# Left Alf at the Vet



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Alf is the alpha of my three dogs. Big at 110#. Not a mean bone in his body. Last week he decided to quit eating. At first I thought he just didn't like the dry food so I bought another, he ate that for a couple of days then quit. I gave him just canned, he ate that and then quit. I boiled ground beef with some oatmeal for fiber, he ate that and then quit. Last night he had a couple of dog cookies and didn't bother leaving the bedroom for breakfast this morning.

He saw our regular vet on Friday. Nothing was found. On Monday my vet told me to take him to a specialist in the city so that's where we went this morning. X-rays look good, more intensive blood work will be done and an ultra sound. 

So far, the reason remains a mystery. 

Anyone ever have one quit eating without a physical reason?


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

Is he losing weight or acting different, Robin?


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

How old is he Robin?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

He's lost a couple of pounds since Friday but this whole not eating thing is so new he hasn't lost much. Acting different? If you didn't know him you wouldn't know anything was wrong. What I did notice Friday is that his coat is dull. Normally he glows in the dark he's so sleek. Like a seal type look coat wise.

They found a couple of liver enzymes a bit high but not high enough to account for simply quitting eating. I also noticed he has reduced his water intake in the past couple of days.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

7chicks said:


> How old is he Robin?


Sure, I assume everyone knows he's going to be nine years old in a couple of months. You should have known that, right? Trying for a little humor here.

I hate this. I hate the not knowing and I hate the possibility of having to make a decision that will change all of our lives.


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

Leave him go until you know. It could be nothing, it could be something... Until you know more there's nothing you can do, so just enjoy him and keep feeding him whatever he will eat. When our pit bull passed, our husky was heartbroken and stopped eating. It was mashed potatoes and gravy, bread and peanut butter, and molasses cookies every night for a week. He would still eat treats, just not food. So he ate treats lol.

How are his protein levels in his urine? Did they do a full x-Ray of his whole body?


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Darn it animals are sooo good at hiding things when something is wrong.  Hopefully the answer will show itself soon.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

The vet called a few minutes ago. On ultra sound they found his spleen enlarged, could be nothing, could be something. They found some abnormalities on his liver but won't know what until they look. Found his neutrafils elevated which can indicate infection. There is also some free fluid in his abdomen. 

So tomorrow they are going to look, take his spleen if its diseased. They will call me if taking the spleen is life threatening.

Alf's brothers are off this evening. They full expected him right behind when I walked in the door.

Oh, geez, Fiere. I get the dog grieving thing. I almost lost my Keepher the day we had to put our Leon Redbone down. The next day she vomited all day to the point of it being bloody. I made three trips to the vet with her trying to get it stopped. I finally hit on it on the third trip, Leon. Every time Leon had a health crisis Keepher would get sick. The doc gave her drugs that stopped the vomiting and helped calm her. 

7chicks, my crew can't usually hide anything from me. It used to drive the hubs nuts. I would say, Leon in this case, needs to go to the vet right now. Of course that was three in the morning and Leon is just laying there in his bed. He argued and fussed at me, I said we were going he could stay. 

Turns out my mad dash to the emergency vet saved Leon's life. He was in heart failure and needed to be treated ASAP.

Whatever is getting Alf would explain a couple of things I've seen the past two weeks. One was a short temper with his brothers. The other is a bit more ephemeral. My husband would say I was imagining things but it was the way he ate his meals. More laid back isn't quite right but its close.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Glad the vet got back to you with some news even though it still leaves questions. Will keep your little buddy Alf in my prayers tonight.


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

He is in my thoughts as well, Robin! Let us know how he makes out tomorrow.

Poor Chayce aged ten years since Mara passed. He just turned nine himself, and was always a very active dog despite having some arthritis and such starting. He is "old" now. He gets tired easily and spends most of his time asleep. I can't take him on long walks anymore as he gets sore after a mile and then he will feel it all day. We got a malamute puppy after Christmas and Chayce just never really took to him. Even now, he will play with him a bit outside but when he is done, that's the end of it. He won't let the pup sleep with him, he won't share food, and you can just tell he is tolerating the pup because he has to, not because he wants to. Chayce and Mara slept together every night, they'd eat from the same bowl, they'd play for hours and hours, it's a very different dynamic with Chayce and Koda. Anyone who says dogs don't grieve or feel hasn't had much experience with dogs, imho.


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## Ranch (May 26, 2014)

Poor Alf. I will say a prayer for him and for you all. I know how much he means to you. You are always right on top of things with all of them. I am sorry he isn't himself. Hopefully you will get great news in the morning. Please keep us posted.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Fiere said:


> He is in my thoughts as well, Robin! Let us know how he makes out tomorrow.
> 
> Poor Chayce aged ten years since Mara passed. He just turned nine himself, and was always a very active dog despite having some arthritis and such starting. He is "old" now. He gets tired easily and spends most of his time asleep. I can't take him on long walks anymore as he gets sore after a mile and then he will feel it all day. We got a malamute puppy after Christmas and Chayce just never really took to him. Even now, he will play with him a bit outside but when he is done, that's the end of it. He won't let the pup sleep with him, he won't share food, and you can just tell he is tolerating the pup because he has to, not because he wants to. Chayce and Mara slept together every night, they'd eat from the same bowl, they'd play for hours and hours, it's a very different dynamic with Chayce and Koda. Anyone who says dogs don't grieve or feel hasn't had much experience with dogs, imho.


