My sweet dog lost her battle Saturday morning. The vet(specialist) called me Fri. night after I arrived home from visiting her to tell me that she was worse. They put her on oxygen and gave her something to take down the inflamation in her lungs. The vet was to call me if she got worse or better. Saturday morning she called to say she was about the same. I went to see her. It is about a 1hr drive and my sister and Mom went with me. I prayed for God to help me make a decision. If she was not going to get better I knew I needed to do what was best for her and let her go. I certainly didn't want her to suffer. When we got there, she was worse. She had gone into DIC(deseminated intravascular coagulation) which means that clots form and you bleed from places you shouldn't bleed from. Thats what she was doing. But she was still alert enough to wag her tail and I know she knew me. We "talked" and spent some time together and said our good-byes. She went to sleep peacefully. People have a hard time surviving DIC even when the underlying cause is known. The vet gave her no chance. So you see God is good-He made the decision for me. I miss her so much and so do the other critters in my house-1 dog and 2 cats. Thank You all for thinking of her. She was a great dog and I feel blessed to have had her. Debi

Thanks for your replies everyone. That is great that you got to have Casey around for over 2 years, Nancy. Tso has truly been a family pet. When Tso was about 10 months old, he was given to my oldest son by a friend. She gave him to my son because his original owners were being mean to him. I think they just did not know how to deal with a Shar pei. They do tend to have attitudes, but to us that is part of the appeal. Then in 2006, my oldest son moved to Thailand. So my youngest son took his apartment and General Tso. When both boys lived with Tso we would watch him when they would go out of town. In August of 2007, Tso came to stay with us while my son went away for a weekend and basically never left, (my idea) lol. When we first took him to our current vet, I told him this story. He said at least you claim him. Some people still refer to them as their son or daughter's pet. I told him, I claim him, pay for him & am the one who mostly takes care of him but if he could speak he would tell you that he belongs to my daughter & she is the queen in his world, lol. So when the time comes he will be missed greatly by everyone. My son is already telling me I will have to get another puppy so that Smokey (our other dog, 5yrs) will have company. I am not so sure about that, but you never know. He is really doing very well this week. He is drinking just fine but isn't too interested in the dry food. The last time he had an ear infection he did the same thing. My thinking is that it hurts his ears to crunch the dry food. So I am putting some dry food in the bowl with a little bit of water to soften it. Then I add some canned food to that. He really likes it and gobbles it down. I am just keeping an eye on him and will do what I can to make him comfortable if he has a bad day. I will keep everyone posted on any changes. Once again, thank you.

AWWW Vikki I am sorry to hear this about Austin. I will say some prayers for him and your family plus keep everyone is my thoughts. Keep us posted. Deb

Am finally back after a lot of sleeping, and once again, many thanks for your replies. It all helps! Your suggestions sent me back to the internet, so I learned more about tactics for this battle/skirmish. Jlc - I was surprised to read of young people commonly having this, but actually I know you are right - the dang thing is everywhere now. And I will ask my doc (when he's back from his ill-timed vacation lol) about a nutritionist; am sure he'll know someone. Never thought of myself as being immune-system compromised, but now it's a fact, isn't it. Deee - I'm sorry that your relative has this. It really is an odious thing to have, not just on one's body, but also in the back of one's mind. I've filed manuka honey; it apparently is only for open wounds, but sounds good. I would much prefer a natural remedy anyway. Probably I should have some in the house jusr in case. And I understand about taking care with ordering from Amazon; I would stick to a name recommended by someone I kmow. Annie - Am also filing your article about essential oils; I know people who swear by certain ones. Lemongrass oil on one's hands and feet sounds lovely! Regarding meditation, it's something I've daydreamed about for years, as I also have about yoga. I know that you have extolled its benefits here often. It would need to be something I could do by myself, as am dreadful at attending classes that do not lead to a degree > : > ), but am pretty good about schedules at home. Am a bit of a hermit that way. Will look for something online! Localeater - I am sorry that you had to learn about this because of your son. Those years must have been a nightmare. Our DS1 had ten years of catastrophic asthma and was on and off pred for the whole time. Back then there wasn't much being done on "Integrative Medicine", and pred did save his life more than once. Side effects barely came into consideration. Today he is much better, no more pred, takes good care of himself and does employ elements of oriental medicine. I'm glad that your boy is also better! I will check online for NCOLIS. And will have to think of a tactful way to ask my doc about alternatives! Kwsl - Will look for thyme oil as soon as I finish this and add it to the file! It sounds like something good to use in the bathroom. One could top it off with a thyme candle! Thanks! Neetsiepie - Welcome back! You are sounding happy, and it's wonderful to read about your childrens' successes, especially about your son! But I am sorry to read that you have staph/mrsa in addition to other maladies. Yes, have gotten the message about cleanliness, have a bottle of Hibiclens in the kitchen and one in the bathroom, and am dutifully laundering the linens in hot water, the towels almost every day, really beating them up, don't like doing that. But I appreciate your many suggestions, especially your admonition to take it easy and rest, which removes the guilt from curling up and watching Law & Order marathons. Take care of yourself, too! Neetsiepie - One more thing. Saw the picture of your beautiful new cat. He's what the British call an orange marmalade. They have a reputation, especially the males, for wild high energy. We "baby-sat" two over the years and it was like having a hyperactive 3-year old in the house. Constant motion! Enjoy him! Thank you again, everyone - Sable