Missy's Page

Breed: Labrador Retriever/German Shepard Mix
Color: Black
Sex: Female (spayed)
Born: 04/04/1993 - 08/13/2004
Weight: 84.3 lbs.

   
Missy's Story
On August 4th, 1993 Missy was about 4 months old when she came running into my office while I was working in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Cincinnati.  As she ran under my desk I began remembering all the stories of the big rats that visit students in the labs.  Sure the stories were false but when you see a big black flash with a skinny tail run under your desk one doesn't think...one jumps...one runs.  There she was staring at me with those almond eye and bent ears.  She was soooo cute.  I looked around for the owner but couldn't find anyone.  One of the faculty told me he overheard a girl on the phone begging for permission to bring a dog home.  So the thinking now is that whoever was on the other end probably said "NO!" so the girl let Missy loose in Rhodes Hall in hopes she would find a good owner.  Lucky for her and me, Missy found me working in my office.  It was a few months after I got KP and I was thinking of getting another dog to keep him company so I figured I'd keep her.  I took her home only to have KP show little interest in her and she an interest in peeing down my heating vents.  The vet gave her a clean bill of health with all her shots and we scheduled an appointment to have her spade.

For the past few years I noticed she began limping and chewing on the pads of her paws.  She developed a huge infection in all her paws.  You'll notice she has a few bare patches on her rear legs from all her licking and chewing.  A ton of Prednisone later she was infection free yet she still limped.  After a few months Missy was tested for allergies.  Turns out one of the biggest allergens is human dander....my dog is allergic to me, how ironic, don't 'cha think?  So I now give her allergy shots and Atarax to help keep her itching, licking, and chewing to a minimum.  Now to figure out why she was limping and reluctant to climb stairs.  When Missy collapsed on steps and sliding back I knew I had to get to the bottom of it.  My vet and I pretty much already knew it was hip dysplasia we just never knew how bad.  When the x-rays came back it was very severe hip dysplasia in both hips.  My vet, and every vet since, said she has never seen hip dysplasia this bad.  What amazed me is that Missy never cried out in pain.  After an orthopedic consultation with Dr. Payne at Tennessee Avenue Animal Hospital it was recommended that a total hip replacement be performed.  Only The Ohio State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital performed hip replacements in this region (see Missy's Hip Replacement Page).  But a few weeks prior to our visit I noticed Missy's left rear leg had swelled to about twice it's normal size and I felt a lump in her hind leg.  Turns out the lump was missy's lymph node.  My vet needled the lymph node and had it tested and did a blood work up.  The lymph node came back normal but reactive but her blood work indicated a low protein level, something she'll need to recover from her scheduled hip replacement.  What we had to do is figure out how/where she was losing the protein.  The first step was getting a urine sample.  After chasing her around the backyard with an aluminum pan waiting for her to pee she finally stopped being amused long enough to pee for me.  Test came back normal.  So the only thing the vet could think is that Missy's normal levels were on the low end.  My vet contacted Dr. Olmstead at OSU about the low protein, swollen leg, and allergies.  he said he saw no reason to push back the scheduled evaluation and surgery.  

08/13/2004
Allot has happened to Missy since the previous paragraph was written.  She had her other hip replaced on 09/11/2001 and after a year of allergy shots she was pretty much in control of things allergy-wise.  Rarely did I need to give her a shot of allergy serum.  On 08/10/2004, almost exactly 11 years since she first ran into my office, Missy was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer).  She had been limping on her left front leg off and on for a few months but in the last 10 days it never subsided even with the maximum dose of Deramaxx.  So I took her in for x-rays and at 1:16 pm got the bad news.  Her upper humerus was disappearing and she had some bumps on her rib.  While it looked like her lungs were good she did have some fluid around the heart/lungs.  Even I could tell by looking at the x-rays it was bad.  After listening to all the options I decided to have the x-rays sent to a radiologist for confirmation.  For the next few days I read up on the cancer, treatments, and the experiences others have had with their dogs.  In short, if I did everything for her she would likely live another 4-6 months and would have to go through some very traumatic experiences along the way.  So instead of putting her through all the tests, amputation, chemo, and radiation I decided to do the right thing and euthanize her.  At 4:30 pm I waited for the vet to bring the syringe that would release my girl...so many thoughts run through your head...should I...shouldn't I.  But I couldn't be that selfish and sat down with her while the injection was made.  She very quickly fell to sleep with her eyes shut tight.  Then they opened slightly and then shortly they completely opened...I knew my girl was gone at 4:43 pm.  I stayed for a few more minutes, heard her last breath, thanked and kissed her good bye.  What a peaceful way to go.  Too bad people don't have this option (except in Oregon).  What a surreal experience...for the next 1/2 hour I was in a haze.  My body was numb and I truly felt nothing.  When I walked in from the garage without Missy the other dogs smelt my hands, shorts, and shoes.  Bo continued to follow me for a few minutes but ended up going back to the top of the steps looking down...I  guess he was expecting her to bounce up the steps any time.  Alas my pup, that will not happen.

THIS PAGE LAST UPDATED ON 11/28/2004 at 05:08:49 PM