Delilah 09-411

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Profile

Sponsored by:  Sandra L.

 

Delilah came into RAGOM's care several weeks ago when her owners were no longer able to care for her allergies. She is a sweet 7 yo female Golden that was in pretty rough shape when she first came in. She had considerable hair loss and some open sores. Delilah was immediately taken to see Dr. Globus, a veterinary dermatologist where it was discovered that she had a severe skin infection along with severe ear infections.

On December 22, 2009 Delilah had her fifth visit with Dr. Globus. She has made much progress but is still classified as a 7 out of 10 in severity of her infection reaction. Her hair is coming back in nicely. She still is suffering with the "hyper pigmentation" on the groin area. This is when the skin turns black due a the bodies reaction to infection or allergies. When Delilah came to us she was almost completely black and had open sores. She now has no open sores and the pigmentation is limited to the groin area. Her left ear is totally resolved of all yeast and bacteria infection. The untreated ear infections is what has caused all of her problems. Her right ear still has some bacteria rods in it but the numbers from the smear slides are much improved. She gets a dose of special ear med kept in the freezer twice a day and her ears flushed with meds twice a day also. She was put under to have a complete flush of the right ear and this has helped significantly. Her ear structure has also resolved and her ear canal is visible. When Delilah arrived the ears were swollen shut due to reaction. We are on our fourth month of antibiotics that should be hopefully the final dose. She has been a real trooper through all of this and is an easy dog to treat.

She loves our dog Sadie and they all sleep together. She is very active but is showing her age a little if she runs after the kids up and down the hill while sledding. Dr. Globus has been very generous in discounting her services for RAGOM making it possible to give Delilah a life worth living. She no longer itches and rolls until she can't stand it. She used to chew herself bloody and now she is just a content dog with a slight ear infection.

At a Glance #09-411

Golden Retriever Born: August 2002
Female 80 lbs

Status: Deceased

Profile

Sponsored by:  Sandra L.

 

Delilah came into RAGOM's care several weeks ago when her owners were no longer able to care for her allergies. She is a sweet 7 yo female Golden that was in pretty rough shape when she first came in. She had considerable hair loss and some open sores. Delilah was immediately taken to see Dr. Globus, a veterinary dermatologist where it was discovered that she had a severe skin infection along with severe ear infections.

On December 22, 2009 Delilah had her fifth visit with Dr. Globus. She has made much progress but is still classified as a 7 out of 10 in severity of her infection reaction. Her hair is coming back in nicely. She still is suffering with the "hyper pigmentation" on the groin area. This is when the skin turns black due a the bodies reaction to infection or allergies. When Delilah came to us she was almost completely black and had open sores. She now has no open sores and the pigmentation is limited to the groin area. Her left ear is totally resolved of all yeast and bacteria infection. The untreated ear infections is what has caused all of her problems. Her right ear still has some bacteria rods in it but the numbers from the smear slides are much improved. She gets a dose of special ear med kept in the freezer twice a day and her ears flushed with meds twice a day also. She was put under to have a complete flush of the right ear and this has helped significantly. Her ear structure has also resolved and her ear canal is visible. When Delilah arrived the ears were swollen shut due to reaction. We are on our fourth month of antibiotics that should be hopefully the final dose. She has been a real trooper through all of this and is an easy dog to treat.

She loves our dog Sadie and they all sleep together. She is very active but is showing her age a little if she runs after the kids up and down the hill while sledding. Dr. Globus has been very generous in discounting her services for RAGOM making it possible to give Delilah a life worth living. She no longer itches and rolls until she can't stand it. She used to chew herself bloody and now she is just a content dog with a slight ear infection.

Updates

Monday, March 28, 2011

 

It takes everything I have to write this. Delilah has terminal cancer. In the last weeks she has been struggling. We took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with vestibular. That is treatable. However she continued to not be able to eat with out being hand fed over a certain point in the tongue. We did x rays, blood work, urine work and the conclusion now is that she has a large mass that is pushing up into her rib cage causing organs to suffer from the pressure. She is also passing bone marrow cells into the blood stream and they are cancerous.

I have been full of tears as you know how much we love her. I know the time is near when I have to take her in for the last time. This morning at 4am she walked into our bedroom for the first time in a week almost as if to say she was ready. I let her out and then we cuddled on her bed. She has now lost fifteen pounds and the doctors say there is nothing more they can do for her because her organs are so compromised. I just thought I should tell you as I know I could not make the call to speak the words without breaking out in tears.

Tonight:

This is how I will remember my girl. She loved the walks on our walking path or should I say runs. She went down hill fast and I could no longer watch her fail.

 

Sunday, January 24, 2010

I have a sponsor!! Big kisses to you, Sandra!! It is because of donations like yours that I get to visit the special vet for my bad skin problems. My skin used to drive me just bananas but now I am so much better. Thank you, Sandra! It means so much to me.

I have had a tremendous amount of care and concern since coming into the care of RAGOM. I had a visit with Dr. Globus this last Thursday and she is so amazed at how far I have come in the last four months. I am starting to decrease my daily medications and we think that the severe infection is almost gone. I am still under care for my right ear for another three weeks. This big news is that I look like a golden now. I have hair and it is coming in thick, red, and soft. I still get a special bath two days a week and the limited ingredient diet. I lost three pounds in the last month and Dr. Globus says another few wouldn't hurt me.

I am loving life on the farm with my foster family. We have a one mile walking path and it is a blast to pretend to be a hunting dog and chase the birds that hide in the trees. I am now so comfortable at home here that I started jumping up on my parents' bed to sleep. I do not take up much room and try to stay by the foot of the bed. My foster sister Sadie is good and she now sleeps on my bed on the floor. As you can see we like to take afternoon naps on the couch. I am looking for my forever family now and I can fit in pretty much anywhere. If you are looking for an easy love bug come see me.

Love Delilah

 
Me and Sadie snoozing on the couch		  
Me, Sadie and foster Mom