My baby is gone...

Afternoon,

A sad say for us...

For you that read the Blog on a regular basis know that our little Izzy was ill. We got her home last thursday from Dick White Referrals. She was happy and we were over the moon that she was responding to the treatment. Unfortunatly over the last few days it became clear that things were not OK...

Even though my baby was eating like a horse and fighting really hard, the weight started dropping of her. By friday she was like a walking skeleton. On friday afternoon we took her to the normal vet to see if there was anything that we could do to get her to put some weight on. The shocking news was that because of the damage done to her gut she could not absorb any of the food that she ate. After consultation with the vet we had to take the hard decision to let her go. Although she was fighting like a lion this was a battle she could not win.

Jackie held my little girl as she slipped away... I am very proud of her, she went with dignity... Good girl, Izzy...

Rest in Peace my little girl.

Izzy, Racing name 'Is You Is'
Born: Ireland 26th of May 2002
Died: 30th of October 2009.




Little Izzy came to us 1 1/2 year ago. We used to put our other grey, Jay, in racing kennels near Colchester, Dillymore Kennels. As Jay can be a grumpy one the last two times he was there he was put together in a kennel with a brood bitch. She was used in the kennels to calm jumpy and nervous dogs down. Jay really got on well with her. So we asked if she was up for rehoming. Even though she was a personal favourite of the kennel owners they allowed us to rehome her. From day one Izzy was very happy. She tried to make Jay play (Fat chance... He dont do play!), she loved the big walks in the countryside, happily murdering rabbits with JayJay. Within two days Izzy and JayJay were sleeping arse to arse on the settee. She was not very lucky with illnesses. She had corns on her feet that were cut out three times. She had a toe amputated because of that. Then this spring she got spindle cell cancer on her leg. That was successfully treated and we thought we were out of the woods. Then two months ago she got bad diarrea and the rest is history.

At the moment my wife and myself are pretty cut up... But some of her antics can make us smile again...

There was the time when we went boating on the Broads. We didn't know how the dogs would take to that but they loved it. One day we were moored up near Wroxham. We had the top of the boat open. We took our eyes of her for a second and hoppa, she legged it over the side and went to visit a painter that was sitting further down the bank. We quickly rounded her up but the painter said he didn't mind, she was a very friendly dog. The picture above is from that trip. As space was at a premium on the tub Izzy had taken to sleeping with the missus. She started at the foot end but by morning she would be laying with her head next to Jackie happily snoring on the pillow.

She was a favourite at the RGT shows that she went to with JayJay and the missus. Most of the time she would just lay in the grass surrounded by little children that would pat her continously... We never heard a bark or a growl out of her, she was a very happy cheerful dog. When I came down this morning and she was not there with her tail wagging, hopping around to go for a walk it hit home again. I have lost my happy little girl...

Another funny side of her was her mothering side. She had had two litters. The last lot was send to Ireland for training for the track. They were sent back within weeks as they would not run. Basically she loved her little ones so much that she would not let them out of her sight. That was also evident at home. She had a crate full of old teddy and toys. She would take them one by one and round them up and lay right on top of a whole heap of toys... Little minx...

So, Izzy, I hope you are happy wherever you are, playing together with my other grayhound Mick that went before you. We miss you like mad and are very happy and proud to have had you in our lives for a short time... Thank you for all the good times...

Last night we put a little candle and a teddy on Mickey's grave. The candle burned all night for her...

Run free forever my baby...

Alex and Jackie.

She's home!!!

Afternoon!!!

Finally the patient is home. It was a bit of a shock seeing her. We last saw her on saturday a week ago and she was swollen up quite bad. Now that they have the protein and albumen level thing sorted and she is on steroids she has lost all the swelling. But now she looks like a p.o.w. from a concentration camp... She is just skin over bones...


We reckon that she has lost over 8 kilos and that is a lot on a 26 kg dog... Never mind, we can now start feeding her up again. She is on a special fish and spud based diet because she can only have certain types of protein. Luckily my other grey, Jay, doesn't mind the stuff either so we can feed them both at the same time....


Weightloss aside she is happy as Larry being home. She is constantly busy herding up her stuffed toys as she always has done...

Here you can see that there is not much left of her. The ribs stick out, the pin bones on the back are very visible and of course she is bald on both her sides where she was xrayed and bold on her neck where the intravenous drip was stuck in... Still beautiful to us!!!

Never mind, she is back home and the missus and me will lavish care and attention on her to ensure that she stays with us for quite a bit longer hopefully...

Happy days!!!

Alex.

Wheyhey! She's coming home!!!

Result!

Yesterday we got another call from the vet. They have pinpointed the problem with Izzy. She is suffering from Lympangiectasia. This is an affliction of the lower intestines that stop the body absorbing protein. The vets have taken Izzy of the intravenous feed and she has managed to keep her albumen levels up for 48 hours. This means that she is coming home!!!

This is not something that can be cured but it can be managed, whoopey! She will have to have a special low fat diet and medication but that can be done.

