Finally got all my test results back!

Momperson been a little worried about me. The vetman kept coming up with all these terrible things that might be wrong with me. First it was congestive heart failure, then she thought I had something called brucellosis or Lepro. Finally momperson got the majic call with all the results!~ I don't got none of that stuff! Just lots of bills for my House of Puddles momperson. I do have a thyroid problem though. They said it was low. I thought that just mean basset. The vet say it was my thyroid that caused a lot of my problems. Cause it low, I not healing or fighting infections as fast. I also still have the epididimytis. I have to take medicine for that and pain medicines for the pain. I won't have to worry about that no more after February 7th. Momperson say the going to FIX it! I not sure what she means, but I might not want to know!

Momperson been real busy here on the farm the past couple of days. She getting ready cause she say them goats going to have babies any day now I got to go down with Stephanie today to see them, Dinny go too. Dinny and me sniff all around the field. Then Dinny find a big bone that Huzzy had. It was real big! He got it and toted it all the way back home. When we get home I tried to get Dinny to share with me, but he get mad. He tried to EAT me! He never done that before. I think he going crazy! He can have his old bone, it was dirty anyway and momperson said couldn't neither one of us have it. I stick my tongue out at Dinny when she not looking.

My Ultrasound

There's not much worse things a dog can battle besides heartworms, unless it's cancer or renal failure or something like that. My ultrasound started out good. My heart though it has a slight murmur now and the right side wall is thickened, the heart itself is in pretty good shape! Best of all, no worms showed up! That was great.
The vetman went from my heart to my spleen. It was good also. It just looked big because I am such a long basset. My kidneys are in great shape too! Great news so far. Momperson said, well this is all good, it makes her look crazy cause she knows I'm in pain.
Then came my livers. My liver is enlarged and I have an obstructed bile duct. The vetman said that's a sign of liver disease. I also have ulcers in my stomach and intestinal walls. The vet man said that could cause some pain, but it would be mild to moderate.
The finally finished my ultrasound at the back end. Yep, you know it, they check out the family jewels. I have one that is bigger than the other and the vet had told mom that more than likely is was tumor in there. Well, I don't have a tumor. I have something called Epididymitis. The can cure that, with antibiotics and neutering. The vetman said that was what was causing me all the pain I am having.

They took a blood test after the ultrasound. They are going to check it for a very bad disease. See, the epididymitis, enlarged liver, arthritis I have in my back and the swollen lymph glands they found last Saturday all point to Brucellosis.

Momperson and me don't know a lot about Brucellosis, but from what we read last night it's not good to have. It's also contagious. From what we read so far, they can treat it with antibiotics, but there is no cure for it. Momperson and me are very scared and worried that I have this awful disease. I don't know what's going to happen and neither does momperson yet.

Please keep us in your prayers and send lots of drool that I will get a negative report on Monday!

Get Well Cards Recieved so far!~

I've received 3 Get Well cards in the mail so far. Only 9997 left to go! Oh I hope I make it!

I have been feeling much better today. I only showed my momperson a sign of pain once today and that was about an hour before I took my pain medication. Momperson gave it to me a little early. When I am in pain my 3 eyelid turns white and my eyes start to water like I am crying. Momperson says she doesn't like to see me cry. If this pain medicine isn't strong enough for me momperson said she would get me a stronger one from the vet.

My lab work should be back tomorrow. The vet took a culture of the nasty stuff in my ear and sent it off to be tested. Momperson said they have to put in on a dish thing and incubate it. They will look at it every day to see what is growing in my ear. That will tell them what kind of medicine I need to stop it. Mom person said she would call tomorrow and see what it says when she calls the vet to set up my ultrasound.

