My Tippy

My ten year old dachshund Tippy is at the vet. He may or not have Cushings Disease. I am sick in my heart. He was mine along with his
brother when he was five weeks old. I could hold them both in one
hand and bottle fed him. Please keep good thoughts for my little
baby.

This is my Tippy:



RV, distraught

What a sweet little hot dog! I hope he is ok and you can get some treatment (I'm not sure what Cushings Disease is).

coming your way - what a sweet face!! Please keep us posted about his progress.

little dog. He's my buddy and his litter mate is looking for him. This whole thing makes me sick. I wish it was me instead.

He's certainly a handsome little guy.

:hug:

hope Tippy is OK. :hug:

Please keep us posted about the results.

If it does turn out to be Cushings, it is treatable.

Tippy is adorable.

Hi, we just got back to town and this is the first post I read.

I have been the mom of a Cushing's dog and done a lot of research on the disease and treatment. More importantly, I can assure you that there is effective treatment if your baby is diagnosed.

Once you know for sue it just means that you are half way to getting the disease under control.

I will try to check in often and see if I can find my support site. They really help with understanding what the results of all the testing REALLY means.

Don't worry...if it is Cushings your dog can live a long life and a much happier one once the condition is under control.

LDL

sending good thoughts your way. I had a long haired dachshund when I was growing up. She survived major back surgery. They are tough little guys.

I know how tough it is, especially leaving them at the vet all day and not knowing what the diagnosis is. :hug: to you and to sweet Tippy.

barium x-ray to see if he had intestinal blockage. He didn't but his intestines are a bit thick. This could come from his illness or his sore tummy from eating food too big for his stomach to push onward.

He is pretty good and the diagnosis is pending test results. I appreciate your kind words more than you can know. You are the best. Simply the best.

Your Molly is so beautiful. My Tippy came down paralyzed and we had fenestration. It saved him from full paralysis to restored function. It is a tough call doing this but for him and his partner, Robby our little one, I am satisfied. They both can walk now. Your baby, Molly, is so sweet looking, so totally sweet it brings tears to my eyes. Cart dogs are heroes to me, ambassadors of hope. I have three other dachshunds among my five that have good spines.

Any info on Cushings you can find would be so appreciated. Thank all of you for everything. Keeping the faith here. :)

My heart goes out to you. :hug:

Tippy and his brothers and sisters are lucky to have someone like you.

I lost my first doxie Misty when she was a week shy of 14. She had a heart attack (my heart died a little that day) and she never recovered. While she was in the hospital, she was diagnosed with Cushings. We had no idea. After she died, the vet asked if they could take a look inside to verify the disease. My husband and I agreed so other dogs might be helped.

I did not know what fenestration was, so I looked it up. What exactly was done for your boys?

Molly had intra-vertebral disk disease. Surgery stopped the disease, but the damage was done. All in all, she is a pretty happy girl and we love her to pieces. We feel so lucky to still have her. The vet did not think she would survive the surgery, but she is my tough little girl.

off each disk by hand. It means never getting back disease in that spot again but some vets won't do it. Our vet was a lady who works at a animal refuge and research station and is the best animal surgeon in Alaska. It saved our two boys literally.

Tippy was dragging his hind quarters around before he had it done and now he's back to normal in movement. Your baby is so cute. She reminds me of my Gretchen, a black and tan doxie with a beautiful face who died when she was 22. I still cry. I had her half my life and she was my daughter, you know? They get to you that way.

Hugs to you and Molly from RV and Tippy in Alaska

You were very lucky to have a vet willing to perform this procedure. With Molly, we had no advanced warning. One day, we took her out, she sat down and that was it. The disease spread so rapidly, that by the time we got her to the hospital, she was too far gone. They suggested putting her down, but that was NOT an option. She just barely survived the surgery and was hospitalized 6 days. It was heartbreaking for us.

A 22 year old doxie - wow! I could only hope . . . Molly and her kitty brother and sister, Moe and Maggie are our children. They are the lights of our lives.

Please let us know the latest on Tippy. I have been thinking about him since you posted. That face of his got me!

Hugs back from me, Molly, Moe and Maggie from across the country in New Jersey. :hug:

Hugs for all your sweet babies...

Let sus know how things are going. Its does sound like this is a manageable illness. I will light a candle for a speedy recovery.

