Weim I'm petsitting has Addison's and Hip Dysplasia

[Caney Creek]

Windsor is a 7-8 (??) yr old Weimaraner who belongs to my BF's brother. I am keeping Windsor here at the house until next Tuesday while his family is out of town in Oregon. Windsor has stayed with us many times before but this time I'm a little concerned about him.

Yesterday I left Windsor here alone while I took the girls out running errands. When I got back home, as soon as I walk in the door I here something CRASHING and tumbling down the stairs. I walk through the house and then see Windsor laying at the bottom of the stairs, looking very ill. For the rest of the day he didn't move around much, he was not his usual self. When BF got home I told him the story and he mentioned that Windsor has hip problems (which I didn't know, but probably should have noticed something was wrong) so the first thing that came to mind was Hip Dysplasia. After watching him move about this morning I am pretty sure that's what he has; it probably is more apparent now however since his fall yesterday.

Also, Windsor hasn't been eating well. He is used to being catered to by two little girls at his house and is THE BIGGEST beggar and food-snatcher I know, but usually he doesn't refuse to eat his kibble when he's here with us. I have been offering his kibble meal after meal but he hasn't eaten much. However he does still show interest in the other dogs' food and in ours. He also has not been guzzling water like he usually does (since he takes prednisone daily for AD), especially not since his fall.

Considering his health condition I just don't know how bad it is for him to go without eating. If he were healthy I'd continue to wait until he felt like eating his own food, but I'm a little worried about him and don't want to do anything that would make him sicker. I have been making sure that he still gets his prednisone every day, so the decrease in hunger/thirst is not due to him not having his medication.

Any suggestions to help me keep Windsor comfortable? I'm probably going to put a baby gate at the bottom of the stairs so he can't climb them anymore.... Also, he often lays on his back with his hind legs spread out -- is this something that a dog with HD would do?? I've always just assumed it was because he's a little nutty but now that I'm learning he has hip problems I wonder if that somehow relieves pain/pressure to lay like that.

Sorry this is so long I'd appreciate any advice!

[Caney Creek]

I came downstairs this morning to find Windsor in the living room. He must have passed away during the night. This is so sad, and so frustrating because I knew it could have been prevented. I just feel awful.

I took the body to the vet that the family has always used, they said they would keep him there until the family returns and decides what to do with him. I thought that they had been taking Win to a different vet more recently, one closer to their house, but the receptionist at this vet informed me that Windsor had been coming there for Florinef injections. So I asked her when was the last time he came in... she said he was there in May. It is nearly AUGUST, and I know he is supposed to get this shot once every month. I don't know if they were taking him to more than one place for the injection, so I can't say for sure if he went that long without it but after hearing that from the recep. I suspect that may have played a huge part in his health declining.

So NOW I'm reading up about what happens when an Addison's dog doesn't get Florinef. And as I'm reading it seems like that was what happened with Windsor. Looking back at the beginning of the week when Windsor arrived, he did vomit the first night he was here but it was just kibble so we thought that he simply ate too fast or drank too much water. But his water consumption this past week was not nearly like it has been in the past when he's been here, and his appetite hasn't been so great this time around either. Now I'm wondering if his fall on the stairs was due to physical weakness from not having his medication. Probably so. I still believe that he had some degree of HD as well, so I'm sure that didn't help the fact that he was physically exhausted, but I don't suspect HD to be the primary reason for him having trouble getting around, which is what I believed to be true a few days ago. Now I think that his slow decline was more due to him not getting Florinef.

After my first post in this thread I looked up what happens when an Addison's dog goes without eating -- basically, it's not good, which is what I figured -- so I did end up adding things like tuna and chicken broth to his kibble just so he'd eat it. Now I'm wishing that I had done more of that... or done it sooner... wondering if I had, if he would have made it through the weekend, or even longer. My first thought should have been that he might be overdue for his Florinef injection. I don't know why it wasn't. But now I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it. This is just so, so sad.

Windsor will truly be missed, especially by his two little girls. Brighton and Kylie, ages 6 and 4, loved their dog very, very much. Their favorite game was to run circles round the house, screaming at the top of their lungs being chased by the "scary monster", Windsor, who always made sure to stay a few steps behind them. Kylie would put Win's leash on him and lead him around the house like a horse when she played princess. They gave him so much love (and cookies ). He was always a gentleman around his girls.

I wanted to include some photos of Windsor, taken during one of his stays with us last year. I have more recent photos of him but I like these older ones because they portray a much healthier, happier Windsor.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3283/...e28dfb7a_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/...1e15aebf_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3186/...7768da06_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3270/...c86f64c0_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/...7f5f9de4_b.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3062/...35dcb5b4_b.jpg


He is running at the bridge now, strong and pain-free. We will miss you dear Windsor. You were a good, good boy.
Windsor

[djheitz]

Oh no! Poor Windsor (and you, too). Please don't beat yourself up over the timing. If he hadn't been getting his treatments, there is just no way you could have known. Even if you had guessed correctly, it may have been too late anyway.

I loved the weim we had - they're very funny dogs in their own psycho sort of way. The look on his face in the pictures is exactly what I remember about our Lucy.

RIP Windsor.

[Cami]

I am so sorry to hear about Windsor. How very sad.
Run Free sweet boy.

[EAO76]

OMG how heartbreaking. I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been for you to find him like that. Did he look like he passed in his sleep? Don’t second guess yourself. You did everything you could have for him with the limited amount of info you had. Hopefully his family was taking him to another vet because that would be pretty awful if they skipped his meds. Have you broken the news to them yet? Poor Windsor! RIP.

[Caney Creek]

Originally Posted by EAO76

OMG how heartbreaking. I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been for you to find him like that. Did he look like he passed in his sleep? Don’t second guess yourself. You did everything you could have for him with the limited amount of info you had. Hopefully his family was taking him to another vet because that would be pretty awful if they skipped his meds. Have you broken the news to them yet? Poor Windsor! RIP.

He must have passed right after I went to bed because he was stiff and already beginning to decompose when I found him When I came out of the bedroom that morning and started off down the stairs, Caney stopped in her tracks right at the top of the stairs. She knew something wasn't right (now I know that she probably smelled it) and as soon as I got to the bottom of the stairs I found out what.

It was very hard finding him like that... not only for obvious reasons, but also because that's the first time I've ever seen/had to deal with a deceased pet. But I don't think Windsor died in his sleep though because he did not look good when I found him (eyes open, tongue hanging out). Even worse though was that I had to leave him there in the middle of the living room (in a tiny house with an open floor plan, there's no escaping it) until my brothers arrived to help me move him (he must have weighed 90 lbs, easily).

I called BF -- he is actually out of town right now with all of his family, including Windsor's owners, for a family reunion -- and told him what happened, and asked him to break the news to Win's owners in person. That was probably much easier for them than hearing it over the phone. So they know. They are of course upset that he is gone and sorry that I had to deal with all of this but they're also thankful that it happened with me and not in a kennel (which is where he would have been if I had gone with BF to this reunion). They are going to wait until they get home to tell their daughters. Those poor kids.


Thank you everyone for the kind words.

[ZOE*BOXER]

I am so very sorry for what you are going through. At least he was still in loving care. I know what you mean about finding him like that to an extent. My two Rotties, I had to make the decision when it was time to put down. With Flash, he was fine in the am, by the time I got home from work, it was a whole different Flash. He died as soon as I got him on the ER table. You, stay strong. Run free sweet Windsor.