A Patchwork of Health Issues

Before he bloated, Skater had begun to develop hard lumps in the pads of his front paws. I was really tiring of all the "interesting" and "fascinating" problems and prayed for some common, less spectacular ones. After much research and, with the help of Dr. Greg Keller at OFA and the late Dr. Chuck Krueger in Washington, the diagnosis was calcinosis circumscripta and keeping the pads debulked the only remedy. Apparently, this condition is especially particular to German Shepherds and Rottweilers and, though it causes no harm or poses no threat to the dog's health, it is very uncomfortable; sort of like walking with rocks in your shoes. Skater ended up having more than a dozen "surgeries" on his front feet, all successfully sutured closed. Every surgery was done with Acepromazine and Lidocaine; Skater was fully awake and I was his only restraint. His pads were never malformed as a result and, most times, he was up and running only hours after a surgery.

At ten and a half, Skater was a happy, spoiled walking miracle. His eyes were clear and bright and it is only his age that prevents him from doing some of the things he formerly enjoyed. There was no scar and were no white hairs where the tumor was excised from his croup and the cancer never returned. If anyone were to look at his footpads, they would have noticed nothing unusual or abnormal. He was a beautiful, bright senior with only a few gray hairs on his muzzle.

My beautiful boy was the inspiration for my memory quilts. The picture of the small wall-hanging above was made with him in mind and later donated to a North Carolina GSD Rescue for auction. I've made a number of memory quilts now and loved doing them all. Skater's quilt, however, remains unfinished. I haven't yet found the courage to complete it.

My Worst Nightmare

Skater and I were still living in southern Illinois and the summers were miserably and relentlessly hot and humid. One August evening, Skater began to exhibit symptoms that were all too familiar to me. He was bloating. I had told the vet on many occasions that, with all the stress Skater had been under, I feared bloat. And, on this hot and horrible evening, my fears were realized. Keep in mind I was living just east of nowhere and it was after hours at the clinic. I began calling the vet at his home at about 7:00 PM and, by midnight, was leaving him messages every 5 minutes. Skater was miserable so, with the help of a friend, we took him to the "high-tech" clinic, almost an hour away. My friend drove like a madwoman, I sat in the back seat with Skater, listening to him scream, doing what little I could to comfort him and terrified that I was going to lose him.

A wonderful vet met us at the clinic and confirmed that Skater was in terrible trouble. She got him stabilized and told me that his temperature no longer even registered on the thermometer - it was above 106 degrees. By now, it was after 4:00 AM and, once I knew Skater was stabilized, I went home; I was promised that he would be in surgery by 8:00 AM. When I called at 11:00, to find out how he was, I was told that they hadn't even BEGUN the surgery - they wanted a deposit. I couldn't believe what I was hearing ... no one had called me and my poor boy had been suffering all those hours. I think the receptionist heard about every word in the book from me and then some. Needless to say, I took off and got them their money so they could operate on my dog. I no longer hold vets in a very respected position. Thank God, the surgeon was excellent and my miracle on paws made it through the surgery with only the loss of a small part of his greater omentum. I drove them crazy for the week he had to remain in the hospital and, when released, I took him home and never brought him back to where they had cared so little for his well-being.

Skater made a full and beautiful recovery. The photo above was taken with his friend, Albert, 3 weeks after the surgery. Other than the shaved leg and belly, you wouldn't have known anything had ever happened. But, that was typical of Skater - he never dwelled upon anything negative nor did he take advantage of any situation. Once again, I had my miracle back with me.

Oh, What Next?

I guess it's become all too obvious that this was a painful and difficult time in my life and has become one about which I have trouble writing.

Skater's blood and enzyme levels were monitored and he continued to improve. I did, however, notice a lump on Skater's croup and, since it was increasing in size, the vet agreed that it needed to be removed. When I asked the vet what type of anesthesia would be used, I was absolutely floored with his answer, "none". He felt that, with all the problems the dog had been having, it would be too risky to put him under. Almost afraid to hear the answer, I asked how he planned on doing surgery on a very large dog who was wide awake. "Tranquilizers and local anesthetic" was the answer I got.



Extremely skeptical, with my boy only slightly affected by less than one cc of acepromazine, I paced the clinic's waiting room, fully expecting to hear that Skater would have to be put under after all. Less than one hour later, the vet, now wearing a substantial amount of Skater's coat, informed me that he had removed the tumor and Skater was fine. Days later, when the lab report came in, it stated that the mass had been an apocrine carcinoma, low grade and with clean margins. My boy would be fine.



Skater's next blood studies revealed thyroid dysfunction and he was put on .8 mg per day of Soloxine. A few days after this regimen began, Skater began to hemorrhage from the nose. Again, in a panic, I called the vet. Keeping in mind that he and I had only been dealing with each other for about a month, he assumed that Skater simply had a bloody nose and told me to ice it. As I looked at my kitchen floor, which appeared as if something large had recently been butchered on it, I doubted that any amount of ice was going to remedy the situation. It didn't. Skater continued to have these hemorrhages, on and off, over the next couple of weeks but NEVER during the clinic's office hours. Finally, one started at 4:55, five minutes before closing. I will never forget the look of absolute horror, pity, amazement and empathy for the dog on the vet's face. Skater's nose was packed and he began a regimen of vitamin K injections.

In an effort to determine the cause of the bleeding, Skater and I were sent to a larger, more "high-tech" animal hospital in the area for an ultrasound. Of course, no ultrasound could be done as the skull is not penetrable but, after taking a very thorough history on Skater, they decided to take his blood pressure, which was extremely high. Skater was put on a daily dose of Benazepril and never had another bleed.