Her is another piccie of her Ladyship reclining in her bed.

I am going to pick her up from Six Mile Bottom in Cambridgeshire after work and bring her home finally. I dread to think what the grand total of the vets bill is up to but luckily she is insured. We thank the staff at http://www.dickwhitereferrals.com/site/ . They have been very good. When we took Izzy there it looked like we would be digging a hole in the back garden soon for her but with the very proffessional care, attention and medical excellence we now should be OK for a few more years of IzzyMissWizzy's presence!!!

Time for a beer tonight, methinks...

Cheerio,

Elmer.

Good news about Izzy!!!

Afternoon all...

Finally some encouraging news about Izzy...

I got a call yesterday evening from the vets that they had the results from the biopsy. The biopsy showed NO signs of Lymphoma. It did show that she does have a problem with her lower intestines. The problem is something that I can't pronounce and can't remember but more importantly it is treatable. She will have to be on a low fat diet for the rest of her life and take drugs...

They told us yesterday that today they will take out the intravenous feed. They will test the albumen (protein) levels and then see if she can keep these levels up. If she can then she might be able to come home on friday... Thank god, the bills are through the roof...

So, again, fingers crossed but it looks like that poor old Jay will have to share his settee again!

Cheerio,

Alex.

Izzy still ill...

Good afternoon...

OK, here is another update of Izzy's progress at the vet Hospital in Six Mile Bottom...

We went to visit her on saturday. At least we could combine the trip as Jackie's mum
had heart surgery to fix aleaky valve and a bypass. She is fine by the way...

We had a bit of a shock when we saw her. Both her sides have been shaved for the scans. She had a drip feed that is giving her steroids. She couldn't walk very well as all of her paws had swollen up. We stayed with her for half an hour and we were allowed to give her her lunch which she actually ate quite well...

This is the patient with her neck bandage and her drip... Poor thing...

Yep, she has now two windows, one on either side...

Now we get to the important bit... On saturday the news was not good. Her protein levels were very low, down to 12 whatever that means. On the sunday we got a call saying that the protein levels were now back up to 20 which is good. They took a biopsy on friday and we are still waiting for the result. If that result shows no Lymphoma then we have a fighting chance. That would mean that it is some kind of bowel disorder which should be treatable. If it is Lymphoma then there is not too much hope. She might have 4 weeks, she might have half a year...

Yesterday on monday they called us again to tell us that the swelling around her face and legs had gone down so I guess that is progress...

So we are still on tenterhooks waiting for the biopsy result...

I'll update this when we have more information, fingers crossed, it's time for my little girl to come home, Jay is missing her...

Alex.

My little girl is ill...

Afternoon...

I was going to update the Blog with some pictures and stories from my excellent holiday in Alonissos Greece but things have changed...

My pretty little girl Izzy has gotten very ill. She started to suffer from diarrea 6 weeks ago. After a week we took her to the vet as it was not getting any better. They took faeces samples and send them off. All came back negative... Then they did some blood tests. Almost all of those came back negative...

This is Izzy gambolling around on the water meadows in Sudbury...

Then one of the blood tests showed a low protein count. After some trails with some AntiBiotics and a few doses of ProColin nothing improved. We took her to the Ipswich Game and Country show to the RGT Greyhound stand. Fortunately her original owner was there. He took one look at her and said take her straight to the vet on monday.

This is my baby going for a swim in Bridgstreet Forest with Jay my other dog in the foreground...

So we took her back and the local vet took one look and referred us to Dick White Referrals in Six Mile Bottom in Cambridgeshire. I took her there on the wednesday and that is where she has been for three days now. It is not looking good... Her tummy is swollen up because there is liquid leaking from the bowels into the chest cavity. Also her neck is swollen...

This is Izzy having a swim this summer...

They have done a load of tests and this is where we stand sofar... It could be Lymphoma which gives her about 4 to 8 weeks to live. It could be some form of Crohns disease which could be treatable, depending upon how she reacts to the medication.

This is her in Wormingford having a cuddle with the missus...

She is now on steroids since yesterday and has started intravenous feeding to get her protein levels up. If she reacts positively to this and the last results show that it is not Lymphoma then she has a chance...

We got little Izzy a year and a half ago. She fitted right in with my older grumpy greyhound Jay. They are inseparable now. From the start she has had quite a few things go wrong. It started with corns that stopped her from running. We had them shaved off a few times but they always came back. Then we found Bill Steel in Colchester. He is a special vet that deals mostly with greyhounds and their peculiar diseases. He suggested taking out a bone from her foot. We had that done and within a month she was back to her normal self...

Then a few months later we noticed a lump on her hind leg. We thought it was a insect bite. That turned out to be spindle cell cancer. She had that removed in a big operation and after a few weeks of recuperation she was fine again...

Now this...

This is breaking my heart... poor little girl...

I'll keep you updated. We are going to see her tomorrow in the specialist vets where she is, she must miss the cuddles from the missus...

Alex.