Poor Riley. He’s a beautiful dog. Fingers crossed that he’ll be OK.
I’m hoping that Riley will be fine. He has a heap more living to do. He deserves to be with you many more years.
For all that it helps, I’m over here rooting for you and Riley.
As someone who has an epileptic dog, and has gone through multiple seizures (although none as bad as Riley’s), I know a bit of what you are going through. You feel so helpless.
If it is any comfort, the valium will keep him calm when he wakes up, so he won’t be anxious.
Good luck.
Good luck, Riley, you’re a good dog!
Here’s hoping for the best.
Well someone will tell you eventually,
you can take Riley’s body with you, or just leave at the vet’s, he’s communally buried for about $75. The process of euthenasia involves an overdose of a prescripion drug and sometimes the legs are cold and no veins are able to be injected, but it happens in a second or two.
one year or more or less later get/ adopt/ rescue another one.
smee goan - That was pointless and cruel, wasn’t it? Nowhere did **FoieGrasIsEvil ** ask about what to do with the dogs’s body, should he die. Or about euthanasia procedure. And “get another one” devalues Riley. Not that they shouldn’t ever get another pet, but because a new pet doesn’t just step into the role previous filled by a beloved pet.
You might try a little compassion before you hit “Submit Reply” next time.
StG
It’s OK StGermain, I didn’t take offense, and I knew what all my options were should we have to go the euthanasia route, which we’re still not totally clear about yet.
Last time I talked to the vet this morning they said that after the vet finishes her surgeries she’ll do her rounds, and they plan to slowly take Riley off sedation and try to totally get him awake and clear around 6:00pm tonight, and then we’ll go from there. If he starts into more seizures, he’s being put down. If he shows signs of significant brain damage from the hours of seizures from yesterday, we’ll put him down in that instance, too.
If by the grace of God he comes out of this seizure-free and relatively unscathed, we’ll bring him home. With some new doggie drugs.
Best of luck Riley! I’ve got a border collie with epilepsy, and two boys aged 2 and 9, looks pretty close to what you have in your pics (The 9 y.o. is named Riley). So this hits home for me. I hope it all turns out for the best.
I’m just seeing this thread now. Good luck to Riley!
FWIW, we went through something similar with our dog Scout, though she was 10½ at the time. She was treated for her problem in the morning, and then it was a matter of waiting until evening to see if she pulled through or would have to be put down. She made it and was with us for another 3 years.
So you never know. And Riley has youth and strength on his side. Go, boy!
My last dog, Wrinkles-a Chinese Shar-Pei, died a week after the Chinese dog food contamination scandal.
And I had a case* of Sam’s club’s dog food.
Riley looks like my current dog, I wish I had pictures.
I’m not a Vet MD, and this isn’t a case where the anus is bleeding, or something easy.
You want to take the dog in?
Walk the (dog) walk.
if you talk the talk.
*actually two cases. ask me where the second case went after he died.
I’m pulling for Riley, too!
smee goan - I don’t understand what you’re talking about. FoieGras’ dog is in, as in at the vet, being sedated while hopefully recovering from his seizures.
FoieGras - I have 6 dogs (and 4 cats and two horses). One of my dobermans is in congestive heart failure now. She’s on expensive meds and maintaining, but I know it’s just a matter of time before she takes that last ride. It’s always heart-wrenching.
StG
Thanks guys! We will find out from the vet about his condition in about a half an hour or so.
I just want to bring him home so he can hang out with his pals again, and that includes me!
holding on to hope.
Well, we have Riley back. Or a lifeless, drugged up dog anyway. The vet is now giving him a 50/50 chance at coming out of this, but we had to bring him home because we can’t afford to leave him at the vet’s indefinetely. He hasn’t raised his head or gained his feet since he went to the hospital, and they told us he had two very mild seizures since he’s been coming off the gigantic dose of valium they gave him.
We are going to have to hand feed him and let him go to the bathroom wherever in our spare room downstairs while he recovers. We were given bromide pills to augment his phenobarb, and the vet is now telling us to up his phenobarb dosage from 90mg twice a day to 90mg four times a day.
