It's been both a hectic and worrying time the last couple of weeks for Oscar, after I noticed his kennel was constantly wet. It appeared he was drinking more than normal and urinating more too, neither of which was a good sign. It has to be said however apart from the wet kennel he is in perfect shape and fully fit with no other signs of illness.
Anyone who knows Oscar will know that a trip to the vets isn't a 'walk in the park' but after a urine sample proved his urine was very dilute, that was the next step.
Having wrestled in the consult room blood was taken and had shown that he had high calcium levels. A week later I had him there again to have his anal glands and prostate checked (even more fun!) and another blood test confirmed once again the high calcium levels.
Having been down this road so many times with German Shepherds, the fear was a Splenic Tumour or Lymphoma, a fear that was confirmed to me last Thursday when I took Oscar down for an ultra sound scan.
I'm pleased to say that there were no signs of either hideous cancer, but it did still leave the question of what was causing his body to produce so much calcium. It was decided that whilst he was still under sedation Moorview would up that to a full anaesthetic and give Oscar a full CT scan to try and get right to the bottom of his condition.
It was whilst looking at the results of the CT scan that a potential cause was found. Just under his voicebox there is a little gland called the Parathyroid gland. It appeared that there is a growth on one side. I was reassured that the majority of these are benign and that removal of the gland should solve the issue if that is indeed the cause, but as the gland controls calcium and hormones it is a major part of the body's operating system.
So the decision was made to find out for sure the cause of the extra calcium which is done via further blood screening in a special ordered frozen kit which we are waiting for. It doesn't come cheap though with the test itself costing us around £200.Likewise though without getting to the bottom of the matter the future could hold kidney failure and cardiac issues. It really could be a matter of life and death.
Oscar stayed at my house the night before the operation, and as you can see from the photo's below with him and Star, he was impeccably behaved. For a dog with such a big reputation I saw a softer side that I had only ever seen in glimpses before. He is such a special boy.
So far with all the blood tests (including the specialist one) and the CT scan, Oscar's vets bill is about £600. This is before we have any surgery done or after care. This is where OSCAR NEEDS YOUR HELP. If you can donate towards his on going costs it would make things so much easier for us to concentrate on the most important part, getting him better, as well as relieving a huge financial worry.
You can donate via paypal (shak@shak.org.uk) Pay direct to the vets by calling Moorview on 0191 2566990 stating Oscar's bill on the SHAK account or by sending a cheque made payable to SHAK to:
SHAK HQ
Greenwell Road,
Alnwick,
Northumberland
NE66 1HB
I'll leave you with a little insight into how special Oscar is with these photo's of his game with Star on his sleepover, although I have to say I don't think he knew he was even in a game.....
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| "Hey Star..... Look what I found" |
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| "It's all mine though" |
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| "What you looking at?" "Oh nothing Oscar" |
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| "Can you do this?" |
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| "Or this?" |
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| "Whats over here?" |
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| " Now's my chance....." |
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| "Where did that stick go???" |