Critterhunter
New member
Recently my dog, a beautiful long haired (or wooly) Husky named Sky passed away. This morning something happened that made this even stick out in my mind more, so humor me here and read this if you love your pets...
My neighbor's dog, a black lab Rottweiler mix, was paying tons of attention to me every day for a week after Sky died. Dizzy, my neighbor's dog, would flop on the floor next to me and kick it's feet in the air, grrr-ing at me to rub it's belly. She did this here and there in the past, but every day after Sky died Dizzy would do this to me 2 or 3 times with each visit. Obviously she knew I needed comfort, because she did it every day 2 or 3 times where as she would only do that here and there before Sky died.
Anyway, yesterday I left my neighbor's house and Dizzy was laying by the back door wagging at me. I went over and rubbed her stomach and asked her if she missed touching noses with Sky through the fence as they liked to do. After a few more remarks and belly rubs I left. This morning my neighbor's son was pounding on my door. He said something is wrong with Dizzy and he needed me to help carry her to the car. I went over and she was laying on the floor breathing real hard. A few minutes later, while we were getting a rug ready to carry her on, she passed away.
Just like Sky did, she had suddenly got sick like this, and was throwing up white puke like Sky a day or two before as Sky did. For that reason I suspect her kidneys gave out like Sky's. We had Sky tested for a disease that wild animals can spread because of all the rabbits we've been seeing in our yard which can shut their kidneys down. It's called Lipto-something or other. I never called to get the results of that test because Sky passed on at the hospital so there wasn't much point, but I just did to see if something is going on here, and that maybe Dizzy caught the same disease (if this was a disease). They never submitted the test to the lab because Sky had passed on, so I don't know if these dogs had a disease or not.
Anyway, just wanted to tell you if you ever have a dog that throws up white stuff like milk to not mess around and take it right to the vet, because both Sky and Dizzy did this a few days before they died and I think it's a sign of at least kidney failure because I don't know if they had that disease or not, but that disease does shut down a dog's kidneys so it might be what caused the kidney failure maybe. That disease can be cured too, just like kidney failure, if it's caught in time before the kidneys totally shut down.
I think when I asked Dizzy yesterday if she missed touching noses through the fence with Sky, maybe Dizzy thought that she was near her time to go too, so she might as well go now because she really missed doing that with Sky so much. Now they can touch noses all they want, and this time there won't be a fence between them.
Most people will do anything for their dogs, so if you ever have a dog that seems under the weather and starts throwing up white liquid don't mess around, because if you act right away they can get the kidneys working again with the right treatment, and as said it could also be a sign of that disease they might have had because it will shut down the kidneys too.
Edit: I've since called the vet and Sky's test was never submitted to the lab because she had passed on before that was done. So I don't know if both dogs had this or not. They were both 10 years old, but at least Sky seemed in her prime to me and that's why her death was such a shock. It just seems odd that two dogs living right next door to each other die from the same quick symptoms of white puke and all. Both dogs were drinking a lot of water in the days leading up to finding them near death on the floor. It could have been just kidney failure with no rhyme or reason behind it, but I just think the white puke thing and same symptoms makes it look suspicious. Both dogs were in fenced in yards right next to each other and were current on their shots. That suspected disease can be inoculated for but neither dog was as it's an option at most vets and not part of normal shots.
Another odd thing...The morning we rushed Sky to the hospital I had AM radio on, and there was a vet talking about this very disease. That's what made me suspect and have them test Sky for it, because that vet said it's rising in cases and is spread by wild animals. Usually a dog gets it from drinking water from a puddle that an animal has went to the bathroom in, as this disease likes to live in wet soil, but I guess a rabbit (as we had been seeing so many in the yards) might have went to the bathroom and both dogs could have got into it or something.
Just saying, if your dog seems a little under the weather and is drinking a lot of water and then suddenly is throwing up white puke like it drank milk or something, DON'T wait and head right for the vet. If they catch kidney failure (or even this disease too they might have had) early enough they CAN cure it. I've since learned that vets offer kidney screenings as an option with each visit, and that they recommend paying a little more for having that checked with each visit, because kidney failure usually has very early signs and can be treated with the right medication, and kidney failure is the number one cause of death among dogs from what I was told.
