Very nice to meet you. I'm Kat, short for Kathy. Thank you for your kind words. Kind thoughts come so easily when it comes to people like Robin. I would imagine we will all be hurting for a long while, yet, I hope we still see the sun shine and, one day smile again when we think of Robin. Thank you for allowing me to post in your thread. I am overwhelmed by the amount of love in here and saddened by the amount of grief.
Welcome to the family.Very nice to meet you. I'm Kat, short for Kathy. Thank you for your kind words. Kind thoughts come so easily when it comes to people like Robin. I would imagine we will all be hurting for a long while, yet, I hope we still see the sun shine and, one day smile again when we think of Robin. Thank you for allowing me to post in your thread. I am overwhelmed by the amount of love in here and saddened by the amount of grief.
Good morning all!
I forgot to turn my alarm off last night so I’m up way earlier than I need to be.
Been having some minor issues with my labs. One has a lump on her L wrist joint that the vet doesn’t know what it is, thinks it could be cancer and wants me to take her to a specialist. Without much tact she told me that he might want to do an amputation and that she could survive that quite well. I don’t really think she had enough information to go on to make such a statement, but I’ll take her in for a consultation.
The other lab is having some pain in his hind legs and back, I think he just overswam in the new pool. Waiting that out a few more days and giving him rest.
The 13 yo Shistszu is prancing around like the puppy of the group
The labs are 8 and I know they are getting older and entering into the age where issues pop up.
I forgot to turn my alarm off last night so I’m up way earlier than I need to be.
Been having some minor issues with my labs. One has a lump on her L wrist joint that the vet doesn’t know what it is, thinks it could be cancer and wants me to take her to a specialist. Without much tact she told me that he might want to do an amputation and that she could survive that quite well. I don’t really think she had enough information to go on to make such a statement, but I’ll take her in for a consultation.
The other lab is having some pain in his hind legs and back, I think he just overswam in the new pool. Waiting that out a few more days and giving him rest.
The 13 yo Shistszu is prancing around like the puppy of the group
The labs are 8 and I know they are getting older and entering into the age where issues pop up.
Garmin Nuvi and for back up when the garmin goes wacko.... an app on my pad
well... after a few hrs of thought and processes of elimination... I got the Linux machine back up and going... had to swap hard drives into another Lenovo machine... seems that the hi powered machine is sick ( mother board seems to be the cause) now I need the time to trouble shoot the other (sick) MB
Been having some minor issues with my labs. One has a lump on her L wrist joint that the vet doesn’t know what it is, thinks it could be cancer and wants me to take her to a specialist. Without much tact she told me that he might want to do an amputation and that she could survive that quite well. I don’t really think she had enough information to go on to make such a statement, but I’ll take her in for a consultation.
The other lab is having some pain in his hind legs and back, I think he just overswam in the new pool. Waiting that out a few more days and giving him rest.
The 13 yo Shistszu is prancing around like the puppy of the group
The labs are 8 and I know they are getting older and entering into the age where issues pop up.
I think glucosamine and chondroitin probably wouldn't hurt, ask your vet. If they are overweight, I would cut their food a little, or use more exercise. I have that therapy pillow, and you could get one for the dog that has some pain. Just make sure you don't heat it too much, and check it on your skin first. The kind I have has organic corn in it, and you heat it up in the microwave. Test it on yourself first, to see how many seconds you need to put it in there for. You also might want to do some research on dog food too. Of course I have no medical training, so check with your vet on all of this.
Yes, they can check these areas on your dogs and it will be expensive. There may be things that you can do to help, such as what I mentioned. This could be because they overdid it a bit in the pool, in my opinion too. If you can afford to get more tests done, that would be wonderful. These days the pricing for pet health care is rapidly increasing. One way I try to avoid extra health costs is to give my dogs the best food I can afford.
The dogs eat better than I do. That is cheaper down the road than pet illness. If you choose grain free, I would supplement with a can of sardines once a week. Also research the FDA investigating grain free diets in dogs. Some dogs had issues with grain free diets causing taurine deficiency. (I think labs were on that list) After reading that, I took my dogs off of grain free temporarily. That issue causes some dogs to have canine dilated cardiomyopathy. I can't afford to have my dog's taurine level checked. I did read that you get taurine from meat, dairy, and seafood. So I give them a little bit of cheese now and then. Chicken or beef would also be a good addition if you can afford to add that to their dog food. Sardines are cheap though, so that is what I will try. I hate the smell though, so I will have to feed them that outside when I buy it. Soon, I will put them back on Grain Free. I like to read the Dog Food Advisor. There were 2 brands I wanted, but they don't sell them here locally. I spent a lot of time on food research. I picked a brand that has done well for both of my dogs. The little dog will do well on anything, but she is picky. The big dog will eat anything, but has a very sensitive stomach. So finding something they will both eat is a challenge.
