[Alty]

The fact is, his coat is very thick. Very thick. Finding a tick without shaving him, would be impossible. He's a border collie cross. The breed has long thick fur.

I'll look, and feel, but finding a tick with his coat, I'm not holding my breath. But still, I'll look. I have to do something.

He just threw up again. But two of the feedings I forced into him, stayed down. Even though he looks at me like I'm torturing him when I do it. But I have no choice. I feel like he hates me right now. I'm forcing him to stay alive, and he doesn't understand. :(

[Alty]

Has anyone suggested IVDD???

No, and I actually have no idea what that is.

I'll Google it. :)

[Alty]

I don't think so, she said they did do x-rays. Only affected limb is 1 front leg.

Alty, I hope tomorrow goes better for you than today has. As far as limiting his water.
If he is drinking so much at a time that he throws it back up then you are doing him a favor by limiting him somewhat, but maybe you could give him a little more at a time as long as he is keeping it down. You don't him to get dehydrated if you can help it. Do you have any Karo syrup on hand or any thing similar. A little rubbed on his gums and tongue may help to keep his glucose up. Or if you have GatorAde or pedialyte that may also be helpful.
I can imagine how helpless you must feel right now, I've been there a couple of times.
Hugs and prayers

Thank you.

I've got gatorade, and pedialyte. Tried giving it to him yesterday, and he puked it right back up. But I'll try again.

I have no idea what karo syrup is, or where to even get it. If you can give me an idea what it is, I'll try it. I don't really want to spend a lot of time googling it. I'm only online right now because you all are the only thing that's keeping me from crying my eyes out.

Right now he's not keeping anything down. He kept down two of the tablespoons of soup I gave him before (which I'm doing every hour), but threw up the last one, and just threw up again when I let him have a bowl of water.

Right now my goal is to keep him alive so we can get him to the vet tomorrow, check for lyme disease, and even if they find nothing there, I'm going to insist on antibiotics because really, at this point it won't hurt, and it could just be the thing that saves him, even if we don't get a diagnosis.

I'm preparing myself for the worst, while hoping for the best. But I have to prepare myself for the possibility that we may not be able to fix this. If I think about it too much, I fall apart, so I'm trying to just be realistic, and go about this the way I would if it were someone asking about their dog on AMHD. I can tell you that it's not working out too well for me, but damnit, it's all I have.

Whoever said that God doesn't give you anything you can't handle, is dead wrong, because I think that God (if he exists) is giving me a lot more credit then I deserve, because frankly, this is the last straw. I can't handle any more. Not now. At least give me some time between punches! :(

Yes, I'm feeling very sorry for myself right now, and I realize that there are millions of people that have lived through much worse than I have, but I'm not them. I'm me. And me, well, I can't take much more. I'm done. If all of this shyt was put on my shoulders to break me, then fine, they win, because this may be the breaking point.

Worst of all, I'm sitting here feeling sorry for myself, and my pain, when Jasper is the one fighting for his life. Jasper is the one that needs the help.

Damnit. I love my animals, but I have to say, this is too hard. It's just too hard!

[LadySam]

Pancake syrup will do if you got it. Just rub it on the gums he doesn't have to actually eat it. The sugar is absorbed into the mucosal membrane.
Hang in there, I'm usually up late on the weekends and up and down all night so I'll be right there with you.
And you are allowed to feel a little sorry for yourself, but just not for very long, OK?

[Alty]

Pancake syrup will do if you got it. Just rub it on the gums he doesn't have to actually eat it. The sugar is absorbed into the mucosal membrane.
Hang in there, I'm usually up late on the weekends and up and down all night so I'll be right there with ya.
And you are allowed to feel a little sorry for yourself, but just not for very long, ok?

Not fair. You made me smile. :)

I have pancake syrup. I'll go rub it into his gums right now.

Sadly I have to work tomorrow. I usually don't work on weekends, but I agreed to work this Saturday, and frankly, it couldn't have come at a worse time. My mind is on everything but work, and if I called and told my boss that I can't come in because of Jasper, she'd yell at me. That's the kind of person she is. She doesn't even care about her own kids, much less me, or my family.

