Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue, Inc.

His skin is healing but it's still in terrible condition. On a positive note he only has one open sore on his left hip. Most of the skin lesions are dry and scaly and he has a couple of spots on his back leg that look red and irritated.

He has thrown up twice today, but apparently they vet gave him his Doxycycline on an empty stomach this morning. His foster mom fed him a 1/2 can of canned food and he tolerated it really well. Tonight we will mix in a little dry food and see how he does.

Abbott has a vet appointment scheduled tomorrow with Dr. Oehmke at El Paso Animal Hospital.

Abbott also has been throwing up his meals so Dr. Oehmke prescribed a couple of meds to be administer prior to meal time. He throws up almost immediately after he swallows a couple of large amounts of food. Dr. Oehmke thought that it might be the doxycycline but he wanted to try the premeal treatment first before switching antibiotics. Additionally Dr. Oehmke prescribed K/D dog food to help with his kidney function. We also think he was eating too much food too fast and his digestive system wasn't able to handle it. We are going to feed him 4 small meals and see if we have better success
and help him to gradually increase his intake level.

Abbott is absolutely the sweetest boy. While at the vet today Abbott was the self appointed ambassador of the waiting room. He felt that it was his responsibility to visit every person and dog. You have never seen a dog wag his tail so much while at the vet office. A mom and her 2 young children came and sat next to us. Abbott fell in love with the son. It was absolutely the most adorable site. He would give Abbott a hug then Abbott would raise his head up and gently place it on the child's chest and just stand there with him.

October 16, 2007

Abbott just had his weekly visit to the vet and his weight is up to 133.7 lbs. which is the highest so far. Currently he eats 4 c. of dry Canidae food, 2 c. of cooked white rice, 1 lb of cooked chicken breast, and 2 cans of Canidae food daily! Additionally he supplements his diet with any other food that he can mooch from various people. He is becoming quite to beggar. Last week his foster family was eating with their parents and Abbott decided that he wanted granddad's sandwich so he sat on his back leg and kept raising his front legs straight up in the air like a bear! Then he made a loud moaning noise and kept bouncing his front legs straight up into the air. One thing that we can say for Abbott is that he continuously make you laugh and smile!!

All of Abbott's skin issues are completely resolved and he looks and acts like a different dog. He loves to chew on toys but is not destructive with them. He loves to go for car rides and short walks around the neighborhood and enjoys spending time with his humans!! Abbott's FAVORITE place is spooning in bed with his humans. He absolutely does not know a stranger of any kind (human or canine). Abbott also has very good manners. He has free roam during the day without incident, he sleeps all night, and knows "sit", "down" and "stay", "shake", "TWINKIES" and "treat". He goes to the door when he wants to go outside and overall he is absolutely wonderful. Abbott's only requirement is that he wants frequent hugs. He will come up and nudge your arm with his nose (not a subtle nudge mind you) which translates into "I need a hug ". Abbott is also very gentle and loves kids of all ages and sizes and just melts when they give him a hug.

Today Dr. Oehmke was very pleased with his progress and is optimistic that his lab results have improved. He is holding on further antibiotics until he gets the lab results back on Friday. If the lab is improved then he said we might be able to treat the heartworms next week. He said that he lungs and heart still sound good. Please keep this big guy in your thoughts and prayers!!

November 6, 2007

Abbott visited with a specialist at KState today.

They repeated the blood work and urinalysis and his kidney function is worse now. He is suffering from a type of kidney failure that can be caused by heartworm and his kidney function is declining rapidly. The chest radiographs were normal, which means that he is still in the early stages of heartworm and should respond well. There are two forms of treatment, but in Abbott's case we have to do the fast kill Immiticide. He was also diagnosed with mild Hypertension.

The prognosis is not good. This type of kidney failure is not reversible. All we can do is get him treated for heartworm and see what happens with his kidneys. Hopefully we can manage his condition, provide him with quality of life, and he has many good times ahead of him!

The doctor prescribed blood pressure medication and baby Aspirin once per day due to the risk for clotting given his condition. He also suggested a K/D diet. We will schedule his heartworm treatment as soon as possible and just take it a day at a time.