While Keepher and Leon shared a bond, it was never that tight. They did go hunting every morning together once he decided she was old enough. Her dedication was to me. Its understandable since I found her and her litter mates on the side of the road so young one didn't have its eyes open yet. So, she imprinted on me.

But he was the canine figure she had known for 8 years. His loss at 11 hit her hard, probably as hard as it did for the humans.

You can say the same about people calling chickens or Guineas stupid. Those are the people that never took the time to pay attention. But they are the ones that lose out in the end.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Ranch said:


> Poor Alf. I will say a prayer for him and for you all. I know how much he means to you. You are always right on top of things with all of them. I am sorry he isn't himself. Hopefully you will get great news in the morning. Please keep us posted.


Thank you, Ranch. We've shared some stuff with our critters together in a short span of time.

Normally I wouldn't even be discussing this now but talking to my hubs is hard. Right now he's working in the middle of the night so he's sleeping during the day. Did I ever tell you he works away from home? So, no way am I calling him with updates but I need to talk about it.

After the vet called this evening I sent him an email to call me if he was awake. I'll do that tomorrow too. And yes, I won't leave my friends hanging on this.


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## Ranch (May 26, 2014)

robin416 said:


> Thank you, Ranch. We've shared some stuff with our critters together in a short span of time.
> 
> Normally I wouldn't even be discussing this now but talking to my hubs is hard. Right now he's working in the middle of the night so he's sleeping during the day. Did I ever tell you he works away from home? So, no way am I calling him with updates but I need to talk about it.
> 
> After the vet called this evening I sent him an email to call me if he was awake. I'll do that tomorrow too. And yes, I won't leave my friends hanging on this.


No I didn't know he worked away. That is not good right now. My hb does swing and it always happens that things happen when he is gone. So I just have to keep it to myself until he gets home the next day. But, then he is tired and I don't want to get him up and not be able to sleep, so I talk alittle then let it go. I am one of those people that when I am worried I would rather talk about it to feel better.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I will obsess until I have answers. The worst is when no answers can be given or least ones that are definitive. 

We've been doing this thing with him working remotely for about 15 years now. 99% of the time its all me. Alf adores the hubs and the hubs thinks he's pretty neat too. While I've had to make the difficult decision several times on my own, this time he needs to know where we stand. 

He trusts me explicitly on whatever I choose to do where Alf is concerned. I guess after all the times with Leon he has no other choice than to trust me. I just hate being in this position yet again.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Update:

His spleen is out, there were several masses. His liver looks good. There is some lymph node involvement but that could be from some infection from some where since the neutrofils were present. They are sending tissue samples off for further testing. He said he is waking normally and I can probably go get him tomorrow. 

But they do not think this should stop him from eating, so there is that one big question remaining.


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

If he was feeling poorly, it may have contributed. Jingles for a speedy recovery for your boy!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm crossing fingers he might want a bite to eat before I go get him. Of course that means he'll puke in my truck on the way home though. Good thing I have a rug doctor to clean it up afterwards.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Latest update: The answer to why he won't eat, a bleeding ulcer. Well, it wasn't bleeding until today but he has a bleeding ulcer. They only found it because of dark, tarry stool. I won't know until tomorrow morning whether I can go get him or not.


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

Well that's progress. Even if it wasn't bleeding, they suck. Poor puppers.


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## Ranch (May 26, 2014)

How is Alf doing? I hope he is getting back to normal. I am glad they have figured it out. Poor baby, he has a lot going on at one time.


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## piglett (Jun 21, 2012)

Fiere said:


> Anyone who says dogs don't grieve or feel hasn't had much experience with dogs, imho.


my turkey hen stopped eating after we had to put her mate down

she would eat a tiny bit but that was it

she died about 6 weeks later


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

This a copy of an email I sent to a friend, I can't stand to retype it.

Thank you. The hardest was telling my husband when he called last night. The last thing he expected was to hear that news. 

I left the house yesterday morning to pick up more drugs to stop him from vomiting up the drugs that were supposed to protect his stomach. When I got back he was laying in one of the beds and wouldn't respond to me when I walked in. He had died quietly in his sleep. 

Two of my neighbors came over to help me put him in my truck to take him for cremation. While we were standing out there we could hear his brothers howling in the house. 

So its not just dealing with my pain, its the two boys also. But they sense the pain in me and it just goes round and round. One in particular I'm going to have to watch, he's taking it very hard. 

I'm going to send a copy of this email to Canuk so I don't have to repeat it. I was determined not to cry this morning but writing this has gotten me going again.


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## Fiere (Feb 26, 2014)

Oh Robin I am so sorry. It's never easy, they don't live near long enough. ((Hugs))

Take comfort in your fond memories of him, he lead a good long life and passed peacefully where he felt loved and safe.


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## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

Sorry to hear about the loss of your dog.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

I'm so sorry. My heart is breaking for you. I know all to well how much it hurts to lose a beloved family member.


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## Ranch (May 26, 2014)

Oh Robin, I am so sorry. He had an awesome life with you all and he will be dearly missed. I am glad he was at home with those that he loved and who loved him. I am truly sorry.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I received the final diagnosis this afternoon, Alf had lymphoma and probably had six months to live even with chemo. It explains the reason for not eating. With this form of lymphoma one of the signs is not eating along with a whole list of other signs. It is also the least common form of lymphoma. 

His surgeon was shocked to learn of his death from my regular vet. He said again and again he saw no reason for this to have been the outcome. Then I mentioned embolism. He said it was entirely possible. He was also misinformed by my vet about what I was seeing with Alf but then my vet was dealing with a hysterical woman over the phone so its understandable.


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