R.I.P. Miss P

[Arete]

Thumbs up to Miss P! :D

[Koala]

Good thoughts for your baby. It is so hard when they are sick :(

[debrand]

Lots of positive thoughts are sent you way.

[Palimpsest]

Updating to say that the positive thoughts seem to have worked!

Miss P was well enough to have a lumpectomy last Thursday and we got the results back today. The vet wanted to move fast because she suspected a fast growing tumor.

It was a malignant nerve shealth sarcoma again, her third, but we have clean margins! Yay! No need for radiation or scar revisions, we just have to keep watching the site(s) and keep checking her all over frequently.

She has an 8' zipper in her groin/side and was really miserable on Thursday night. The worst I've ever seen her after surgery, poor thing. I called the E-Vet at 2:00 am to double-check how many more pain pills I could give her without ODing her! I've been biting my nails waiting for the results since Thursday.

She is doing well today, although not her usual elegant self. She is wearing a bite-not collar and giving me filthy looks because she wants it OFF!

Thanks again for the good thoughts. It means a lot!

[Arete]

Good and smooth healing to Miss P. So happy to hear her tumor needs no further therapy. Yay doggie! :D

[RachelB]

Happy to hear that the surgery was successful. I hope she heals quickly and fully.

[Palimpsest]

Thanks so much. It is a huge relief to have those clean margins.

[dawbs]

yay, I hope she's on the mend

[Marianne]

Your dog seems to be an amazing dog ! I'm very happy to read that she doesn't need a further therapy. Good luck to her !

Can you share a picture of Miss P ?

[Palimpsest]

I am so technically challenged! If this works it should be a photo of Miss P on the dog couch. (Yes, the dogs have their own old couch!) The photo is a couple of years old but she is not looking her best today all shaved and stapled.

[Palimpsest]

Yay, it worked!

For good measure, here is the handsome Mr C, AKA the "anxious one" and "seizure doggy."

And the little guy, AKA the naughty one, modeling a new collar. He recently passed his Therapy Dog Test and is following in Miss P's paw prints.

[browngrl]

They are all beautiful!

[Palimpsest]

Thank you. I think they are beautiful too. :D

[Marianne]

They are very beautiful with very soft eyes!

I am happy to see dogs Therapy, I have a one (a black labrador named Ombre) and she changed my life ! We need more therapy dogs. This dog does an amazing job :-)

[dairyfreelife]

gorgeous dogs. I love dogs. They never live long enough imo. 10-15 years is not enough years. I am so glad things are on the mend with her though and hope you get a few more wonderful years with her. :)

[sparkles]

I'm glad Miss P. is doing well and I hope it continues! All your pups are just beautiful. Greyhounds are the most wonderful dogs, so sweet and even tempered. I miss my boy every day.

I'd adopt another one in a second but my little Zelly (our "your guess is as good as mine" rescue pup) would never stand for it.

[bionicmlle]

Gosh, I am so sorry I JUST saw this thread! I am a dog lover and owner of an elderly and often-ill beagle. Thank FSM for pet health insurance which has paid for itself several times over. I never want to be in a position to decline care because I don't have cash on the barrelhead and we've been in an emergency $5,000 surgery situation. Sending lots of nose-kisses and belly-scratches to your Ms.P and crew!! Beautiful pictures, btw. I want to adopt at least one rescued lab beagle at some point but my current canine crew would not tolerate a change to our pack. Rescuing former racers is such important work.

[Palimpsest]

Aw, thanks everyone!

Marianne, I love the name Ombre for a black dog. I'm not good at dog names and with my retired racers I usually keep part of their racing names when they come home. That is partly why I don't give their names here, even in It's Me Margaret. And excess of caution because I use their names on dog boards, but there is always the possibility that one of our FJ trolls could google their names in combination and track me down.

I love all breeds of dog and have owned other breeds and mixes but sighthounds are my current favorite.

