Archived Message

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Beth Seris

This topic consists of 3 subjects:

First, my 11 1/2 year old maltese passed away in April after months of struggling with liver disease/cancer..the constant vet medications only prolonged his (Nugget's) death and there was nothing we could do..he lost more than 1/2 his body weight by the end..does anyone have any knowledge of/experience with this occurrence?

Secondly, how safe are those flea prevention pills which dogs ingest? For the first time Nugget was given the pills this past year..could there be any connection with his liver problems?

And lastly, we saved Nugget at 8 months old from the SPCA and was told he was purebred with papers but because the spca wants no breeding, we could not get the papers..he was about 11 pounds or so then, and before his illness had grown to about 18 pounds from eating table foods along with dogfood..is it impossible that Nugget was a purebred Maltese? I found a picture in the archives of "Johnson's Little Andy" which is the spitting image of what Nugget looked like.. Any responses are greatly appreciated.

ps: my mother has not been dealing well with the loss of Nugget..all the children are grown and out of the house now and she feels a tremendous loss but is not ready for another dog..is it normal to have the loss of a pet affect a person so tremendously?

DISCUSSION:

I lost Lady 7 years ago. To this day I miss her so much. When I see a tennis ball, her favorite toy, I get upset. Everytime I see a dobie I get a little misty. I could never own another Doberman as the memories of Lady are too strong. She was not even my dog but my daughter's dog, who lived with me. Our bond was just so strong that it went beyond her being a dog, she was my best friend. I own many dogs now, and even though I love them just as much, I still miss my Lady. I have so many memories of her. Dogs play a great part in our lives and we never forget them, and though time eases it, we will miss them always. I do not give my small dogs the flea pills, but use advantage. I don't know if there is a link, and we probably won't know for years. The problem with these products is that I do not think enough testing is done as with all medications for dogs or humans. So many times we see products on the market and years down the road they are pulled because of side effects that suddenly present themselves.
-Marsha A.

Beth, I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. It's heartbreaking to losea pet under any circumstance, more so when you watch them dwindle slowly. I can't answer the medical part of your question, but about your mother... My father lost his cat to liver disease last October. He built her a casket, lined it w/ carpet, paintedit pink and I made a pink lace pillow for her head (at his request.) We had a funeral service for her in the back yard and everySunday (she died on a Sunday) he lit a candle in the windowfacing her grave. He even bought her a $250 headstone w/her picture on it. We were all a little worried as we have lost many animals before and all they got was a cardboard box and a blanket. I think as our parents get older their hearts grow softer. They're able to slow down and enjoy the finer things in life and appreciate them more, like the love she experienced w/ Nugget. Try not to worry, be there for her and give her some time.
-Cindy