I am so very sorry to hear this. I was crying as a read your post as I know how very much I love my babies and I cannot imagine having to go through what you went through then and what you are having to go through now.
Words cannot express the pain and sorrow that I feel for you. If there was anything I could do to take this pain away from you I would...

It is so hard to understand why this would happen to you, why it happens to anyone but I believe God knew about little Cooper from the beginning and knew how much he would need your love. Perhaps that was why he found his way into your life...For you would love him like no other person possibly could and that is exactly what he would need.

Even though the situation looks dim, do not give up hope, in all things it is better to have hope then despair. One of my favorite writers, Emily Dickinson has a saying I've called upon many times in my life, she says "Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all.? I will be praying for you to be strong and for your darling little Cooper!

Hugs,
Joy

Oh no:cry: I am so sorry that your baby is sick:( That's just not fair that you have to go through this.

Big hugs to you and Cooper:love:

Thanks for your good thoughts and prayers. I still continue to be a bit in denial, but maybe that's a good thing for now...:)

I actually did email the breeder - a nice long email sharing the news about Cooper's diagnosis, how much I loved him and how we were going to tackle the treatment. I'm not interested in the money or the guarantee, most guarantees are silly anyway and protect only the breeder.

I have to tell you though, I was surprised. Her first email back to me was a link to the Menu Foods recall (ahh, yes....I don't live in Antartica...we have news in California too....and yes, that was of course the first thing I checked). Second, was her email with just a paragraph saying how sorry she was and that none of her other litters were having any problems.

You know, when Bentley died (same thing - genetic disorder), I called the breeder and she was great. She felt so bad, and since Bentley had already passed, she offered me a new puppy from her litter. Mind, you this was nearly 3 years after I'd purchased Bentley. The guarantee was over - she didn't have to do anything.....I thought that was soooo sweet of her to offer and thanked her profusely, but being overly cautious about health concerns I declined.

Anyway, enough - too stressful...besides, I have made a commitment to Cooper and he will have a very pampered life, as short as it may be. On a good note, some additional tests came back - no blood in the urine, but his calcium and phosphorus levels are a bit high. He's bouncing around and having fun...so that's all good. Our goal is to have his blood work done every two weeks and monitor the levels.....will keep you posted.

Anyone know how I can upload thumbnail photo of him.....he's such a little pumpkin!

You sound like the BEST MOMMA EVER ;)

I do believe that Cooper will have a GREAT life - as did Bentley.

Two Special Little Angels picked YOU to be there Mommy - What an Honor!

:littleang :littleang

I will pray for Cooper

:hands: :hands:

aww i am so sorry to hear that you have to go thru this again...

Prayers are with you
 

I know what it's like to loose a precious baby. A year ago this past March we had a black lab that was the picture of health. Then he began laying around and I noticed his gums were bleeding a little. So we took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with something called Thrombocytopenia. Something was attacking the platelets in his system and over the course of 3 months and several thousand dollars, his organs began shutting down and we had to do the only humane thing there was to do, and that was let him go. My husband and I often talk about him and ask ourselves if we had known the end result at the beginning, would we have invested that much money into trying to make him better, and we both agree wholeheartedly that we would have just to have those 3 months with him. Because the three months were not ALL bad, he had some good days and there were days we thought he was healed. So I'm telling you all this because.....like everyone has said...treasure the days, love the pejeebies out of him, make memories that will last forever, spoil him rotten and don't let anybody tell you miracles don't happen. All the time you have with him and the way he bounces around.......go bounce and have fun with him, grab hold of your little miracle. Hold on and treasure your little miracle!

:love: :hug: :hearts-xx

Hi guys....i just saw the vet Wednesday and feel the need to ramble.....it's been a while since I posted about Cooper and because of his recent visit I'm feeling a bit sad. Only you guys know what its like....

After Cooper's diagnosis we were at the vet every two weeks. With his illness stabilized and the right medication (Epatikin) we were told we could downgrade to once a month for a blood workup and fluids. Cooper seemed to be handling the visits very well and never seemed to slow down. In fact, we were so ecstatic that last month we celebrated his first birthday.

Two weeks ago was his monthly appointment and we noticed a significant increase in his BUN/Creatnine levels. We decided to get a little more aggressive and change his medication (Renagel as a Phosphorous binder and we added Calcitriol which reduces the function of the parathroid gland and increases calsium absorption). We also decided to increase his fluids to once a week.

This last Wednesday was a follow up visit to the changes we made in his meds. I don't know how accurate the visit was because it was really hard to find the Renagel and so he was 2 days without a phosphate binder. Also, I was getting him to take the pill with peanut butter but PROTEIN is off limits.....ughhhhh! Anyway, his tests still came back high so next week we'll retest and the vet suggested that I seriously consider fluids once a day vs. weekly. This means going to the vet everyday at 8am...

I have to tell you....october will be a year since Bentley died and I just can't believe I've been dealing with all of this. Financially its exhausting (none of this is covered by VPI) but more important....its just emotionally draining. i can't bear the thought that this little yorkie with so much spunk in his eyes is going to die. Clinically he's in Stage 3 Renal Failure, yet you'd never know it. He sleeps a little bit more during the day - maybe an hour or so...No signs of lethargy, VERY minor vomiting and no diarrhea. Like most puppies he bounces around, chases his toys and he even has a new girlfriend, a King Charles names Lucy. They are terrific....and it brings me such joy to see them play together.

I guess we'll see how these fluids help and what his next weeks blood work says.....oh, how I hate to have to have poked and probed endlessly....he's such a sport and everyone there loves him.

I am so sorry to hear your news.
I truely feel sad for you.
I understand it is so much harder on you emotionaly than financialy. (but i'm sure it is hard to pay all the expense!!)
Only thing I can do it to pray for you and Cooper for the longest pleasant time together.
Momiji and I will be praying for you.

Saying prayers for you and your baby.

I'm so sorry you have to go through this again. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Poor baby Cooper I"m sending prayers to his way:hands:

Fight it Cooper! Did the vet give you a best and worst case scenario? I've been reading about this horrible disease and some dogs live a long time with it.

Just now seeing your thread. I am so terribly sorry ... little Cooper is just gorgeous. He doesn't look like he's had a sick day in his life ... good job Mom! I will be praying that you and Cooper have a very, very long time together .... there are miracles out there! Please keep us updated.

I am so sorry for what you are going through, how absolutely devastating it is. I wish there was something that could be done or said to make the pain go away.

I will keep you both in my prayers.