Get ready for cuteness

[nadine_mn]

Our GSD Durango had to spend the day at the vet to get tested for Cushings (they have to take blood draws over the course of 8 hrs) so our cat Charlie was king of the castle for the day. After our eldest Jasmine died last month, these 2 have been really close. So when I brought Durango home, Charlie had to make sure he was ok

[url=https://flic.kr/p/VLCyXj][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/VLCyXj]


[url=https://flic.kr/p/VLCyY1][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/VLCyY1]

Don't worry - no kitty was hurt while inspecting the pup's mouth


[url=https://flic.kr/p/UxCxAq][img][/img][/url][url=https://flic.kr/p/UxCxAq]

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Been through the canine Cushings thing. She lived 5 years with it,

diabetes (many dogs develop both), blindness, and lupus.
Hope Durango doesn't have it.

[Laffy Kat]

2. Mine has the opposite: Addison's.

We've been treating it for four years now. Addison's may be easier to treat than Cushings, we give her a low-dose prednisone, daily; and she gets a shot of Percorten once a month. Unfortunately, she's been at the vet's all day today because she hasn't been able to keep anything solid on her tummy for over two days. She's getting fluids and other supportive care and seems to be doing better. I'll pick her up tonight.

[nadine_mn]

4. looking back, I think my Black Lab had it

but it went undiagnosed and therefore untreated. He was drinking alot, had gotten a little barrel shaped and was losing a lot of his fur.

Durango is 12, has been drinking a lot and his belly has developed a bulge in the last few months. Some has been weight gain (we are on a diet and he has lost 5 lbs so far). So we are trying to rule out what might be going on with him.

I swear, I cannot lose another pet so soon - we lost our cat of 17 yrs last April, our Lab/Chessie mix who was 16 last month. Just feel like whole chunks of my heart have been ripped out.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. I'm so sorry for your losses. I lost 4 dogs in a 5 month period in 2004. Worse

year of my life. It was the same year, Crissy was diagnosed with Cushing's and 2 months later with diabetes. I adopted my 2 Eskie boys to keep her company. They're now 14 and 15 and will be my last dogs.

[LisaM]

3. We had a dog that had made it through thyroid cancer and was healing well....

then they diagnosed him with Cushing's. He lived maybe a year and a half after that (he was already in his teens, so he got his full allotment). Anyway, I was never really sure that it was Cushing's. He exhibited all the symptoms of Lyme Disease. The vet basically did not want to test for that because it's not in our area, but our dog was from Wyoming, and it could have manifested itself after he was weakened from the chemo. I mean, he seemed fine for a while, but then started losing hair and having some walking difficulty (eventually he couldn't walk).

I don't know what symptom Mr. Adorable up there has, but I now think that checking for Lyme Disease is something I wish I'd done. It wouldn't have occurred to me except that a friend had a dog who exhibited similar symptoms, tested positive for Lyme, and was treated and back on her feet full strength within a short period of time.

[nadine_mn]

5. He recently gained some weight and has developed a pot belly

in the past few months, he is drinking more, kinda lethargic and pants a lot. It could be age and weight gain. Our Lab Jasmine was losing weight and we kept trying to get her to eat and have higher calorie food which Durango would steal. Plus I wasn't walking him as much because I was focused on Jazz.

So we want to rule out Cushings and get his weight down before looking at surgery to see what is causing the increased belly size.

[LisaM]

6. Oh, good, I hope that's not it then.

Gordie did start panting and drinking a lot. I'm not saying he DIDN'T have Cushing's, just that I wish I'd also tested for Lyme, because we could have gotten him the strong dose of antibiotic he needed for the hair loss much earlier.

[shenmue]

8. Dr. Squee!!!!

[Judi Lynn]

9. Truly cute characters. Best wishes. n/t