Poor Joy

[andyhilt27]

Our ten year old dobe Joy may be at the end of her road. In the last few days it appears she is losing weight. She played for a bit Saturday with Eva (our 6 month old) but it was short lived. Overall she still looks good for a 10 year old but I can tell something is wrong. I hope it is not cancer. I am taking her to the vet tomorrow to see what he thinks. Maybe we'll get lucky and it could be something treatable like her thyroid. I upped her food intake by 50% Saturday but she is still slipping. Her gums look good and she doen't appear to be dehydrated. She has a growth on her side that the vet said was likely a fat deposit. It looks bigger today. Poor girl is grouchy. I fear the worst. This is going to devastate my wife. I'll keep you guys posted when we get back tomorrow.

[Elaine]

Keep us posted... we'ver all here for you... we'll all be where you are sooner or later. Remember, every moment with them is a gift.

[andyhilt27]

I could be overreacting. Eva is starting to fill out more and may give the illusion that Joy is dwindling. But she is less playful and more grouchy. We take her to the vet Thursday. we will get a more accurrate comparison of her weight since she went two months ago.

[andyhilt27]

Well Joy isn't as bad as I thought. Today she weighed almost 2 lbs. more than her last visit. She is at 59 lbs. Yes she is a small bitch. The vet stated that she appeared to be in great health but he is concerned about one lymph node being enlarged. He drew some blood and we now await his findings. She could put a few more pounds on but I am concerned about the added weight putting more stress on her aging joints. So we keep her to a strict diet. That is until she steals food from Tabitha! I guess we all have hopes of our dogs passing in their sleep at a ripe old age. I don't think I could watch her wilt away from cancer! I can only hope for the best right now as her enlarged lymph node does concern me.:(

[andyhilt27]

Joy's results are back. The blood work looked good except that her thyroid levels are low. We will start her on her meds and hopefully she will be young again!:)

[sorthund]

Phew, good to hear she's ok.

[andyhilt27]

She is such a great dog.....I wish many humans were like her.

[andyhilt27]

Update on Joy Joy aka soinky do. She is on a low dose of thyroid meds now. She is more playful with Eva now. She is still old so she doesn't move as quick as Eva but her experience always puts her on top when they are play fighting. I hope she still has a few years left in her.