If you love your dog you'll gladly pay a few extra bucks to have the kidneys checked out. I know I will with my next dog with each vet visit. When you lose a good friend like that that touched your soul you'll realize how trivial an extra few dollars is at a checkup. I know I do now...
Here's a few pictures of Sky taken only a day or two before we found her near death. She loved to talk and tell you stories for minutes at a time in her own special semi-howl and other ways, but rarely ever barked or howled a big long howl like a wolf. You can see in the one pic we caught her in mid-semi howl, and in the other pic doing her favorite other thing...laying on her back to air out her belly and relax. She was in the middle of shedding her heavy winter coat so the pictures don't do justice to how pretty of a coat she had. I think it's odd that my nephew took these pictures only a day or two before she died. I think he might have subconsciencly knew something was wrong.
She had been a bit under the weather and just didn't "look" right when I looked into her eyes. Had I let my gut feeling talk to me I might have known there was something more going on here than just her being a bit under the weather for a few days. That has happened before due to her being in heat, but this time it was just "different". If your dog drinks a lot of water all of a sudden, and especially if it starts throwing up something that looks like milk, then don't wait to get it checked out. By my count both these dogs had about a week of signs before it was too late. Even if you don't see these signs, if there is just something in their eyes that tells your intuition in the back of your head that something ain't right here...Act on it! I "knew" there was just something in her eyes for days before this. Both of these dog's were only 10 and seemed in their prime. Well, Dizzy had a little joint paint but Sky ran around like a pup. I really thought she'd live to be 15 or 16 she seemed in such good shape. The pic makes her look old but only because she was shedding bad. She looked 5 or 6 at the most to most people.
My neighbor's dog, a black lab Rottweiler mix, was paying tons of attention to me every day for a week after Sky died. Dizzy, my neighbor's dog, would flop on the floor next to me and kick it's feet in the air, grrr-ing at me to rub it's belly. She did this here and there in the past, but every day after Sky died Dizzy would do this to me 2 or 3 times with each visit. Obviously she knew I needed comfort, because she did it every day 2 or 3 times where as she would only do that here and there before Sky died.
Anyway, yesterday I left my neighbor's house and Dizzy was laying by the back door wagging at me. I went over and rubbed her stomach and asked her if she missed touching noses with Sky through the fence as they liked to do. After a few more remarks and belly rubs I left. This morning my neighbor's son was pounding on my door. He said something is wrong with Dizzy and he needed me to help carry her to the car. I went over and she was laying on the floor breathing real hard. A few minutes later, while we were getting a rug ready to carry her on, she passed away.
Just like Sky did, she had suddenly got sick like this, and was throwing up white puke like Sky a day or two before as Sky did. For that reason I suspect her kidneys gave out like Sky's. We had Sky tested for a disease that wild animals can spread because of all the rabbits we've been seeing in our yard which can shut their kidneys down. It's called Lipto-something or other. I never called to get the results of that test because Sky passed on at the hospital so there wasn't much point, but I just did to see if something is going on here, and that maybe Dizzy caught the same disease (if this was a disease). They never submitted the test to the lab because Sky had passed on, so I don't know if these dogs had a disease or not.
Anyway, just wanted to tell you if you ever have a dog that throws up white stuff like milk to not mess around and take it right to the vet, because both Sky and Dizzy did this a few days before they died and I think it's a sign of at least kidney failure because I don't know if they had that disease or not, but that disease does shut down a dog's kidneys so it might be what caused the kidney failure maybe. That disease can be cured too, just like kidney failure, if it's caught in time before the kidneys totally shut down.
I think when I asked Dizzy yesterday if she missed touching noses through the fence with Sky, maybe Dizzy thought that she was near her time to go too, so she might as well go now because she really missed doing that with Sky so much. Now they can touch noses all they want, and this time there won't be a fence between them.
