Some picts and some bitching :-P
Started out being one of those days today. Not sure why. Every time I got shit done something else got thrown into the mix. I’ve been staying a few days ahead. Thats the way I like it. But today every single time I’d get the next days work done there would be something for tomorrow, something someone wanted today or some other horseshit like that. That’s par for the course. I’m used to it I guess.
So on to some picts I uploaded off the camera. Not from work obviously. I ain’t no Tysgirl with the camera but I think the picts aren’t too bad.
Click ‘em to make ‘em bigger:
Deer in the yard
Feeding time at our zoo
2 Dogs for sale VERY CHEAP
The Skeleton Sam. He still isnt gaining any weight and its been 5 months 
Think they like the sunshine? Hmmmm
Notice Lucie (the little shit) and how her legs dont touch the ground when she lays down cause she’s um…well..FAT HaHa.
awwwwww your shep is like mine except mine isn’t quite THAT skinny yet, if you find out something that works, please let me know (and I’ll do the same if you want)..Mine just doesn’t like to eat, unless it’s milkbone biscuits then he’ll eat like a pig but end up with the shits! *sigh*
p.s. shepherd can have a pancreatic condition where the pancreas can’t absorb nutrients or fat or something and thus make it difficult for them to hold or gain weight, there is medication to help control it though, has your vet tested for that? I am hoping we don’t have to deal with THAT!
Love the deer, wish I lived where I could see them easily.
Looks like you and I were on the same wavelength – I saw a bunch of deer today too! Not in my backyard, but in someones backyard in a town now too far away. Cute menagerie! You’ve got your hands full with that brood. Hope your weekend with your daughter was fun!
The picture of Sam made me so sad
Please don’t hate me for saying this as I realize your wife’s best friend works at the vet clinic you go to, but have you thought about taking him somewhere else for a second opinion? It doesn’t look like things are working.
*sigh*
Yes, I’m a big ole freak when it comes to animals and I worry excessively (even about people’s dogs that I’ve never met).
Too bad Lucie can’t give Sam some of her “fluffiness” (fat is such is ugly word, don’t you think?)
I would LOVE to have deer in my backyard like that, how cool!
Great pics.
The ones of the deer are real neat.
And the two pics of the dogs snugging are adorable.
~ZZ
Nice pictures! I’m sorry that one dog is having trouble gaining weight. It’s too bad the other, fluffier dog can’t share.
We’ve tried a number of things with old Sam.
@ coco – In fact that was the latest thought from the vet. He is taking some supplements for his pancreas with each meal now. Been a little over a week and will take a bit to take effect.
@ The Q – We’ve thought about that. We’re pretty sure and so is the vet that there are multiple things going on. The 1st time he went to the vet and got an x-ray, they had never seen so much gas in a dog before. His intestines were full of gas. He was a 24/7 farting machine. Thank goodness at least the runny poop has stopped and he dont have gas like before. And the other issue was the more we fed him, the more he would poop. We had to feed 3x a day and omg he would poop 6x’s a day sometime.
I’ll let the wife explain more, cause she retains more of what the vet says than I do.
@ everyone else – yeah, the deer are the coolest thing ever. At the old house, we’d get excited when we’d see them 1000 feet back by the woods. Now they are 50 ft. from the house.
Poor Sam
That makes me really sad. How much does he weigh? When sheena came to live with us she was only 55lbs. Unfortunately, her low weight was due to poor care. She’s 80 pounds now.
I hope you can figure out something for Sam before he wastes away.
Well when we got Sam, thats about what he looked like. He was a “foster” dog and we kept him. He weighed about 45 lbs, plus had 3 gunshot wounds in him. We’re suckers obviously. Actually the whole gang came to us from the local animal shelter except for Rusty (a.k.a. Richard or what I call him “DICK”) The wife got him from someone at her work.
Before he got sick he weighed around 65 lbs and last i remember he was 42 at the vets.
OMG Sam had been shot? People makes me so sick!!
Wow, reading about Sam having to poop the more you feed him does sound like an absorption problem. I’m not a vet or anything close but I”ve read a lot. I hope that the supplements he’s on now helps him. Is he fine otherwise? How old is he? Give him a big soft hug for me ok?
Around Christmas Logan had started with really loose stools and A LOT of gas, his stool samples came back clean but our vet treated for whipworm anyway because it can take up to 12 tests before you can get a positive reading.
She also put him on an antibiotic since the gas was being caused by some kind of bacteria.
Both cleared up as a result but he still has such a hard time putting weight on. He’s so much more active now too with the new pup so it’s frustrating, I can certainly sympathize.
Your pooch sounds like he’s had all the same crap done to him as ours. Treated for all the same stuff and I guess the vet said he had E-coli too
Hope Sam starts feelin better. Weenie dogs RULE!!!
GAH!! Sam was shot three times? I seriously hate people.
My Dog weighs 81 lbs and often times I’m told he looks underweight (or that he’s part greyhound….the hell? I think he’s tubby for the breed) so I can’t even imagine him weighing what Sheena or Sam weighed before they were lucky enough to find their real family.
We’re sending all our good thoughts his way.
I think I would seriously shoot the people who shot Sam. And I would sleep well that night. You’re good people who took him in. Shows character. Nice job.
Poor Sam has had it rough. In fact, when they did take the x-rays of his intestines and stomach, you could actually still see pieces of the bullet that have stayed in him near his spine all these years! That was weird
He has had all his bloodwork done 3 separate times, luckily, 6 months before he got sick so at least we had a healthy one to compare it to. One of his thyroid levels was low after we had been treating him for a while, but this last time, he was back up to normal. He has been on antibiotic for intestinal problems, been wormed twice, had 3 sets of x-rays, been treated for gas, e-coli, liver. Been given steroid shots…and yes, we have even talked about another opinion, he suggested it too and if this current round of medicine doesn’t work, we are going to a place that can do an ultrasound so they can hopefully see more and figure out what else it could be. Our last resort will probably be to take him to Cornell University, which is around and hour away from us and has a very good veterinary school/hospital.
The latest, and something the vet has been discussing with his colleagues is the pancreas. Funny you know about that with shepherds, because I didn’t until he brought it up. But he is on a special enzyme to help and they said to give it a month or two. Our biggest worry is that he really can’t afford to lose any more weight. He never was a really big shepherd. He was severly malnourished when we first got him and they said it was during a growth stage and that he would not get as big as most shepherds do. But we had him up to 65 lbs and now he is down to 45.
The best thing about Sam is that he is the happiest damn dog you have ever seen
Even when he spends the day at the animal hospital, the first thing they all say is how happy go lucky he is, how he just seems to smile when you go near him and wants to be with you. They all can’t get over it, even the vet said it like 4 times last time he called for an update!
Thanks for all the hugs and wishes! Sam really appreciates them!
Rusty, I have to agree with cocowiley. If he’s pooping a bunch then his body is not absorbing what it needs from his food. I’m glad to hear you’re being so diligent with his care. He’s lucky to have you. I can’t imagine what will be left of poor Sam if he has to go another month losing weight.
Somehow I lucked out, my shepherd is healthy as a horse. She’s meaner than shit, but she’s healthy!
Poor, poor Sam! But I gotta tell you, that fat little weiner dog is a cutie patootie.
WG