We were also given a couple rectal syringes chock full of valium should he fall into another grand mal, which will be his end.
We’ll see how this plays out. I was [this close] to telling my wife to tell them to go on ahead an euthanize him, because frankly, I am not very encouraged. He’s just laying there, heavily sedated, and when it wears off and he happens to go into seizures again (which is quite possible), then we’re to sedate him again.
The vet says to give him three days and if he doesn’t improve, it’s curtains for the young boy.
My biggest worry is that starting tomorrow, he’s going to be here by himself, in a dark room, possibly having seizures all the live long day because we have to both work. Not to mention the mess he’s going to make going to the potty all over everywhere because he can’t even stand right now to properly go to the bathroom.
I’d say hope is faint, but it’s there. Send the positive vibes. Riley needs them. Goddammit! Fuck!
:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(
I really hope he pulls through. I’m thinking some serious vibes for Riley and you and your family.
Poor baby.
I’m reminded of one of the James Herriot stories, in which he was called to euthanize a sick ewe. He went in to give her the overdose of anesthetic but while preparing it, he observed how exhausted she seemed by whatever was making her ill. He thought, if only she could get some rest, it might give her the wherewithal to recover. So he didn’t put her down, but instead just gave her enough to put her out for a few days. When she woke up, she was still weak, but better. eventually she was back in good health.
A few years later, he used the same technique on a sick dog.
So you never know. The rest from being knocked out may give Riley the strength he needs. I share your misgivings about leaving him alone, though. I’m assuming no one can take the day off. (Why can’t we have “Family Pet Care Leave” for emergencies?)
Sending the best well-puppy vibes I can muster!
I’d had a sick, sick dog. She’d been at the vet’s all day long. Because she’d been from the pound, this was very stressful for her. It wasn’t until that evening when I came to the kennel area to check on her that she lifted her head for the first time. The vet said, when she saw that, she knew for the first time that Kate would pull through. Don’t give up hope - love and familiar surroundings can work wonders.
StG
I appreciate the sentiment, I (we) are hoping for something like this, but he’s still just laying there…and we are going to have to go to bed soon, leaving him alone. And we will both have to work tomorrow, also leaving him alone some more.
The only upside is my wife can check in with him during her lunchbreak since she works ten minutes from home.
Remember…he hasn’t gotten to his feet in almost 48 hours.
He hasn’t raised his head since about 12:30pm yesterday.
He is SERIOUSLY drugged up right now.
He had two small seizures at the vet’s today before given further sedation.
My analysis: being realistic, it doesn’t look good. We are going to try to give him a few days to recover, along with some new (read:stronger) drugs, so…we’ll see.
I am less hopeful now than I was 12 hours ago. He isn’t moving at all. You can barely see the rise and fall of his stomach area to indicate that he’s even breathing.
I am so sad that it’s turned out this way. I almost feel like I should have gone on ahead and told the vet to terminate his life. I am just not holding out much hope that he’ll have a normal life again. Dammit.
Oh, how I feel for you. I absolutely know how hard it is to go through something like this. That day when we were waiting to see whether Scout would survive (it was a matter of bringing her home and seeing if she would be able to walk again by evening), she didn’t seem to be making much progress, and I worked off my nervous energy by digging her grave up on the hill, figuring she was going to be needing it soon and I might as well get started. But that evening I went to check on her after her day of rest, and she got up, and we went for a slightly wobbly walk, which was a damn sight better than that morning, when her back end wasn’t working at all.
And after one of our cats went through major surgery, the vet told us he’d had “a rough time” and would need plenty of rest and recovery time. Oh how we wanted him to get up and be moving around, but he really needed to just take it VERY easy and recuperate.
Please try to remember that Riley’s doing that right now. He’s heavily drugged, yes, but that’s what he needs right now. When he’s out, he’s not seizing. It may well be what he needs to get through this.
Wishing you all well.