Our beloved Bear is very sick....

[smlranger]

Our wonderful little dog Bear has suddenly developed some sort of neurological problem. Over the past 3 days, he has progressed from stumbling around to the point where he cannot stand or walk. The vet believes it may be a condition called idiopathic vestibular disease which affects the inner ear. However, this is more common in older dogs and Bear is only 5. If he does not improve soon, our vet is going to send us to the vet school in Blacksburg, VA for MRI of his head.

We ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

[smlranger]

Our wonderful little dog Bear has suddenly developed some sort of neurological problem. Over the past 3 days, he has progressed from stumbling around to the point where he cannot stand or walk. The vet believes it may be a condition called idiopathic vestibular disease which affects the inner ear. However, this is more common in older dogs and Bear is only 5. If he does not improve soon, our vet is going to send us to the vet school in Blacksburg, VA for MRI of his head.

We ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

[C&C R]

I'm so sorry about your Bear. It's hard when one of our fur babies is sick. They can't tell you what's wrong or where it hurts. Been there too many times myself.
Hope it isn't serious. I can relate to Bear in a way. At times I suffer from vertigo. It's a terrible feeling.
Give Bear a big hug from Mike, Sami, Missy and Sheba. My fur babies.

Good luck,
Carol

[kokosfriend]

I am so sorry to hear that about bear. that is really rough on Bear and on you. I hope this resolves soon and am sending prayers from Nashville.

[historyljc]

Our best to you for Bear's rapid recovery. If the vet school in Blacksburg doesn't work out satisfactorily for you, consider the vet school at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA. They worked a miracle pulling our cat through a difficult time.

[MonacoMama]

My thoughts and prayers go out to Bear and your family. I hope things turn out well.
Mama

[jfb]

Try Degenerative Myelopathy, striking a lot of German Shepards and some other big dogs. Thought our 14 YO toy poodle had a variation, but very rare in them. Vet has not given us an opinion but has prescribed prednisone which has seemed to work.....

[Pusherman]

Gary, I am very sorry to hear about Bear's problems. I can relate as our two Golden's are our children at this stage in our lives.

Bear is young, so hopefully they can diagnose him and treat him. My prior Golden went through a similar episode, though she was 13.

As others have stated, give Bear a hug for us, and best wishes for his recovery.

Don

[mom2mastiffs]

Smlranger,

I am thinking possibly an FCE--fibrocartilaginous embolism--like a stroke in dogs or a disk rupture. Both are treatable but often require fairly intensive physical rehab to help the dog completely return to function.
With Degenerative myelopathy which is a good possible suggestion there is a slow degeneration of the hind end. Sounds like Bear went down fast.
Our prayers are with you!! Let us know please waht the vets say. If you want more info, please post us on PM. We do dog physical rehab in Phoenix and have seen MANY dogs who have had surgery for ruptured discs as well as dogs who have had FCEs.

Many blessings,

[smlranger]

Update on Bear:

First, thanks for all the well wishes and prayers....very much needed and appreciated.

Bear was evaluated at the Virginia-Maryland Regional Vet School today by a vet neurologist. He not only went down fast but his condition has become worse in the past 4 -5 days. Their preliminary feeling is it is brainstem related and is likely enchepalitis or a tumor. He is now in their ICU and will have MRI of his head AM tomorrow along with analysis of cerebral spinal fluid. We will know more about causes, potential treatment/s, and reasonable expectation for outcome later tomorrow.

[lthrnk]

Sorry to hear of the problems with Bear. Hope they are able to help him so he can get back to normal.

Mike

[kokosfriend]

Thank you for letting us know what is going on. We will continue to pray for Bear and you.

[smlranger]

We have lost our beautiful dog. The MRI revealed a huge tumor at the base of the brain which would have been inoperable. He would not breathe on his own after the anesthesia required for the MRI, so we gave permission to euthanzie Bear. It is a sad and hard day for us.

We take solace in the fact that we rescued him from the weeds and gave him 5 wonderful years of love. He got to travel more than many dogs and enjoyed every minute. He was a fun and people-loving dog and dog lovers were drawn to his sweet face and his little crooked front legs.

We will cry and mourn his passing but remember the love and joy he gave us so freely. We will survive and we will rescue another wonderful dog in time.

Thanks to all of you for your well wishes and your prayers.

[tmar10]

Sorry to hear of your loss and I am sure Bear must have realized he was one of the luckiest dogs in the world during his short life, thanks to you.

We will include Bear and his family in our prayers tonight.