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Longlease
Bernese Mountain Dogs
In Loving Memory of
Herb
December 18th 2006 to January 18th 2012
Owned, so much loved and now so
very sadly missed by Jean Cheesman and June Miles
I took this pic of Herb
on December 18th 2010, his 4th Birthday, and he had a wonderful day.
The best present ever, it
snowed here and he and Pixie had such fun.
http://bernese.biz/pixieherb5.htm
I had planned to take new
pics for his 5th birthday but sadly things went very wrong!
December 18th '11- Herb's
5th Birthday, noticed a patch of dermatitis? back end, near tail,
took him out to treat then, out of the blue, when I brought him back
in, excited jumping with the girls and a yelping? Seemed a mild
strain L back leg, initially limping but then seemed fine during the
following few days but then increasingly picky about his food which
was very unusual for this boy. Always an eat anything and everything
Berner!
December 25th '11-
relapsed with weakness both back legs and an increasingly high
temperature and very poor appetite got worse over the weekend.
December 27th '11- temp.
106.5 F and off to an emergency visit to the vet, found only some
slight restriction of movement the L hock joint. Treated with
metacam and oroclav, movement did then improve and he was getting up
and down on his own again though appetite still very poor over the
week
December 31st '11-
started developing sore patches around the muzzle which gradually
got worse over the weekend,.
January 2nd '12 - temp.
still high 106 F, back to the vet, changed antibios to doxycycline
in case of Lyme
January 3rd '12 - temp,
104.4 F, and back to the vet again for full panel bloodwork., high
calcium levels, though all other levels normal, appetite very poor,
coax feeding by this time. Drinking normally, Helen, the vet, very
concerned about the sores and thinking immune related disease?
January 6th '12 - temp.
102.5, biopsies taken of the sore patches and needle aspirate of a
swollen lymph gland in the neck, which had come up since the
previous night, also full x-rays of the back legs, spine, chest and
abdomen (nothing abnormal found) Bloodwork done again and sent to
the lab for more detailed panels and calcium slightly higher than
the earlier test. Appetite very poor by now syringe feeding to get
anything inside him.
January 9th '12 - Started
on cyclosporine when the path report came in as cutaneous/possibly
systemic hystiocyotsis and stopped the metacam and doxycline as
could be conflict with the new med. (BTW The Lyme test came back as
negative anyway and his temp was again normal).
Path reports here:
PixieHerbIda/HerbPath/Herb1.jpg
PixieHerbIda/HerbPath/Herb2.jpg
PixieHerbIda/HerbPath/Herb3.jpg
PixieHerbIda/HerbPath/Herb4.jpg
January 17th '12 - It's
been a very tough few days again with Herb, he developed a bad
reaction to the cyclosporine we started him on last Wednesday with
nausea and vomiting. I'd been syringe feeding with a liquid feed
five times a day to keep him going as he'd been totally off his food
for the last week or so since the biopsies were done. His appetite
had been previously poor and I'd been coax feeding with anything and
everything. With those increasingly horrible sores around his muzzle
and in his mouth and nose it was too painful for him and most likely
he couldn't smell or taste anything anyway. On Saturday night he
threw up the feed I'd given him a few hours before and even more
worrying was he was now hovering over the water bowl and turning
away so was not even drinking. I gave him by syringe dehydration
fluid in small amounts at regular intervals and next morning first
thing called the vet out to come here. He got an anti-nausea shot
and he did keep the feeds down later and I continued giving him the
fluids but I had to do something more, he's lost so much weight,
since this first started a few weeks ago so very weak and listless
and I was again having to help him up and he's a big boy! On Sunday
I had almost decided to say this is enough but I talked everything
through with Kelly when she came over and again with Helen next
morning (she'd been treating him previously, Kelly was on call on
Sunday) some hopeful signs as the sores are now starting to heal and
crusting over, it can take around two weeks for the cyclosporine to
kick in fully and he did perk up a bit yesterday morning and had
kept his later syringe feeds down the previous night but by this
time I was feeling emotionally drained and so very tired this, is
just such hard work!! I took Herb in yesterday and he is now in
Intensive Care at the vets, on a drip for fluids and getting liquid
feeds.
He's now getting the
anti-nausea injections and antepsin to coat the stomach lining and
today he was also started on prednisone to help boost that appetite
and further reduce the inflammation. I know he is getting the very
best possible care!. Kelly just phoned a while ago and she said he
has perked up a bit this evening, she had just taken him out for a
short walk a while ago down to the river, about 50 yds, Did a very
long pee though not pooping yet but showing interest in the new
smells and was getting up on his own again! What a good boy! I've
fought cancers in the past with three of my Berners but this disease
is a new one for me! Paws crossed for this boy!
January 18th '12 - Helen
phoned me this morning to say things were not looking good and could
I come in. His condition had declined overnight and when they took
him out to poop it was black diarhea indicating an internal bleed!
My boy when I got there
was so very weak but cuddled his beautiful head into my lap and
stayed there as we gently helped him over the Bridge, there was
nothing more we could do.
I am still so stunned,
this has all happened so very quickly!
Helen phoned a while ago
and preliminary findings from the initial necropsy are that his
pancreas was inflamed. his kidneys and spleen showed abnormailties
and there was some ulceration of the gut lining. Thinking is that it
was systemic histiocytosis which was also involving the major
organs. Samples are going off for pathology and we'll know more when
we get the results back in
Tonight we are heartbroken and missing our gentle giant so very
much!
Jean, Pixie, Ida and the
Longlease Gang
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
February
16 3012
Herb's final results have
taken a while to come in as we also sent off to a Specialist but
seems most likely that Herb actually had a malignant form of this
disease and that this cancer had most likely been hiding in the
internal lymph nodes or bone marrow
Path Reports here
PixieHerbIda/HerbPath/Path1.jpg
PixieHerbIda/HerbPath/Path2.jpg
PixieHerbIda/HerbPath/Path3.jpg
January 21st and these floral Tributes for Herb arrived this
morning.
I've put them by my
computers as I'll be working there tonight!
(Have the next B-G
fundraiser website to keep me busy)
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<enlarge>
These beautiful tulips from
Michaela Simmons-Lackner |
<enlarge>
This wonderful arrangement
from Karen Connors |
Thanks you, my friends for your support during this very
difficult time
Jean, Pixie, Ida and the
Longlease Gang
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Life goes on here, next
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