bounces along on his walks, eagerly greeting people and enjoying all the wonderful smells uncovered in the wake of winter's melted snow. Rusty has also discovered the sofa and the wonderful comfort it provides for leisurely naps. His moving and piling up of blankets and quilts continues on a daily basis, and he seems very happy with the end result, sleeping peacefully on what looks like a small beaver lodge. It appears Rusty is also a bit of a meteorologist and is skilled at assessing from an open doorway whether there are even a few drops of rain falling. If there's rain, he simply changes his mind about needing to go out. Rusty is a bit of a character, who is also an affectionate, sweet, delightful boy who enjoys life and the wonders it brings.
We are now waiting for the company in California to put together a vaccine which will lessen Rusty's reactions to a long list of allergens. Since this vaccine only addresses allergic reactions to environmental allergens, however, we are still trying to assess which foods might also be giving him problems. The diet we are presently using seems to be causing him only minimal discomfort, and so we are staying with it for the time being. Rusty's appetite is excellent, and he is putting on some of the weight he had lost over the past year and a half. Except for the blackened, calloused areas around his eyes and some patches on his elbow and side which are only now beginning to display new hair growth, he is looking more and more like a normal dog – an extremely cute normal dog.
Not knowing everything that he is allergic to does pose some problems, however, and the hours after last Friday's bath contained some dramatic moments as Rusty rolled endlessly on the carpet, scratching and rubbing everything he could reach. He seemed a little frantic and my first thought was that he was having an allergic reaction to the allergy shampoo I had used. After brushing him out, giving him two Benadryl, and seeing no physical signs of distress, however, we decided to wait it out for a while. He gradually settled down and a few hours later seemed back to normal. However, an interesting dog is exactly that - interesting. I honestly don't know that he was reacting to the shampoo. Rusty does not like water – at all. And it follows that he also doesn't like being wet. It is very possible that what we saw could have been simply his dislike of having his undercoat and the rest of him wet and uncomfortable. Once he was once again dry, fluffy and extremely handsome, he was a happy dog. He also made his point. He really hates being wet and that includes rain!
March 26, 2010
Rusty went into the past couple weeks with a fairly serious bladder infection, which, thankfully, has now cleared up. He will remain on the antibiotic for the full course of treatment, however, (a month) since our vet feels that bladder infections in dogs are often linked to some other weakness in the immune system. The medication will also help us in our efforts to clear up Rusty's remaining skin problems. We have also had him on probiotics in order to counteract the negative effects which an antibiotic often creates in an old dog's digestive system. He has tolerated both very well.
The results have come back from the blood test which screens for allergies and show that Rusty reacts to dust and a number of molds and pollens. The next step is a consultation between our vet and the company in California which did the testing to determine which allergens are causing the most problems. A vaccine for Rusty, which can be administered periodically, can then be developed. Unfortunately, blood tests cannot screen for food allergies (something I was not aware of) and so we will have to continue to experiment with foods to figure out which ones cause a reaction and which ones are probably safe. Rusty's appetite over the past three weeks has been exceptional, and he has gained back the weight he lost and then some. Rusty's hair continues to grow back in the places which he had rubbed and calloused and each week finds him looking just a little more handsome than the week before.
And so for the most part, Rusty is thriving. He appears to be a happy, bouncy boy who feels good and who is enjoying his world once again. He continues with his blanket ritual, and on any given day we will find mounds of blankets, quilts and dog beds positioned in various parts of the house so that he always has a wonderful place to lay his head. Now that the snow and ice have melted and the walkways and grass are clear, we have a greater variety of directions in which to head on our walks. It is so cute to watch Rusty proceed to the end of our walk and stand there slowly rotating his head from side to side, checking all three directions, and then very intentionally choosing the path he wants to take. His choice yesterday was so deliberate that I laughed and said, "So you're really a Sawtelle dog after all!" I've also discovered that Rusty is one of those dogs who considers any person he meets to be his new best friend. His current favorite is a cute teenage girl who waits for the school bus near our home. It happens that she has a five year old Golden at home, and Rusty undoubtedly picks up that scent. He not only shamelessly begs for her attention but also refuses to leave her until she is spirited off by the school bus.
Rusty's fluffiness gives him a bit of a puppy look. His bright eyes and curious nature only add to that illusion, and it is almost possible for a few brief moments to forget his years and see him once again in his prime. Rusty is picking up his step with our Spring weather, and it won't be long before he'll be running.
March 5, 2010
Sometimes in attempting to re-establish a dog's health, we end up taking three steps forward and two steps back. We did exactly that with Rusty over the past three weeks. It began as a hunger strike. At least I thought it was a hunger strike. One hunger strike led to three and a weight loss of seven pounds within a week while I desperately searched for foods he was willing to eat more than once. I thought we had a food problem and that he was becoming a super finicky eater, but that proved to be a secondary issue. We have now concluded that Rusty was reacting to at least one of his meds. During that week, he ate food only once. When I would offer it again, he simply refused it. As the week progressed, it became apparent from all the rumbling and churning we were hearing that he was experiencing a good bit of digestive upset. And so our vet took him off all meds and supplements, and brought him in for a "spa" day of x-raying, flushing, testing, and finally a B-12 shot. Since the day included lots of wonderful attention from the entire veterinary staff and many, many treats, Rusty seemed to conclude that it was a great way to spend a day and came home happy and energized. None of the tests showed anything of concern but a number of possible problems were ruled out.
