One of our cats, Tigger, was sadly pts today. It all happened very suddenly so came as a bit of shock. We noticed recently that he was loosing a bit of weight so we started giving him an extra meal. Then on Monday I noticed he was having difficulty swallowing so booked him in to see the vet the following day. She couldn't physically find anything (other than the obvious weight loss and throat discomfort) so she decided to try antibiotics and antiinflammatories first and hope it was just a simple throat infection. When we got back we separated him from the others so we could keep an eye on exactly what he was eating and drinking. Despite having a full bladder he didn't go to the loo, but started dripping urine. Obviously this was a lot more serious than we thought.
We took him back today and they took some blood. We waited in the consult room whilst they did the bloods. Tigger had a good explore and demanded attention off everyone as usual - he loves his fuss. Sadly the results came back and levels of creatinine, urea etc were through the roof (one was higher than their machine could read).! He had chronic renal failure which he'd obviously hidden well. We could have put him on a drip, pumped him full of diuretics and hoped for a few more weeks/months but with the levels he had the chances of it making much difference were slim. I wasn't prepared to put him through that.
So, the heartbreaking decision was made to let him go and we said our final goodbyes - sleep tight Tigz.
And so I've spent the rest of the day wondering if I did the right thing, if I should have tried, if we could have caught it sooner. Ultimately I know at the stage he was at there really was nothing that could be done.
RIP Tigger 24th Sept 2001 - 4th November 2009
Tigger and his brother Garfield as kittens. We adopted them just after we moved into our first house. I was only meant to have one but when the lady offered us two how could I resist? They were farm kittens and hadn't had much handling. The first day home they caused trouble by finding a gap under the kitchen units and climbing up the hot water pipes - trouble from day 1!
Especially when he thought we weren't looking
He and his brother have always had a strong bond..they had a bit of a reputation, lol
Although Tigger has been just as accepting with everyone
I went up to Grantham today for one of Bob Sharpes workshops. Today focused on handling techniques over purely jumping equipment (no weaves), although there was also practice ring for us to use as we pleased whilst the other dogs were working (if we weren't too busy watching that is). I was a little bit skeptical as D had been placed in the advanced group, but Lesley quite rightly pointed out that I would probably get more out of that group.
I did feel a little out of my depth when I walked the first course as it was quite tricky but I knew D would attack it with his usual gung-ho enthusiasm regardless of what I thought. It was something Pip would love but I had no idea what the best way to handle D would be. With Pippa I can usually get in front of her for front crosses, and she certainly runs better when I'm ahead. With Inca I would do flick-flack push-thru as shes got the drive towards the next jump and the nimbleness on the ground. With D I opted for playing it safe (I value my legs, lol) and went for front crosses which worked but definitely pushed him wide in a couple places. My positioning for my recall start also caused him to be quite wide also. Bob got my to try it the other way, which I've not done much with D, which was definitely tighter and, when I got my positioning right, much easier for me (less running, lol).
The next couple of courses focused on this sequence during various different parts of the course and using the different ways to handle them. One course in particular the whole thing could be handled from the middle jump using the flick-flack-push-thru method provided you could push your dog on enough to get into position at the far wing. Diesel coped really well. We had a couple refusals throughout the day but that was down to me thinking he was committed to the jump and then moving, when really he wasn't quite there. That said, he was driving on much better so his confidence is definitely on the up.
I thoroughly enjoyed the day and both me and D were suitably knackered by the end of our session. I've booked a couple more training days with D in December which I'm already looking forward to. The first is focused on contacts/weaves which should be good =D.
I had to go up to Rudham today to help move some agility equipment, so I decided to go back to Brancaster with the dogs first. We did a good couple of hours again, walking along the sea front first and then back along the dunes. The dunes were apparently the best thing since sliced bread as all three (mainly led on by Pip!) had great fun tearing about. It was like one bit obstacle course for Pip and I swear she covers twice the distance the collies do on their walks with all her toing and froing, lol.
We had a 'day off' on Sunday so we took the dogs up to Shouldham for a good couple of hours in the afternoon. I took them there last monday only to find out usual walk around 'The Sincks' had been de-forested. However, theres a silver lining to every cloud as this meant I discovered a new route that joined up to 'Shouldham Warren' and, like any new area, this needs serious exploring (more by me than the dogs but they enjoy it too). We covered more than I did on Monday but I feel its only the tip of the iceburg. We found another car parking area which would be really handy to park in...if only I knew where it actually was and how to get to it, lol.
Mishka was back at the vets this morning for another dressing change. They've left the bandage off now but we're under strict instructions to keep the cone on at all times as shes not allowed to get at the wound. Because she ripped the top layer of skin off the wound when we were on our way back from NWBCC, its got to heal from the inside out. This should take 10-14 days, which means 10-14 days of the cone monster. I'm beginning to wonder if my house will survive - shes already chipped paint off the corners off the utility room walls and cracked the cat flap. I think I'll be as glad as she when she gets that damn thing off!!
