[Dailydrool] Gracie Mae...Addisons? Gracie Mae now ATB.

[Krutsinger,DeAnn]

Hello dear fellow droolers!

 

I want to thank each and every one of you that sent me e-mails over the
past couple of weeks regarding Gracie Mae and her symptoms.
Unfortunately it turned out that Gracie did not have Addison's Disease.
Although her symptoms presented as Addison's at first it didn't take
very long for the vets to realize (us too) that something bigger was
going on.  One of two things happened, she either had a tumor growing
within her spinal column or she had a herniated disc that wasn't showing
up on the x-rays.  Regardless as the days were passing she quickly lost
the use of her back left leg and her right leg was becoming weaker.  She
stopped getting up and we began to carry her everywhere with us.  Thank
goodness she was a petite basset and at her full weight was only 43
pounds (and by this time she had lost several pounds).  We were more
than happy to carry her around as her attitude and interaction were
still wonderful.  We put her into the bike trailer (used for little
kids) and took her for walks, fed her ice cream and did fun things to
make her last days (and ours with her) enjoyable.  She was in constant
pain but seldom complained.  But Monday morning she could no longer
stand to go potty outside.  She would try and try and her hind end just
wouldn't get up or stay up, she looked at us in frustration and we knew
it was time to let her go to a happier, pain free place.  (we were able
to keep her pain and discomfort at bay with the use of painkillers and
prednisone and I have no doubt that bought us a few extra days with her)

 

Gracie left us Monday afternoon. She was our first Basset (a rescue) but
I have no doubt that she will not be the last. She taught us that dogs
could have LOTS of personality.  She was a true basset.  She counter
surfed, she was tenacious at trying to get the cat food, or get the cat
poop out of the litter box.  She was demanding when she was hungry.  She
was a snuggle bug.  She was most often found on the bed either between
my husband and I or under my daughter's arm. She was a bed hog and if
she got to bed first she fought me for my side of the bed and my pillow.
I always won, but not without being told off first.  We knew the day we
brought her home we were in for it.  She had been in the car for 2 hours
and we stopped at a park for a potty break.  She found a dead baby bird,
mostly skeleton.  I went to take it out of her mouth and she growled and
snapped.  We almost took her back that very moment.  She spent the first
night in a crate/kennel and she howled and howled and howled....the true
sad basset howl.   She never spent another night in a kennel.  The next
morning my hubby got up for work and was in the shower.  I heard a
surprised yelp and then laughter.  Gracie had jumped into the shower
with him and was drinking from the tub faucet while he was showering.
>From that day on our lives would never be the same. 

 

Here's hoping and praying that a basset that needs us as much as we need
him/her will make its way into our lives sooner than later.  I just
can't imagine life without a basset.  Gracie wouldn't have it any other
way! 

 

 

DeAnn M. Krutsinger

Asst. Director of Financial Aid

Waldorf College

641-585-8122

Live Purple ~ Go Green

"...Happiness is the choice of living every moment with love, grace and
gratitude."

 

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