I couldn't care less about my job right now. I have to get up in 8 hours to work. OMG! That can't be right! Doing the math. Crap! Yup, I did the math right. That sucks! But right now I think I have to go. The vet bills aren't cheap, and we need every extra penny we can get. :(

I'll be going from work to the vet, meeting Rod there.

[LadySam]

Yeah, work suck sometimes, but it pays the bills, sometimes.
You'd better get some rest and good luck tomorrow.
You can do math, too? A woman of many talents.
Lame attempt at another smile.

[Alty]

Yeah, work suck sometimes, but it pays the bills, sometimes.
You'd better get some rest and good luck tomorrow.
You can do math, too? A woman of many talents.
Lame attempt at another smile.

The lame attempt worked. At work I'm known as the math whiz, which goes to show what level of idiocy I work with. Math is my worst subject, but, because I can figure out what 45 nickels are in dollars, without using a calculator, I'm considered the whiz. Sad.

But then, I work in retail, at a dollar store no less, so it's not like I'm working with a group of scholars. Not that there's anything wrong with retail. But... well... it is what it is. :(

[Alty]

I just want to let everyone know that we lost Jasper today. When we got to the vet the vet said that there really wasn't anything more that could be done. She gave us the option to keep testing, but said that she knew without a doubt that there was no hope. She said that the best we could do for him was to let him go, let him rest. So we made the decision to end things for him, to end his suffering.

I really did not expect to be euthanizing Jasper today.

I really have no words. I'm numb. I don't really believe it, even though I know it's true.

I want to thank you all for your support through all of this. I appreciate it more than I can ever say.

R.I.P. Jasper. We love you so much. You're at peace now, playing with Indy in heaven, and I promise you we will meet again. I hope you know that what we did, we did out of love. I will never forget you. Ever.

[DoulaLC]

Awww Alty...

I am so very sorry to read this. Your love and compassion for him comforted him when he was hurting and eased his way to peace.

Hugs for you and your family... I hope you all find peace in knowing that you gave him great love and joy in his life.

[LadySam]

I am truly sorry for your loss, I so wish things had turned out differently for Jasper and your family. I'm sorry I just don't have the words.

[Alty]

Thank you both. I'm still in shock. In fact, I don't truly believe it. We just got back from Rod's cousin's house, he's the one cremating Jasper for us, he also cremated Indy for us, only 5 months ago.

We got home, I opened the door, Chewy came running, looking for Jasper, and for one moment I thought, "where is he? Why isn't he coming to greet us". For just that moment I felt it may have all been a bad dream. Sadly it's reality. It's just taking some time to sink in.

My nose is raw, my eyes are all red, I have a headache from crying, and I think my heart has finally broken in two. It's been broken and mended a few times now, but I think this is the final blow.

All I can say is that everyone else better stay healthy, because I really can't handle this again, not for a very very very very very very long time. I feel like I've been burying dogs forever. I really didn't expect to be in doing this again so soon after Indy.

I really don't know if I can survive this. He's my Jasper, and I want him back!

I would think my tears would be all gone by now. Guess not.

[shazamataz]

Oh sh*t... I missed this, I'm so sorry Alty... Big big big big big hugs to you, R, S & J. You did everything you could Alty. Nothing wrong with having a good cry, just horrible luck.

[Alty]

Oh sh*t.... I missed this, I'm so sorry Alty..... Big big big big big hugs to you, R, S & J. You did everything you could Alty. Nothing wrong with having a good cry, just horrible luck.

Thank you Shazzy. We did do everything we could. Sometimes I guess you just have to accept that there are some things you can't fix, no matter how much you want to, or how much money you're willing to spend, or how much love you have.

I would have sold my house, everything I own, if the vet had said there was a chance to save him (even though that would have been unwise considering the other people, not just the kids, Rod and me, but the fur people, that we're responsible for), but I would have done it if I could have saved him. Rod would have too. But there simply wasn't a chance.

I knew it was over when the vet said that if Jasper were her dog, she'd end things, because there was no hope.

At least we had the power to end his pain. That does give me some peace. Also, all of my friends, all of you included, have helped me more than I'll ever be able to say in writing.