Friday afternoon we headed off to Oswestry for the Shrewsbury small/medium show. I really enjoyed it last year so decided it was worth the trip. We stayed at a Premier Inn which was litterally a stones throw away from the venue, and meant we got to enjoy a nice pub dinner and a few drinks on friday night too (which I needed after being stuck in traffic for ages!).
The show was held at a different venue to last year, and this one seemed to have a bit more in the way of exercise space. They also decided to put on a single jumping class for the large dogs. It was a combined 1-7 class but it meant the collies got to have a run.
Pip was absolutely wild and I really feared that I just driven across the country for her to get three Es. However, she proved me wrong. Her G6-7 Agility was first and just as I got to the line it really started to drizzle. The course was right up her street with various pull-thrus and wing wraps. She ran it well, but wasnt 100% sure if she'd got her a-frame but the judge definately clapped when we came out the ring and he had been stood right next to it. I checked her time and she'd gone into the lead. It was a nervous wait for the remaining dogs to run but she held on to it and ended up winning G6! To top it off, her time beat the G7 dogs too!
Her other two classes were jumping classes, one graded and the other combined. The G6+7 was another twisty turny Pippa course. However, the ground was really boggy and I really felt like I couldnt run plus Pippa spent the whole course howling at me on every turn. I came out the ring feeling we could have run it better and felt a bit dissapointed. However, it was thankfully one of those classes that looks better than it felt and we ended up coming 2nd. The C6-7 course was a very quick collie course and although Pip made a good run of it we weren't in the places. That said, I did appreciate being able to have a blast round with her.
The C1-7 large course was pretty straight forward, the main trap being jump #9 after jump #7 and the start if you didnt have a good wait. Somehow I managed to get R/Os with of mine in the first 10. Diesel was up first and I felt pretty confident that I could pull him from #9. However, he looked at that damn jump not once but twice so we lost quite a bit of time there. That said, I think it was more my fault as I wanted to be more at the wing of #5/#7 but the video shows I was more forward. Next was Inca, I would have placed money on her taking jump #9 but instead she knocked the pole of #6 as she turned. Aside from that she flew round beating Ds time by well over a second. She would have been 4th had it not been for that pole - Grr! Still, Diesel ended up 7th overall - not bad for a C1-7! A lot of dogs took jump #9 and several struggled with #3 (especially those that didnt have a wait!)
When one of the rings finished they turned it into a practice ring which meant I got to have a play with D in the ring, and gave us the opportunity to get some pics of him:
So, a fantastic end to the KC season. At the start of the year we started off fresh in G4 having won out of G3 at LAE last September. I would never have dreamed of Pip being in G6 and halfway to G7 by the end of the year, and I would certainly never have dreamed those wins being both in agility! That said, I've come to the conclusion that its easier to win agility in G6 than jumping simply because of the amount of fast dogs that have got to G6 on jumping wins alone (and dont have any contacts!) so they can keep winning jumping classes but never can progress. The dog that beat us in the jumping was, frustratingly, one of those. I've nothing against them as they certainly deserved the win, but its definately a flaw in the system!
I took the dogs down the beach today after getting rather fed up with the weather this week...or at least fed up with the state my dogs have been coming home in. I took them to Shouldham on Monday - Pip came back bright orange and Inca came home covered in fox sh*t, lovely! So, I decided if we were all going to get wet and mucky we might as well enjoy it. As it was it turned into a lovely day - I never thought I'd be eating ice cream on the beach Mid-October!
On Monday we went back to our vets for a dressing change. They also had the soft tissue results from the toe that they sent away after amputation. It was the news we'd all been dreading - cancer or squamous cell carcinoma as this type is known.
Unfortunately our usual vet, Francie, was away so the head vet went through a few bits with us, including the possibility of Francie taking away more of the soft tissue just to be safe. She suggested that we go away and have a read up on this type and then come back to discuss things with Francie herself.
As soon as I got back to the car I instantly had 101 more questions I wanted to ask; how likely it was to spread, what the likely prognosis would be if we went ahead to remove more tissue, how quickly her toe would heal etc etc. Knowing nothing about this particular type, I automatically assumed the worst.
And so my online research began - reading various veterinary documents, journals, forum threads. Thankfully the more I read the more positive I felt. Its the same cancer that white cats get on the tips of the ears from being in the sun. The main concerns I had were; if we'd caught it in time and if it was possible to get all the tissue out (bearing in mind there's only so much tissue you can remove from a paw). I also knew there's only so much more I'm willing to put Mish through given all the problems shes had/got. However, that's not to say she wouldn't benefit from the specialised treatment protocols from an oncologist referral even if it was just for quality of life.
Today we went back to speak to Francie. She received the second lab report this morning and it was good news. The pathologist had looked at the margins of the sample sent and he/she was happy with the margin of normal skin. Hopefully this means everything has been removed (we're keeping everything crossed!). It also means Mish doesn't need to have anything else done - we just need to monitor it (and her of course) - what a relief!!
Mishka is still sporting a bandage (and a cone when unsupervised). Her left ear also flared up this week, but thankfully this has cleared up thanks to the old trusty Thornit powder. We've got to go back on Monday for another re-check. I think I'll almost be as glad as she when she gets this bandage off ;)