This is why people don’t go to Drs for anything:
1: endless forms that repeat the same ?’s
2: what feels like endless wait time
3: the scale is pretty much right in view of everyone in the back office
4: you have to be “established” before they will make an appointment for a physical.
So basically it’s about 2 hours of my day to repeat myself, get weighed in public, introduction to the staff at the office, and come back in a month when they can get you in for a proper physical.
And of course pay on your way out.
Under normal circumstances I’d be done with this and not go back, but I’m going to stick it out and return and do all my labs etc... because life is short and precious.
1: endless forms that repeat the same ?’s
2: what feels like endless wait time
3: the scale is pretty much right in view of everyone in the back office
4: you have to be “established” before they will make an appointment for a physical.
So basically it’s about 2 hours of my day to repeat myself, get weighed in public, introduction to the staff at the office, and come back in a month when they can get you in for a proper physical.
And of course pay on your way out.
Under normal circumstances I’d be done with this and not go back, but I’m going to stick it out and return and do all my labs etc... because life is short and precious.
Thanks for all that good info! All 3 of them get ........ easily if I change their foods, they’re on Blue Buffalo. That’s the last line item I want to mess with (bc cleaning up ........ is something I can do, but I prefer it to be at work where I get paid to do it).
My girl lab has arthritis and she’s on some med daily for it. It has helped a ton.
I have heard Blue Buffalo was good too. I had my big dog on it for a little while, but that was when she was younger. The key to changing over a food is SLOWLY change it over the course of a couple of weeks. I give them can food with their heartworm pill, and then mix that with their regular dry dog food. I usually use the same brand of canned food, as I use for the dry food. If I could afford it, I'd make my own for them. The only way I can get my big dog to take the pill, is to pound it into dust with a hammer (while still in the package), then mix it with the canned food. I give her 3/4 of the can, and then add dry food. I mix all of that, and she will eat it without hesitation. I tried to wrap the pill with bread, cheese, pill pockets...you name it. None of that worked. The canned food has been the only thing that worked. The big dog will nibble around whatever you wrap the pill in, and she is a pro at it. Most dogs would swallow it whole, without really tasting it. My dog is one of the few who won't.
and dont forget.... if you dont have insurance, they cant help you....
and.... whats the sence of having insurance when there is a 15,000$ deductable and a 15,000$ OOP along with a 400$ a month premium and 40% of actual bills incurred
So after all that, there’s still more things to schedule. Now I see the GI dr, THEN the scope can be scheduled. Good grief. So I got that scheduled for the 23rd, I’ll do labs tomorrow and should get my mammogram scheduled by tomorrow as well. Just waiting on a call back. It’s awfilly labor intensive to make sure I’m healthy.
So far all I know is my weight and BP are normal.
So far all I know is my weight and BP are normal.
Here's Robin's obituary . Link courtesy of RJ
Mrs. Robin Marie (Boussneur) Lawthers, of Port St. Lucie Florida, born on October 21, 1960 in El Paso, Texas, to the late Jean Crozier and the late Peter Boussneur, passed away at age 57 on October 6, 2018 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Robin graduated from Lakeview Community High School in 1978. Robin was the loving wife of Rick Lawthers. She is survived by her daughter, Dawn Hart; son, Howard Hart; stepson, Adam Lawthers; and stepdaughter, Erica Lawthers Smith. Donations in Robin's name to American Cancer Society are welcome and appreciated.
View Robin Lawthers's Obituary and express your condolences
Mrs. Robin Marie (Boussneur) Lawthers, of Port St. Lucie Florida, born on October 21, 1960 in El Paso, Texas, to the late Jean Crozier and the late Peter Boussneur, passed away at age 57 on October 6, 2018 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Robin graduated from Lakeview Community High School in 1978. Robin was the loving wife of Rick Lawthers. She is survived by her daughter, Dawn Hart; son, Howard Hart; stepson, Adam Lawthers; and stepdaughter, Erica Lawthers Smith. Donations in Robin's name to American Cancer Society are welcome and appreciated.
View Robin Lawthers's Obituary and express your condolences
That's part of why our medical costs are high,it takes a specialist to get anything done.
I think the AMA is the cause of that,along with insurance costs for doctors to not get sued.
Thanks Retic. I saw that this morning but could not bring myself to post the link. Sigh. It will get better in time.
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