November 8, 2007

Abbott had his first shot this afternoon.Dr. Oehmke said that his foster family could take him home after the shot. He thought that Abbott would be more comfortable and would rest better at home. He's pretty wiped out and we are praying that he pulls through! The plan is to call Dr. Oehmke with a status update tomorrow and to keep Abbott as calm and comfortable as possible.

November 11, 2007

AM

Abbott's heart rate has been in the 140s, but this morning he seems feverish, lethargic, and it is up to the 180s, so we have taken him to the hospital. He is quite dehydrated and is now on IV fluids and they are closely monitoring him throughout the day. We are going to retest and see where his kidney function is at, but please keep this special boy in your thoughts and prayers! He has completely warmed his way into all of our hearts with his fighting spirit, despite all he has been through!

PM

Dr. Duke at the Emergency Vet clinic gave Abbott a dose of Hydrocodone for pain and he is responding to that really well. Additionally, his kidney function has not changed since last week, so we are very relieved. She thought that his elevated heart rate was due to pain because his heart rate has come back down and he's resting comfortably now. The plan for the rest of the day is to keep him comfortable and maintain low volume IV fluids and pain management as needed. They are watching him very closely and have him on a bed back in their main treatment room, so he is receiving the royal treatment.

November 14, 2007

Abbott had a change for the worse today. He has been going to the vet every day this week for pain management and fluid monitoring and he isn't improving as we had hoped. He is very irritable, wants to be left alone, and is clearly suffering. He has been retaining quite a bit of fluid in his neck and his heart rate has been very elevated. They did an EKG and sent it to a Cardiologist at K-State who diagnosed him with Super Ventricular Tachycardia, which is basically a heart arrhythmia. His respiratory rate has also been very rapid. They gave him an oral dose of Dignoxin to try and get him to convert to a regular rhythm, but so far it isn't working and we are all pretty grim and discouraged.

November 15, 2007

Today, Abbott had a complete turnaround! His heart rate is back to normal and they have the pain under control. He is acting much different and seems happy and comfortable and has the will the live! His pain level has improved tremendously. You can touch his back now and he doesn't exhibit any of the previous signs of discomfort.

November 17, 2007

Abbott really seems to be feeling much better. Currently he is on 3 different cardiac medications (Cardizem, Dignoxin, and Enalapril) but his heart rate is 120 bpm and regular. His energy level is up, he has a good appetite, low level of pain, and is very happy to be home. The plan is to take him back on Tuesday for an EKG.

November 20, 2007

AM Report

Abbott is doing very well. He's playing with toys, wants to go for car rides (sometimes he stages a protest next to the car and refused to come inside), and is his pain level is controlled very well with Rimadyl (twice daily).
PM Report

Abbott had to go to the vet this evening for a repeat EKG because his heart rate increased to 247 again and he was short of breath. We spoke to Dr. Oehmke about the treatment plan regarding his cardiac status and he wanted to increase his Cardizem and see how he does after the first of next week. He also gave him an oral diuretic just in case he started to go into congestive heart failure secondary to his rapid heart rate. The Cardiologist at KSU would like to treat him which would require an ICU stay with IV infusions of the cardiac meds to rapidly get him to a therapeutic level. We will be discussing this option with KSU tomorrow to try and figure out the best strategy to treat Abbott.

November 30, 2007

Abbott had a followup vet appointment at El Paso today and Dr. Oehmke was very pleased with Abbott's progress! His EKG is normal and his heart rate has been very stable. He drew repeat lab work to check his kidney and liver function. We will have lab results back on Tuesday morning. The plan is to slowly start cutting back on his cardiac medications in either 1 or 2 weeks then give him the other 2 heartworm injections after Christmas. He is eating well and overall is a very happy boy! Every day we are amazed at Abbott's spirit and determination! He has overcome what no one thought he could and clearly is not ready to give up on life yet.

December 8, 2007

Abbott's BUN is up to 75 but his Creatinine is down to 3.5. The rest of his lab work looked great! The proposed treatment plan is that we treat him with Ivermectin to eliminate the blood based Microfilaria. Dr. Oehmke believes that this might help to improve his kidney function, so we will be bringing him back to the vet on Monday for the first treatment. Ultimately the plan is to administer his last heartworm injections after Christmas.

