Thankyou so much for that our heart's are broken so so much Karla an in limbo land! What such a beautiful verse we will keep that in our hearts but the pain is unbearable at the moment!!! We love him so much and I still always say he looked like ur baby so much!!! Thanku again for your support with much heartache Anita Carol xxxxx
"Run Free Little Gilly"......My condolences to your family.... Karla
THE RAINBOW BRIDGE
Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.
They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.
You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.
Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together....
Author unknown...
Tony just to say sadly an heartbreaking we put our boy to rest today!!!! We are heartbroken an just want to say thankyou so so much for your kind considerate help you have given us through all this!!! Gilly sends you a big hug an we know he at peace now!!! Thankyou again with much love and respect Anita Carol xxxxx heartbreaking!!!!!
Hi. It is most likely his heart problem is causing his laboured breathing, and of course his other issues will just exacerbate things. If his legs are shaking, it could be the start of minor seizures, but equally it could be a tremor caused by the medication he is on - so worth asking your vet when you go there. I think you are doing everything you possibly can for Gilly, so try not to fret about things or have thoughts about not doing enough or not doing the right thing. From what you have said, there really is nothing more you can do. Things will take their course and all you can truly do is keep him comfortable, dolloping huge amounts of love on him and reassuring him with your presence. Dogs are very intuitive, so the more you worry (hard not to, I know) the more he will feel anxious. Is he still eating and drinking - and able to go outside on his own to 'do his business' okay? What is he like at night? Does he sleep through? Let me know what your vet says, once you have a few minutes to spare. Until then, take good care of yourself and give Gilly a big hug from me. Tony x
Hi tony hope ur well we are taking gilly to the vets tomorrow as his breathing getting quite bad and just today his little legs started to shake! Why is that tony!!! He is lookin rather sad and we are not sure what to do! We don't want him suffering at all but don't want to do anything drastic! I know an can see he not happy an he really tries an makes a effort for us!!! We just want him to go peacefully! It's the breathing we are worried about tony!!! I come to you as you give me peace of mind I hope you don't mind! Thankyou so so much!!!! Xxxxx
Hi. I am no expert, but I do know a little ... the problem you have is that - in addition to other functions - the liver works alongside the kidneys to remove toxins. It is effectively a back-up for the work of the kidneys. When both the kidneys and the liver start to fail, the prognosis is very poor. The fact that Gilly also has heart issues makes the prognosis even less positive. In addition, it is essential not to put additional stress on either the kidneys or the liver, so any medications used to treat the conditions have to be chosen very carefully, because all medications put some strain on both organs.
Your vet is truly the best person to give you management advice, so please consult him/her and ask any questions you may have. Like most illnesses, liver disease can be treated effectively but only if caught early enough. Your vet will advise if there are any treatment options available.
As time goes on, Gilly can be expected to drink substantial amounts of water. This will happen due to the liver problem. However, this will also put some stress on the kidneys, as they help flush the system. The other concern here is that meats of all kind are ill-advised for dogs with liver disease - so anything you are feeding with meat in it is best avoided, under normal circumstances. That said, if your vet believes the prognosis is extremely bad, then I would feed Gilly whatever he wants and will eat - even if it is not the best thing for his physical health, it will almost certainly make him happier than going without his favorite foodstuffs.
It is interesting to note that the liver is capable of completely regenerating itself, and it is the only organ in the body that can do this - so that's why I mentioned, if caught early enough, liver disease can be effectively treated. The difficulty here is this is probably secondary to the other complications, so even if you had success in treating the liver failure, it is not possible to prevent the kidneys from shutting down.
There are a whole raft of physical problems that are likely to occur. These include seizures, refusal to eat, nausea, jaundice, vomiting, diarrhea and extreme lethargy. As Gilly becomes more sickly, he is likely also to suffer from depression, and perhaps this latter psychological problem will be the hardest to deal with.
The next obvious question you may have is when would it be appropriate to consider euthanasia. I think this is the most difficult question any owner ever asks on this forum. My reply would be ... whenever you think Gilly has 'had enough', when there is no real hope of improving the treatment (according to your vet) and when Gilly stops eating, wagging his tail and generally seems to have lost interest in life. I do know those words may be very hard to read and even harder to think about, and I am really sorry for putting them down in print.
In my own experience, a dog somehow manages to tell their owner when the time is right. It is almost always written in their eyes - and many owners understand that such a look is the most painful thing any owner ever sees.
I truly hope Gilly finds enough strength to keep going for a while to give you all time to come to terms with things. While he is interested in things going on around him and seems contented despite his condition, please just keep doing what you are already doing ... and give him a huge hug from me. You are all in my thoughts. Tony x