Frisbee

I am so sad. Frisbee was diagnosed this week with kidney disease and Lyme disease. He had been a little weird about his eating habits for the past few weeks -- not interested in his food, but devouring Kramer's food -- and begging at the table (more than normal). Nancy mentioned during their visit that she thought he'd lost weight. We didn't think so....until Sunday when we decided to weigh him. He had gone from 30-32 pounds or so down to 25. That's more than 20%. More than 10% is an issue. So, I bought different food on Monday to see if he would eat canned dog food....he ate it....and then vomited a few hours later. So, I made an appt. at the vet for Wed. Because of his young age (7), she was surprised that he had kidney disease, which is why they decided to test for Lyme disease, too. Apparently Lyme disease can cause kidney problems if left untreated. Looking back through the spring and summer, there are only 2 instances that we now realize were related to Lyme.....2 times that he limped.....for a day....and then appeared to be fine. He seemed fine otherwise.

We have always just used the flea/tick stuff in the spring/summer months. I would suggest that if you live in an area with Lyme disease to use it all year long. And, I've learned that there is a vaccine which is 75% effective. Get it. We had a horrible infestation in our yard this year and had to put pesticides down twice. It was awful.

Kidney disease is fatal. We learned that with Toonces. It's the same *&%^ illness that we lost him to 15 months ago. The vet estimated 6-12 months for Frisbee when we spoke on Wednesday. They kept him in the hospital that night to give IV fluids and flush his system. Thursday, they tested blood again and it was better, but not great, so they kept him overnight again. Today, she called to say that he had vomited a few times last night (not good at all) and they really wanted to keep him until tomorrow morning. Based on all of this, I'm not sure we even have 6 months with him.

Day by day. I visited him yesterday & Butch is going this afternoon. If we get him home tomorrow and the weekend doesn't go well, I imagine we'll be making big decisions. I am hoping that he will at least do better through the holidays, but based on how things have gone so far, I'm not sure how likely that is. I don't want to put him through lots of treatment and antibiotics (for the Lyme disease) if he isn't going to have a good quality of life.

He is truly the best dog ever. He has tolerated a ton from Lacey and barely growled at her. He has been annoying as hell with the loud barking, but wow, what a watch dog. The teeth are shown if someone he doesn't know shows up. I have never worried about being safe.

Give your dog a hug today. And, take issues with ticks very seriously.