Most people will do anything for their dogs, so if you ever have a dog that seems under the weather and starts throwing up white liquid don't mess around, because if you act right away they can get the kidneys working again with the right treatment, and as said it could also be a sign of that disease they might have had because it will shut down the kidneys too.
Edit: I've since called the vet and Sky's test was never submitted to the lab because she had passed on before that was done. So I don't know if both dogs had this or not. They were both 10 years old, but at least Sky seemed in her prime to me and that's why her death was such a shock. It just seems odd that two dogs living right next door to each other die from the same quick symptoms of white puke and all. Both dogs were drinking a lot of water in the days leading up to finding them near death on the floor. It could have been just kidney failure with no rhyme or reason behind it, but I just think the white puke thing and same symptoms makes it look suspicious. Both dogs were in fenced in yards right next to each other and were current on their shots. That suspected disease can be inoculated for but neither dog was as it's an option at most vets and not part of normal shots.
Another odd thing...The morning we rushed Sky to the hospital I had AM radio on, and there was a vet talking about this very disease. That's what made me suspect and have them test Sky for it, because that vet said it's rising in cases and is spread by wild animals. Usually a dog gets it from drinking water from a puddle that an animal has went to the bathroom in, as this disease likes to live in wet soil, but I guess a rabbit (as we had been seeing so many in the yards) might have went to the bathroom and both dogs could have got into it or something.
Just saying, if your dog seems a little under the weather and is drinking a lot of water and then suddenly is throwing up white puke like it drank milk or something, DON'T wait and head right for the vet. If they catch kidney failure (or even this disease too they might have had) early enough they CAN cure it. I've since learned that vets offer kidney screenings as an option with each visit, and that they recommend paying a little more for having that checked with each visit, because kidney failure usually has very early signs and can be treated with the right medication, and kidney failure is the number one cause of death among dogs from what I was told.
If you love your dog you'll gladly pay a few extra bucks to have the kidneys checked out. I know I will with my next dog with each vet visit. When you lose a good friend like that that touched your soul you'll realize how trivial an extra few dollars is at a checkup. I know I do now...
Here's a few pictures of Sky taken only a day or two before we found her near death. She loved to talk and tell you stories for minutes at a time in her own special semi-howl and other ways, but rarely ever barked or howled a big long howl like a wolf. You can see in the one pic we caught her in mid-semi howl, and in the other pic doing her favorite other thing...laying on her back to air out her belly and relax. She was in the middle of shedding her heavy winter coat so the pictures don't do justice to how pretty of a coat she had. I think it's odd that my nephew took these pictures only a day or two before she died. I think he might have subconsciencly knew something was wrong.
She had been a bit under the weather and just didn't "look" right when I looked into her eyes. Had I let my gut feeling talk to me I might have known there was something more going on here than just her being a bit under the weather for a few days. That has happened before due to her being in heat, but this time it was just "different". If your dog drinks a lot of water all of a sudden, and especially if it starts throwing up something that looks like milk, then don't wait to get it checked out. By my count both these dogs had about a week of signs before it was too late. Even if you don't see these signs, if there is just something in their eyes that tells your intuition in the back of your head that something ain't right here...Act on it! I "knew" there was just something in her eyes for days before this. Both of these dog's were only 10 and seemed in their prime. Well, Dizzy had a little joint paint but Sky ran around like a pup. I really thought she'd live to be 15 or 16 she seemed in such good shape. The pic makes her look old but only because she was shedding bad. She looked 5 or 6 at the most to most people.
I'm done with trying to hide my emotions. Done that too much in life for too long. It's time to open up a little, or maybe too much. I don't know. I'm not good at this...
It involves the impact and emotion we all feel, or think we should feel, for people (and animals) close to us. Sometimes we feel guilty about not feeling as we think we should, and wonder if something is wrong with that. This is what this message is going to revolve around, and onto deeper things, so bail out now if it's not your speed. Wasn't my speed not too long ago either, so I can understand...
