So lets talk some.......

Heyyy Sal! I love that you go crystal hunting! I have them here all around my desk. My daughter too, is very into them. Me not so much, but I appreciate their power and I do have some different gems and rocks that I love.

Any places you know of in Sedona I could do the same thing? My next trip there is October.

What did you do to help your dog? Homeopathy?

Tina - that's gotta be your browser. He's white alright - even salt and pepper around his tempos and cheeks. But he was so sick for so long, I'm thinking that some of the white is premature.

And thanks - Going after turquoise this time. If we strike out (not sure where we can get in to yet, there's snow in some areas still) at least we can nab some petrified wood. We'll come home with SOMETHING.

Sal,

Bone is apparently far more robust that one would think by looking at DEAD bone. And Cancer is just normal cells run amok. So if you can really cure the cancer with nutrition, there may even be less that needs to heal. I mean IMAGINE if you could actually HEAL pancreas cells. A person could go from someone near death needlng a new pancreas to someone that is just healthy. of course, they don't ever try to heal the cells, but remove them or kill them.

And Rickie looks normal to me. I've seen PUPPIES with color like that, and I don't think Tina was talking about the white over the eyes, or on the side of the face. Didn't Rickie have it when he was a pup?

Steve

I am sad about your dog, it's good he is happy. I know that making the decision to treat is a tough one. Prayers to you.

He is adorable! Such a sweet face...

It sounds like the 3 of you have a great time while rock hunting. I was fascinated with rocks and minerals when I was a kid. It's something I've always wanted to do.

I’ve heard about crystal healing but I am personally into alpha meditation. You can achieve your goals and heal yours and others problems. I am having lots of peace of mind after following alpha mediation and healing.

Sal - Sedona is in AZ - I too have no idea how to hunt for gems. I'm going to have to look it up now.

I think finding them myself would make a better connection.

Florida isn't the best rockhound territory Merlyn - but the gulf has awesome seashells. There's also a lot of treasure caches down there -- but don't get caught - Florida prosecutes people for picking up dislocated artifacts found in streams. Even the archaeologists say they are worthless them. They even prosecute tourists for taking jars of souvenir beach sand sometimes. But then - Georgia is a good place for rocks (and gold).

Anyone who loves dogs as much as you do and are willing and able to do everything possible to heal them when they are sick is A-OK in my book.

I've always had Boxers, grew up around an alpha male Boxer who considered me his pup and watched over me always.

I've had 6 Boxers over the course of my life thus far and a few of them were ill and I quickly learned everything I could to deal with their conditions.

One had an enlarged heart and the vet said I should put him to sleep as he won't live more than a couple of weeks. Through research and hard work I extended his life for 8 more months. He wasn't in pain during any of that time and he was a very happy dog even in his final months.

My next Boxer was healthy but every time he coughed my heart would skip a beat. You see, the Boxer with the enlarged heart would cough sometimes because fluid would build up around his heart which creates a condition known as "Congestive Heart Failure." So whenever things got bad I'd make sure he got a large dose of a diuretic to release the fluid from around his heart.

Then I had a happy and healthy Boxer who was very active. One day, he was around 6 years old, he got some sort of clot in his spinal chord and was paralyzed from the bottom of his ribcage all the way down his hind legs.

Vets examined, ran expensive tests and finally said that he either needed an operation that would cost upwards of $10k or he would die so in reality they were telling me to put my dog to sleep. No F'ing Way!!!

I carried my paralyzed dog to my car, put him on the back seat and took him home. He was very ill for the next 7 or 8 weeks. At one point the lack of movement and the fact he had a cut on his scrotum meant that infection set in. I fought off the infection with several antibiotics, I carried him with a belt under his belly outside so he could relieve himself. His intestines weren't working right so I had to use a squirt bottle laxative along with my hands to remove as much fecal matter from his gut as possible.

I thought the infection was over with but then I come downstairs one morning and I notice that my dogs hind legs are "puffy." Yup, you guessed it, gas gangrene and once again the vet told me to put him to sleep. Since he was paralyzed he wasn't feeling any pain so I told the vet what he can do to himself. Had him clean out the necrotic tissue from inside and around his scrotum and stitch him up. With a new bunch of antibiotics in hand I started fighting the gas gangrene. A week later I was able to battle it to victory.

I was starting to lose hope, I thought it was a strong possibility he would never regain the use of his legs and that he really couldn't go on living in that condition. I purchased a dogie wheelchair but he wouldn't stay in it.