December 12, 2007

Abbott's foster family took him into the vet today for a low dose injection of Ivermectin. The plan is to recheck his lab work next week. His current weight is 134 lbs and Dr. Oehmke was very happy with Abbott's continued progress! As of this evening, we started a schedule of reducing his cardiac medications and he continues to amaze us all. Abbott has so much zest for life and everyone who meets him falls in love, so we are all thrilled that he is doing so well.

January 19, 2008

Abbott went to the vet this morning for his Ivermectin shot and everyone was so happy to see him doing so well! He is gaining weight (muscle mass) and his EKG was perfectly normal! We were concerned about a possible change in Abbott's kidney function because he started dribbling urine on Thursday. Sometimes the dribbling occurs right after going to the bathroom. Dr. Oehmke prescribed a medication but also wanted to recheck his lab values. We will have the results back on Tuesday. Dr. Oehmke also discussed that since Abbot had only one dose of the Immiticide and he is clinically much stronger, that he wanted him to have the second dose of Immiticide next week. He said we really need to give the second shot in order to give him a chance at life. Dr. Oehmke was optimistic that Abbott would be able to tolerate the second shot since he's in better health.

March 4, 2008

Below is a picture from Abbott's big night out. He was a guest visitor at the Derby Brownie Troop meeting. They were doing a pet feature and asked Abbott if he would be their distinguished guest. Abbott was his usual calm, outgoing, and charming self. He helped to reinforce the concepts of proper pet care, owner responsibility and he showed them what love is all about! Marley was also present for the event and both foster Danes were wonderful ambassadors of the breed.

March 7, 2008

Abbott went to El Paso yesterday for his last heartworm shot. They are giving him the shot in incremental doses to help minimize the negative affects on his heart. His foster parents, Kim and Paul, visited him last night and he was very happy to see them! He looked great and is doing very well! His heart rate is regular and he was in good spirits and did not appear to have any pain or discomfort. His breathing and heart rate have been normal today as well. The plan is to keep him at the vet tonight to continue to monitor his heart and he will get to go home in the morning.

He is the most amazing guy! Everyone that meets him falls in love and is pulling for him. He appreciates every second of attention that he receives and thoroughly enjoys life!

March 17, 2008

It is with great sadness that I write to let everyone know that Abbott has crossed the bridge where he can be with all the other Danes who have gone before him!

As you probably recall, Abbott received his final heartworm injection last Thursday. His foster family picked him up from the vet on Saturday and he was doing remarkably well. He did have the expected joint inflammation but his pain appeared to be minimal and his heart rate & respirations were normal and gum tissues pink. Sunday evening he started showing signs of fatigue, decreased appetite, he withdrew from the family, and he retreated to distant places in the house for sleep(very atypical). On Tuesday he showed some signs of improvement. He was eating frequent small meals and was more alert. Unfortunately, he then took another downward turn. Starting at 1:00 am he started experiencing extensive urinary frequency and woke his foster family up every 15 minutes to go outside. At approximately 2 am he threw up a large amount of food, at 6 am he was incontinent of urine just 10 minutes after he had come back inside. The following day he became very withdrawn, no appetite (even for his favorite foods), drinking minimal water and his incontinence remained. He would barely raise his head when you walk into the room and wouldn't even get up and was clearly suffering.

Abbott was diagnosed with chronic Renal Failure in September and nothing that we have done has improved his condition much to our dismay. His BUNs have been 70 and Creat 4.0. We knew that the heartworm treatment would probably be the final indicator in his overall health and, sadly, his renal status has clearly worsened along with his quality of life making it clear that we were unable to help this sweet boy any further.

Kim and Paul took Abbott to the vet last night and Dr. Harod was quite shocked at how different Abbott looked. He felt very confident that his kidneys were failing and that we were making the right decision, which was comforting to hear because it was a very difficult decision to come to. Abbott passed away with Kim, Paul, and Dr. Harod by his side and lots of love surrounding him! He has left a big hole in all our our hearts and will be very missed! Abbott was a truly special boy who we were very lucky to have known the past 6 months.

I want to send a special thank you out to Kim and Paul for showing sweet Abbott what unconditional love and family were all about and being willing to do anything needed to help him through some very tough times! We are so lucky to have you as part of our rescue family.