I know there are a few other current and former greyhound owners here and I'm sure they would agree with me that they are wonderful dogs. They do have a few quirks that new adopters need to know about. I usually don't say that they are "rescued" because we want to keep the racing industry working with us and a) that terminology pisses the industry off and, b) I personally didn't rescue them. I just got them from an adoption kennel. :)

They are very sweet natured dogs. Of the 4 retired racers that I have had (I used to have two others who sadly died) only one has had behavioral problems -- Mr C. He is a very loving and friendly guy, but is very anxious with a massive phobia about vets and needles that we are still working on. My other 3 greys all sailed through Therapy Dog training. I love TD volunteering with them.

Which brings me to "Little Guy." He is not a greyhound although he looks like one. He is also a sighthound but a different breed, Galgo Espanol. Not many people know the breed in the US as they count as a rare breed here. The terrible plight of the Galgo Espanol or Spanish Greyhound is better known in Europe.

Little Guy was rescued in Spain and then brought to the US where I was fortunate enough to adopt him through my Greyhound Adoption Agency. He was found abandoned on the streets with many open wounds that looked as though he had been badly beaten. He still has a lot of physical scars but they have not affected his loving outgoing personality at all. He has the energy of 5 greyhounds and keeps us amused by his antics.

Little Guy is an ambassador dog in the US for Galgos and we take his responsibilities seriously so . . .

February 1st is Dia Del Galgo - World Galgo Day! The many Galgo Rescue Organizations are banding together to try to bring attention to the plight of the Galgo. Diadelgalgo.com

This is the organization that rescued Little Guy: SOSGalgos.com

A new group in the US with the best beautiful Galgo pictures: sagehounds.com

And especially for Marianne: galgosfrance.net

Please help spread the word. Thanks!

Edit to add a link and clarity

[Lillybee]

I am glad that your needlenoses are doing better. I wish I could have kept my girl's racing name but it was Ghetto Girl.

She never answered to it so I changed her name to Isis. I usually call her Icy because it took a long time for her to come into her own. She was a racing school drop-out because she is a small greyhound. She is very healthy but has anxiety issues. Great dog though.

[PennySycamore]

Isis is a wonderful name for one of our animal family members. One of my grand cats is named Isis.

[Marianne]

Palimpsest, thanks you for the website and for the information ! In our local shelter, we had a greyhound who had been abused (cigarette burns ...), he was adopted four days ago by a family who already has a greyhound and a Dalmatian.

[Palimpsest]

And we don't know whether this is the end. My retired racing greyhound, and retired wonderful Therapy Dog, is very sick.

She may still come through this with a good QoL. We would appreciate you holding her in your thoughts, crossing paws, lighting candles, praying, whatever floats your boat.

She is a gallant old girl of almost 13, not bad for a greyhound. She is a 2 time cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with kidney disease about a year ago, and has heart problems, and massive arthritis in her hips and back too. We have been balancing keeping her as pain-free as possible with her kidney problems for a year.

Right now, despite our and her vet's best efforts she is in kidney failure. Or more. We have not had the results of the abdominal sonogram yet. The next 24 hours are crucial, and how she reacts to all the supportive things they are doing will help us make the decision.

Please hold us in your thoughts too, because this may be the time to let her fly free with no more pain and no more meds. But we so want to keep her with us.

Thanks in advance.

[SpoonfulOSugar]

I am so sorry. I have lost three cats in the past couple of years (one to kidney disease.) They are our furry family members and it has been horribly difficult for me. I wish you much positive energy, a vet with wisdom and compassion, and whatever best outcome is possible.

[Fascinated]

I am thinking of you, too, Palimpsest. It is incredibly painful to go through this. You will be in my thoughts tonight, and my fingers are firmly crossed.

[Browneyed Girl]

I am so sorry your furbaby is not well. As for the prayers, candles, and whatever other things I can think of? You and Miss P. have got them all.

Sending you the biggest hug I can.