I finally decided that I would give him 10 more days before I would start considering putting him to sleep. About 5 days after I had made that vow to myself I took him outside, using a belt under his belly to support his weight from behind. I noticed his rear legs were trying to work, trying to support his weight. I kneeled to one knee and placed my knee under his butt so that most of his weight would be on my knee, sort of like partly sitting down.

He sat/stood there for a few minutes and then he took a step forward. He stood there again and I moved to support his weight again. Then he stepped away again but by the time I had gotten there with my knee for support he had walked about 10 steps further.

I brought him back inside the house and almost had a heart attack when the first thing he did was to take the stairs all the way down to the basement and after that he came back up the stairs.

He never regained full range of motion and his rear left leg was much weaker then his right leg. Since he would often scrape the top of his toes when he walked it was necessary to create a boot/shoe/brace to protect his toes from scraping to open wounds on the sidewalk. I sewed many a leather boot/shoe/brace for him and he lived to the ripe old age of 15. He never regained full range of motion but he adapted and was the same happy dog I had always loved. It killed me when at the age of 15 it became necessary to put him to sleep. He wanted to die already but his body wouldn't let him. He couldn't control his bladder, his weakish legs really couldn't carry him any longer and he did not want to eat.

I stayed with him in that room till it was obvious he was gone. One thought, like the cruelest weapon of an expert torturer torments me sometimes even to this day. A little hurtful thought that destroys me each time I think about it. That thought is, as he lay on that table at the vets office and taking his final breaths, did he think I betrayed him?

Yeah, that's a thought that will bring any dog-person to tears and beyond.

I have another Boxer now, he's my sweetheart puppy-baby-boy, even though he's 2. He too almost died when his puppy immune system wasn't developing as fast as the rest of him and during allergy season his immune system turned on him and attacked his body. The result was a case of meningitis that almost killed him. Luckily we figured out, along with my new vet, that Prednisone (a steroid anti-inflammatory) was the answer to taking the problem away. I still keep a small supply of the medicine around just in case he has a relapse but he's a happy, healthy, extremely large 82 pound Boxer.

Not1Here - Thanks for your story.

My last dog got congestive heart failure at the end (he was way over lifespan already). They had a new drug called vetmedin that gave him a normal life again for around 7 months - months that we used to have the best last summer that any earthbound soul could hope to have. When he died, he died rapidly, in my arms and with a kiss goodbye. I am eternally thankful for those last months with my special guy. He meant more to me than anything in my life. It's been a hard road to get over him -- but when I met Ricky who needed care and love of someone who understands dogs (my sister's heart was in the right place but she's a cat person and has no clue what a dog is) all my pain and loneliness was suddenly cured.

The effort to cure this pup has not been a burden. I took it upon me gladly -- and had no choice but to succeed. When I saw his misery I looked into those eyes that were reflecting his pain and fear and I promised him that he would not die of cancer and would be whole again and we would have the best of life together. I don't make promises rashly - I knew I could reverse his illnesses and I knew I could show him all the things that dogs cherish and enjoy. It's just that simple. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Your boy didn't think you abandoned him. Animals know when it is their time. They also know when they are in trouble and know when your efforts save them. They know your joys and upsets and never once do they doubt you when you care about their well-being. Do not ever feel guilty about the end your pet had. He had love and care - he wasn't wondering or fooled. He knew. If he had known how, he would have taken himself out to save you the decision. In the end, he counted on you for the strength to help him. Never look back with doubt or guilt. And never believe anyone who tells you animals don't have a soul. They are made from the same energy as humans - it's just compacted differently. You will see your boy on the other side. Dogs are patient. He will wait.

All the happiness in the world to you and your little fuzzy.

Oh yeah - there's a lot of fluid in congestive heart failure. Lungs fill up, too. You can use diuretics and kill the dog with loss of potassium and other minerals that get washed out with the water. I used parsley which has a lot of minerals in it yet is a diuretic so it replaces what is being expelled. Used normal diuretics, too = formosuride or something like that. But I kept it weak and supplemented with parsley. If he started to get coughy or bloated looking I dropped the parsley and gave full strength diuretics and mineral supplements. It's the only way I was able to control the fluid without killing him due to mineral loss. We got a lot more mileage out of him than we should have been able to at his age. I will always remember his last breath, too. But I'm damned glad I was there to hold him on the way out.

Reikigirl sending you a pm.

so cute Rickie, wish eveything is fine

Good job, Sal -- Rickie looks like such a happy boy!

Becky