Back Story And Reason For This Diary

Dora

Introduction

When the first Cushings dog I had was diagnosed I was devastated. I knew nothing about the disease only that it was a serious condition. I felt sick with panic and heartbroken. Logic flew out the window and I thought I was going to lose her within a few months if not weeks. It just came out of the blue and I had no idea what Cushings was or how it would affect my dog. I didn't know you could choose to give your dog treatment or choose not to. My head was full of panicky thoughts thinking I was going to lose my fur baby and I wanted to do the best for her and also keep her with me for as long as I could and as long as the quality of her life allowed. 

She wasn't insured, she was a puppy mill pup when I bought her, I didn't realise at the time that puppy mill dogs have such a bad start in life they are more likely to develop conditions and diseases than pups that either came from a responsible registered breeder or even a home breeder where the parents were both available to see and where all the pups and mum and dad were looked after properly. My poor little puppy mill pup had neither and from the day I brought her home at 3 months of age she was always seriously ill with gastrontestinal problems, giardia and goodness knows what else. I couldn't insure her, no insurance company would entertain it and I signed up with the PDSA's scheme where you can get treatment and meds for a small donation. Unfortunately I was moving house just a couple of months before her diagnosis and unbeknown to me the vets in the new area either didn't offer the PDSA scheme or their list was full, one who did have a space on their list told me bluntly they wouldn't touch her with a bargepole. So I was forced to either have her put to sleep or try crowdfunding. 

To cut a long story short I had done a lot of crowdfunding for other people when they either couldn't afford vet bills or individual cremations for their beloved pets, so the Twitter community I was part of suggested I do one for myself. It was hard, I had to swallow my pride and I wasn't happy about having to beg for funds to save my dog's life but there was only one other alternative and I wasn't prepared to choose that. She was only 6yrs old and had led such an unhealthy life up to then she deserved to have a few more years of life if that was possible. 

So I made a crowdfund page and immeditaley people started to donate. The funds were so pouring in and covered all her tests and meds. She then went blind with SAARDS which is linked to Cushings, it's a disease that kills the optic nerves and they can go blind literally within a day. But the funds in the crowdfuning pot covered the special opthalmic test she needed for that. 

Sadly after her diagnosis she didn't get a few years of extra life, in less than a year she developed IMHA which is a kind of leukemia where the white blood cells eat the red blood cells as soon as they're generated. She was a Westie, and those beautiful black lips and pads, her gums and tongue had turned snow white over night, and I rushed her to the vet where they tried to save her but she died within 24hours. I had gone to see her and she was almost dead with tubes and pipes coming out of her, she was so far gone she didn't know I was there and I had to speak loudly so she would know and she opened her eyes just a tiny crack and knew I'd come to see her. I told the vet there and then to euthanise her and he got the injection ready. You may know it's a few mill of aneasthetic to put them to sleep depending on their size and condition. My darling Bonnie took just 1ml and she had gone, slipped away and no more. Aged just a couple of weeks past her 7th birthday.

I had a lot of money left from the crowdfunding so I started a blog - bonniedawestie.blogspot.com - with all the knowledge I'd learnt and researched about Cushings, SAARDS, IMHA, blind dogs and anything that would have been useful to other owners, because when it happens you know nothing but you need to know everything. I'd been in contact with the chief vet of San Diego Zoo who has since passed away I believe, who gave me so much information about how animals get Cushings and all the other diseases she'd had since her diagnosis. I remember a lot of it now. 

So when Bonnie had died, I had the blog to pass the link to others who needed that information and knowledge and it's helped a lot of owners come to terms with Cushings. And with the crowdfunding money that was left I started up BonniesRainbowBridgeFund a not for profit to help people pay for their individual pet cremations if they couldn't afford to. Sadly I have closed that down when Covid hit as donations and subscriptions ceased, understandably, and I had to cover the last 2 cremations myself. But it did help a lot of pet owners and I'm really proud and happy Bonnie and I were able to do that. I'm sure she's looking down now from wherever she is and guiding me as only she can, to help others now with this blog/diary about Dora's Cushings journey.

Now I have found myself with another fur baby with Cushings, and I thought I knew all there was about it but things have changed since Bonnie died in 2015, so I wanted to start a new blog, this one. More a blog cross diary following the progress of my little Dora, and letting people know the changes in diagnosis and treatment and give them hope that after my horrible experience it's not always a death sentence when your dog is diagnosed with Cushings. Some dogs can live another 5 years. And although the old Bonnies blog holds a lot of information, this new blog/diary will give more hope as you follow Dora's journey from diagnosis to the inevitable end. My vet has said she may have 18 months to 2 years if she's lucky, but after speaking to other owners who's dogs have lived 5 years, I'd like to think Dora could reach at least 13 or 14. 

This blog/diary won't be updated on a daily basis unless there's something new or not previously mentioned but it will be updated regularly so you can share Dora's journey and hopefully it will help you in your pet's journey with Cushings. 

I'll put the standard tests and treatments here and news about the new alternative to Vetoryl (the only drug available currently to treat Cushings) which will soon be available to vets in the UK. 

All sections will have replies available so you can ask questions, comment or add anything you think would help others (and me), and we can all give each other emotional support when or if we need it. Because apart from Diabetes, I think Cushings is a devastating thing to cope with as a pet owner as it can strike dogs at not just old age but middle age, as Diabetese can. Whereas heart or kidney failure is usually considered old dog's diseases.

I hope you find this diary to be useful either if you are already caring for your Cushings dog or just starting out on their journey. 

Always look on the bright side and make each precious day with your dog as special as it can be for you both. 

Hazel