In the days that followed, Rusty finally settled in on four foods which he was willing to eat, and we gratefully constructed a diet around them which we have been simply repeating. The problem with the new diet, however, is that Rusty is once again scratching, biting his legs, rubbing his face on the carpet, and pulling out hair. And so it is apparent that he is allergic to one or more of the foods he is currently eating. We just don't know which ones. The situation is tremendously complicated by the fact that he still will not eat any of the foods which he remembers from the week of his stomach distress, and that eliminates most canned and dry dog food. And so we have taken the next natural step. On Monday Rusty had a blood test which was sent to California for allergy testing. That should give us some concrete answers as to which foods we need to avoid, and, hopefully, there will be some foods left which are safe – which Rusty will agree to eat. It's been bit of a wild ride but I think we're landing in a good place.
Throughout all of this, Rusty has maintained his easy going, affectionate personality. He is, I've concluded, an extremely gentle dog – something we see often in seniors. His favorite new pastime is rolling his bedding into a ball and nudging it out of the bedroom and into the middle of the hall. His second is molding that same bedding into a big mound and placing whichever part of his body will fit on top - awkwardly falling into a deep sleep. Rusty is picking up his step outside these days in response to the promise of Spring and the wonderful days which lie ahead. Rusty is a joy! It is our hope that some real answers can be found to eliminate the allergic reactions which have been plaguing him for some time and that his golden years will truly be golden.
February 12, 2010
Rusty has now been in our home for three weeks, and we are already seeing some real improvement in his condition. The Prednisone and other meds, the change in food and supplements, and the daily sponge baths have brought him some very needed relief and have broken the endless cycle of scratching, rubbing and biting which had plagued him for some time. As a result, his body is beginning to heal, something which is especially noticeable on his legs and feet. Hair is growing back in what were calloused, bald spots, and if you look really closely, you can even see a few hairs breaking through the black calloused areas surrounding his eyes. It will take some time. I have been told that his eyes will be the last to "normalize" – if they ever do. We also don't know the extent to which the Prednisone is "propping" him up right now and what will happen once it is removed from his regimen. Rusty seems to be benefiting from his thyroid medication, and we can notice a marked difference in his energy and activity levels. Dinner time finds him rested and delightfully "goofy" – often doing a little dance in the kitchen and playing a chasing game with me up and down the hall. Rusty is coming back to life, and it is a pleasure to watch. He will see our vet on March 1st for a recheck.
It's also fascinating to watch Rusty's personality emerge. Conclusion: We have a most interesting dog. For instance, last week Rusty decided that he no longer liked his high quality, health restoring dry food, and so he stopped eating. Actually it became a full blown hunger strike. And realizing that he would choose to die of hunger before my eyes rather than eat the despicable dry food, we added the canned version. I'm delighted to report that he's happy and eating – for now. He's also decided that he no longer likes peanut butter (where we were concealing some meds) and that's that. His approach to bedtime could best be described as the Goldilocks syndrome. Rusty has two dog beds, a very nice blanket from his home, and a soft, red quilt, which appeared to be his favorite. Apparently, that's not the case. Each night he tests them all out, and I can almost hear him saying, "Too hard," "Too soft," "Ah, just right." The bedding which is just right, of course, changes from night to night. Once the choice is made, however, he settles down happily for the night. His exploration of our back yard seems just silly – snow or no snow. He seems to make a straight path into the deep snow where he does whatever business he came to do and then takes a route back to the gate which encircles a tree banked with lots of firewood. He then goes completely around a brush pile which could easily be avoided and scoots down under an outside wood burner – proving that a circuitous route is much more satisfying than a straight line.
Rusty is a sweet, fluffy, tall boy brimming with personality and exuding love for everyone who crosses his path. He has brought a great deal of happiness into our home, and I can only hope that in return we are extending the same to him.
January 29, 2010
Rusty came into GRRoW on January 22, 2010. He was surrendered by his family due to severe allergies which they felt they could not afford to properly treat. The intense itching triggered by these allergies over time has caused him to scratch, rub, and bite his skin and pull his hair out over a large percentage of his front end. The skin around his eyes is black and thickly calloused, as are areas on his feet, legs, and elbows. He also arrived with many open sores on his legs and feet, which continue to irritate him. At 65 lbs., he is underweight with little muscle mass. He has a large skin tumor on the back of his right front leg which our vet wants to remove as soon as Rusty gains some weight and his condition has stabilized. We have also discovered that Rusty has hypothyroidism which has complicated his medical condition. He was, on Monday, what our vet lovingly referred to, after much poking, probing, and scraping, as a "train wreck". And so, we are in the process of switching him to a high quality food and supplements, we are bathing his head and front end every night, and we are taking him for several short walks each day to build up his strength. Our vet has put him on Prednisone for the short term as well as medications for yeast and mange (a precaution) and a medication for his hypothyroidism. It may be my imagination, but I think Rusty is already looking a little better and he is probably feeling much better thanks in large part to the Prednisone.
All of this is very important, because it has brought Rusty to the place where he is and has caused a wonderful family to give up a dog they love. But what you also need to know about Rusty and what is ultimately far more important is that he is an absolute sweetheart. He is a fluffy, bouncy senior who just wants to be pet, loved, and remain close by your side. It has been obvious to us that he has been a bit homesick this first week and has wanted nothing more than to climb into the car and go back home. Since I have never seen this before, it has been a bit heartbreaking. But yesterday, he seemed to cross some magical line, and when I arrived home, he rushed to the door with his tail wildly wagging eager to get his hugs and rubs. He seems to be bonding and somehow equally magical, he has figured out that he is now "home" – in a new home.
Rusty will require some fairly intense care for a while, but, hopefully, he will respond to the foods, meds, and all the love he can soak up, and we will begin to see a reversal of his condition. He has already captured the hearts of everyone who has met him. Rusty is an awesome dog!
January 22, 2010
Rusty 10-005 came into GRRoW.