My spleen is enlarged

I went to the vetspital this morning. I still wasn't feeling really well but I was acting better than I did yesterday. Atleast that's what mom person said. We were at the vetspital for over 2 hours. They listened to my heart and lungs. The vet told mom person that my heart murmur was really bad today and I needed to be on heart medicines. She said I still have the congestions in my lungs too, it's not getting any better yet. Then she felt my bellies. When she was done, she took me from mom person and went away. When I come back they had taken another picture of my insides. This time they took pictures of my spleen. The vet told mom person that my spleen was enlarged and she didn't want to tell me yet that it was cancer. She would like to take something called an ultrasound first to see more of my insides. She say it is twice as big as it is suppose to be. Me's a big boy though, so ain't my insides suppose to be big too? I don't understand, all I know is mom person has to give me lots of pills with cheese on them. I love cheese so I'm okay if it's got stuffs in it.
The vet showed momperson my insides picture and pointed out more rib fractures that have healed and also said I have arthritis in my spine.

I'm glad I got my heater bed, it makes me feel better. Now I just have to get rid of those nasty old worms in my heart. Mom person say we just take it one day at a time.

Today I didn't feel very good. I have slept a lot and I even growled a time or two at the humans I love . My mom person is very worried about me. I am breathing like I am in pain. I have to go to the vetspital in the morning and get checked out. Hopefully they will give me sometime to make me feel more comfortable. Mom person doesn't know if it's the worms, my bad teeth or my ears causing me pain.

I did get a nice present in the mail today from my adopted aunt in Oregon and her four legged kids Daphne, Zeus and Apollo. They sent me a large doggie heating pad for my bed and a big tub of Dr. Foster and Smith Cheese Bites. I have been laying on the heating pad most of the evening now. Mom thinks it is making me feel a little better. It heats to 102 degrees when I lay on it and cools down to just 10 degrees above room temperature when I get up. Now I never have to crawl into a cold bed again.

Life is much better than it was when I lived in Kentucky with that other family. I just have to beat these old worms now and get my other health problems under control.

I hope by Sunday I will feel well enough to help mom person work on my mission to collect 10,000 Get Well cards. We are going to write a letter to send to every newspaper in the Country. Mom person said maybe we can get linked onto some websites too. That way I can get more Internet exposure. The more people that know what I am trying to do, the more my chances are that they will send me a card.

Mom person has received a dozen emails already of people that are sending cards and dollars! One lady even sent my moms letter to every person in her buddy list and all her family members. She said a lot of them want to send me cards and dollars too.

I have to go back to sleep now. I don't have a lot of energy today.

Why did this happen to me?

fos

I'm really a sweet old basset hound. I never bothered anybody, but the family I use to live with thought I was trouble. They kept me outside with nothing to use for shelter from the cold and wind and rain. They kicked and beat me when I barked. I have a broken rib that is healing to show for it. The didn't get me medical care and now I'm fighting for my life.

My major problem right now is I have heartworms. The vet I am going to says it's stage 3. My heart is enlarged from the worms and so is my aorta. I have a heart murmur that is getting worse every time the vet checks it. I also have fluid on my lungs. I have been taking medication to get the fluid off and it's working, but what is left has gotten more congested. These sounds like the signs of Congestive Heart Failure, only the vet hasn't said that, yet!

I started my heartworm treatment on December 12, 2007. I had one shot then. On January 10, 2008 I had to spend the night at the vetspital. They shaved my back and I got the last two shots of medicine to kill the worms. The shots are very painful and they had to give me pain medication before each shot.

The vet says I may be in pain and if it's looks like I can't manage it well, then she will give me medicine for that too. She doesn't want to give me too many drugs though because she is afraid it will over load my system. So as you can see I am fighting for my life. The vet said I'm not ready to die yet, but I have a long way to go before I am out of the woods.

My foster mom makes sure I take all my medication and she won't let me play because it can cause a clot of worms to break off and kill me. My first mom from the House of Puddles is taking care of my vet bills. It's nice to have two moms to love me now!

I love looking at pictures now and will fight my 2 legged sister for a Fosters and Smith catalog. Mom says I like to look at the pictures. Since I have to be confined for 8 weeks while the worms die and my heart strenghtens back up, I would like to collect Get Well cards from all over the place! If it's possible I would also like each card to contain $1.00. They have a basset waddle coming up in May and I plan to be well enough to go. I want to paw deliver the money I collect to my mom at House of Puddles to help all the senior hounds like me. I think it would be a great Mother's Day present for her!