YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post - Looking for advice on how to care for "Orphan Annie"

jamiesaari · 12-13-2007, 05:02 PM

Hi Everyone,

It's strange because I am writing this message in tears and truly feel that you all (a bunch of strangers) are the only ones who will truly understand my pain. My mother and others who I've spoken to have all told me to just have Annie put to sleep. However I can't do that to a creature I love so much. Maybe I'm crazy, but I want to put in the extra love and effort she didn't have for the first 10 years of her life.

Today I took Annie to the vet and it is worse than I could have even imagined. The good news is that I have met an angel in the veterinarian who is taking care of Annie. He is allowing me to do work for his veterinary office in return for his services. (I own a small, home-based business where I do website design, desktop publishing, PR and more.) So the vet services are not costing me any money, just my time.

Based on the examination and a whole series of diagnostic testing , the vet said this is one of the worst cases of animal neglect he has ever seen. She needs to have every single tooth pulled out of her mouth. He said the pain she is in as a result of her teeth alone, is likely more than any of us as humans could bear.

I addition to that, she has breast cancer (which are the blue patches on her stomach). An ultrasound and x-ray found that she also has two enormous tumours inside her stomach. She also has a severe uterine infection and five large cysts on her body.

My veterinarian (who is an angel) told me in a very gentle and kind way that most people would select to have her put to sleep. He said he can, however, open her up surgically to see if the large tumours can be removed. If so, he can attempt to remove the tumours, spay her, remove the breast cancer, remove all her teeth and remove her cysts. If the tumours are not removable, he can close her back up and then we can discuss having her euthenized.

I need a couple days to cry and give my head a shake before we go ahead with opening her up. In the meantime, she's on three painkillers daily and taking dog food for cancer patients. He also gave her a strong shot of antibiotics to fight her uterine infection and the infections in her teeth.

This is such terrible news, but I am very lucky to have found a veterinarian willing to do this. He wants to see her in two weeks and I will probably go ahead with the surgery to see if the tumours can be removed.

12-13-2007, 05:02 PM	#33
jamiesaari Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 241	Hi Everyone, It's strange because I am writing this message in tears and truly feel that you all (a bunch of strangers) are the only ones who will truly understand my pain. My mother and others who I've spoken to have all told me to just have Annie put to sleep. However I can't do that to a creature I love so much. Maybe I'm crazy, but I want to put in the extra love and effort she didn't have for the first 10 years of her life. Today I took Annie to the vet and it is worse than I could have even imagined. The good news is that I have met an angel in the veterinarian who is taking care of Annie. He is allowing me to do work for his veterinary office in return for his services. (I own a small, home-based business where I do website design, desktop publishing, PR and more.) So the vet services are not costing me any money, just my time. Based on the examination and a whole series of diagnostic testing , the vet said this is one of the worst cases of animal neglect he has ever seen. She needs to have every single tooth pulled out of her mouth. He said the pain she is in as a result of her teeth alone, is likely more than any of us as humans could bear. I addition to that, she has breast cancer (which are the blue patches on her stomach). An ultrasound and x-ray found that she also has two enormous tumours inside her stomach. She also has a severe uterine infection and five large cysts on her body. My veterinarian (who is an angel) told me in a very gentle and kind way that most people would select to have her put to sleep. He said he can, however, open her up surgically to see if the large tumours can be removed. If so, he can attempt to remove the tumours, spay her, remove the breast cancer, remove all her teeth and remove her cysts. If the tumours are not removable, he can close her back up and then we can discuss having her euthenized. I need a couple days to cry and give my head a shake before we go ahead with opening her up. In the meantime, she's on three painkillers daily and taking dog food for cancer patients. He also gave her a strong shot of antibiotics to fight her uterine infection and the infections in her teeth. This is such terrible news, but I am very lucky to have found a veterinarian willing to do this. He wants to see her in two weeks and I will probably go ahead with the surgery to see if the tumours can be removed.