Please help, what are the vets & hospital not seeing?

[Kneesbendarmstretchrarara]

I’ve crying non-stop for 3 days, not slept, it came on literally with a click of the fingers. No unusual walks or anything else to speak of.

Gone from loving tug o’war with squeeky toys, thinking everyone that comes to the house is here for him (& making it known!) , wanting his Kong daily, jumping on the sofa to the following:

Wobbling, unsteady, every time he tries to walk no matter how little the distance, even just from one room to the next

Right foot constantly ‘going under/back on itself’ and on 1 occasion it was stretched straight off the ground and he couldn’t flex it or put it down

Both front legs crossing over each other in attempting to walk

Collapsing, his right leg can’t hold him, his left doesn’t balance him out so he falls forward onto his face/top of his head. Terrifying to see.

Can get up onto my bed to a degree with a real struggle but needs human help to get down

Unbalanced on rear legs 50% of the time

Am beyond desperate and sad. Couldn’t go to work today as he can’t be left for his own safety. 7 year old Dalmatian with no history at all.

Vets & specialist hospital are stumped, even after £7k’s worth of investigations. Only thing showing up is significant inflammation somewhere but arthritis has been ruled out.

Only (& last) option now is MRI on brain, but in the meantime I’m wondering if there’s anything they could have missed. They’ve ultrasounded all internal organs, x-rayed his legs & neck, MRI’d his spine, taken fluids from all joints. Nothing muscular and nothing neuro related apparently.

I just need some words & a handhold. My heart is collapsing with him.

He’s gone downhill again

We managed 4 days off-lead field walking then on Wednesday this week I managed to get him ‘round the block’ on lead then yesterday was a disaster...he was ‘protesting’ trying to tell me he wasn’t comfortable and we’d only taken about 40 steps, it took me 15 minutes to spur him on to get him home. No yelping, no obvious pain, is happy to be touched (even his right ear which was giving him jip)

Maybe I over-did it with the fun? He doesn’t want to play now at all. He is, however, now able to jump onto my bed which he couldn’t do a month ago!

I am still just as mystified! Davies had taken him off the Gabapentin in the hope his mojo returns but it’s not here yet. Steroids have reduce to 1 x 25mg a day. Myelopathy was ruled out by bloods, Lordy that was an expensive test! I’m sorry for those who have grieved

I just don’t know whether I am coming or going with him. His personality has vanished.

Thankyou for looking after me with your earlier posts. These furbabies of ours...why do we do it to ourselves?!

Gosh sounds awful.

Fellow dally owner here.

My spotty girl is my world.

Hope yours is better soon x

😍 So beautiful.
What’s her name?

This might sound a bit daft, but has his Vitamin B12 level been checked? A deficiency can cause neurological symptoms that don't always show up on scans, and it can be easily missed (even in humans)

I used to have a liver spotted Dalmatian who was deaf and a complete nutcase and I loved him to bits. Keeping everything crossed here that your Dal improves asap

I think I have lost track of what they have tested for I know MY vitamins were tested last week!
I’ll email Davies and ask what bloods were categorically done - thankyou.

Ps - there’s no such thing as a daft question x

We lost him this afternoon.
My pain is immense.
I don’t know how to go on without him.

I'm really really sorry, I just read the thread hoping for some positive news. You obviously loved your dog very much and gave him a wonderful life.

Oh I'm so sorry. I've just read the whole thread hoping you'd get a positive end. Was it a tumour then? 😓

Hugs to you. It's horrible losing your dog, they leave such holes in our hearts and lives. It shone out of your post how much you adored him and you all tried so hard for him. He will have known that.xx

So sorry

So very sorry

My sympathies, knees that's such a shame. So sorry, take care of yourself lovely.

I'm so sorry

Thankyou.
Will post again when my eyes aren’t so sore & I am in a better frame of mind x

So very sorry for your loss

Oh @Kneesbendarmstrechedrarara my heart goes out to you. I'm so sorry xxx

O my goodness no. What happened. I’m so sorry

I’m so sorry Just read the whole thread as I didn’t see it back in August.

He was a gorgeous boy and you went above and beyond to try and fix him. Life is just unfair sometimes

So sorry knees. This has reminded me of how we lost my darling girl two years ago. it sounds trite but time is the only thing that will help. Let yourself grieve [hugs] it gets easier as time goes by x

Im so sorry for your loss

So so sad to hear this xxx

Oh I am so so sorry. I understand the enormity of the pain and nothing, nothing anyone can say or do will be of any comfort at the moment.

I lost both my darlings within 12 months and I don't think I will ever get over it properly. I still cry for them and always will. In fact, I grieved more for them than I have for most human losses, that is the scale of the love we have. I threw myself on his bed and howled like an animal at one point.

Know that the people on this thread will understand, and perhaps use the thread to express some of the pain you are feeling.

Grief is the price we pay for love. Try to look after yourself. I am thinking of you and will check back on this thread.

Thankyou to you all.

I went to the vets today, I cut his duvet in half. Half is with him for the cremation and I ‘slept’ with my half. Not that there was a wink of sleep. I also took the squeaky toy he didn’t get to fully demolish and his half-chewed ball that he also didn’t get to completely destroy. They are with him too.

So there he is. Cold. Alone. Empty. Void.

My baby boy. I can’t get my head around it. My eyes are so sore I’m using drops, the skin underneath is stinging.

He had a great walk with me on Tuesday, his appetite was finally back, he even played for a few minutes. Then yesterday I tried walking him, his eyes were empty & his soul & ooomph had left him, I carried him home and we were at the vets within half an hour. DH came from work. Lots of meetings, phonecalls with Davies, 4 consultants, 3 hours went by with my baby on the floor unaware of the heartbreak going on. Fading by the minute. He was covered in my coat for reassurance, I’ll never wash it again.

I am craving one last cuddle, one more sniff of his puppy-smelling pad, desperately wanting him to walk into my freshly ironed shirts like he did, lean on the warm fire hearth.

Spinal cancer and a catastrophic infection in his tummy.

I can’t do this.

I went to put a carrot on the floor for him earlier. Then I remembered.

I just crumpled.

Oh love. My girl loved carrots too and I still almost reach for the little ones she liked best and then remember. She was my heart dog and always will be just like your boy is for you.

It will be two years in January for her - can't believe it- and a year since my boy died. I have their collars on my bed post, her blue ring is on top of her ashes in the sitting room. They are staying with me and will go when I do.

May I suggest you check with your vet about how soon the ashes will come to you if you don't know. Mine were returned very quickly and it was an awful shock.

He was so beautiful. I am so sorry. Are you and your husband able to comfort each other at all? My vet was very very kind to me at the time and afterwards. I found I had lots of questions and she answered them all with great compassion .

If writing on here helps do it. I will check in regularly if that's ok? I hope I don't sound intrusive, it's just I do understand a little of what you are going through. I am sure other dog lovers will be feeling the same.

@kneesbentarmstretchrarara
Just wondering how you have been today. I've been thinking about you.