Hope Tippy is OK!

and will have a managed diet. Things are brighter than they were before when he was losing weight and throwing up. I love this dog so much. Here is another picture of my Tippy:

(Tippy is an eleven year old Chocolate Dapple dachshund)

(Tippy left, middle is his litter mate, Andrew, and the little guy is our Red Dapple, Robby. They are crooning.)

You guys are the best. You make me feel better. Hugs to all and especially Molly from Tippy and Crew in Alaska.

He is going to get great care.

The picture of your boys is priceless! Don't you just love those faces.

Take care, RV and hugs :hug: to the boys.

Must be a trip having 5 doxies! :-)



:hippie:

to please keep us informed of Tippy's progress.

- - - - > Good vibes to Tippy from across the country.

I think I see a male doxie in my future. It would make my Molly so happy. When she has her down days, I think having a companion would help her so much.



:hippie:

Hugs to Tippy! Hope he's feeling better. :)

Glad you got the Diagnosis. With treatment things will be ok.

What type of cushings was diagnosed? Adrenal or pituitary tumor?

Is your Vet using Lysodren? What is your loading dosage?

Are you working with an Endo?

Did they give you the numbers from your blood tests?

My Endocrinologist is Dr Reine at NYAMC. She is one of the top people in the country in that specialty and she consults if you live in a remote area.

You can make a real difference controlling this disease by fine tuning treatment and making effective decisions up front about what drugs and their dosage. No kidding...

My old support site is gone, too bad they were really smart and hooked up to specialists all over the world.

I'll do my best but start doing research because most local Vets treat Cushings differently than the specialists do.

I adopted my little Happy as a very sick dog. It took several months of Vets visits before he was diagnosed and he was already a senior. He responded well to treatment and lived to be sixteen with an excellent quality of life.

LDL

Before diagnosis...covered with sores and unable to walk

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30 days after loading on lysodren...he climbed on to the chair himself..no more sores and a big smile

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LDL

but I found my old support group. Without these people I would never have found the resources my dog needed to become well or the information and support I needed.

Here you can find everything you will need to help you. If you cannot get this link to work for you I will try to find another way to get you there.
http://p205.ezboard.com/fcushingsdiseasefrm4
LDL

Now I'm worried!

ldl

diagnosed with Cushings and we were going to start treatment on Friday but he had injured his back. After an agonizing night, I took him to the vet this morning and they found a blood clot in his little leg. They couldn't save him. I held him when he died. I am glad I did. He is out of his suffering but I'm in mine. Its selfish I know to want something so beautiful to stay forever but he had to go. I promised him that I would take care of his littermate, who is wondering where Tippy is.

When we got ready to go to the vet, I put him in his basket. He had settled somewhat and his pain had subsided. We stood on the porch a moment and watched the snowflakes come down on both of us. If I had known he would be gone in a half hour I would have stayed longer. They fell on us and we were together.

I have so many memories but right now they are hard to picture in my mind. I hope it gets better for that in the days that come. You can never have too many pictures and too many memories of your buddies. They just love you, that's all they do. When they go, they leave a terrible hole.

Thank you for all your kind words and thoughts. Tippy is at rest now and I take small comfort in that. Hug your animals and take lots of pictures. Remember Tippy for me when you do.

RV, heartsick in Alaska

(((((((HUGS)))))))

I know how horribly painful it is to lose a beloved fur friend. It's one of the cruelest facts of life, that their lifespans are so much shorter than ours. Tippy was very lucky to have had you as such an important part of his life, as I'm certain you feel blessed to have had him. Take your time, grieve, be good to yourself and his littermate; I know it's going to be tough for you both for a while, but time will bring healing eventually.

:hug: :loveya:

I am so sorry to hear this. :cry:

Tippy will always be in my thoughts. Please take heart that memories that are painful now will become your precious memories shortly.

Hugs to you and your boys. :hug:

Good little Tippy will always be with you.

I will play Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" for him tonight. (It's our version of a service) and think good thoughts.

I don't know if this will help but I try to visualize my guys as young and healthy and meditate on that vision when I get too sad.

LDL

I have been away since Mar 18 and just got on the computer today. I'm sorry that you lost Tippy. I also had a Cushings dog. She lived to be 13.5 and was my sweetheart (lost her in 2000). I know the sorrow you are feeling today and the terror you felt waiting for a diagnosis.

Tippy was well-loved and loved you back. He will be in your heart forever.

:cry: with you. Take care.

Just remember that your little Tippy is out of pain now. You did good by him.

:hug:

as I know how I would feel if my Sheridan were ill with this.

Let us know what happens and how Tippy is doing.