Kiko an almost thirteen years old, very mixed breed thirty-five to 40 pound rescue dog. He has been very healthy up until recently when he developed an arthritic knee. Our vet prescribed gabapenten and a doggy version of ibuprofen. The meds seemed to be working. Last week he took a turn for the worse, unable to walk without severe wobbling and limping. His eyesight suddenly got much worse (he already had some clouding in the lenses) and he was bumping into everything! And now, less than a week later he needs assistance getting to his water bowl, and going outside to do his business. His appetite has decreased considerably in the space of a week. I did coax him to eat a bit of wet cat food and dry cat food. He's not interested in his food. His rear legs can no longer support him and his front paws "knuckle". He shudders when he sleeps. He's more or less alert, turns to face me when I call his name and reacted to some very loud thunder and the sound of hail hitting the roof. He's going to the vet in the morning. I think his situation is grim.

My little cockapoo who is almost 13 had cataract surgery 10 days ago. The surgery was successful. Although her eyes are now completely normal....retinas, corneas, etc. she is still blind. Her ophthalmologist doesn’t know why. He suspects a dementia and feels her brain is not connecting with her eyesight. Is this possible?? And if so, is there any hope it just might take longer? I am so sad, I wanted to give her the chance to see for her remaining years.

My 15 year old maltese/poodle has started stopping and being wobbly on her feet. Over the past week these symptoms have increased and she has stumbled and fallen a few times. She recovers within seconds and will carry on walking. If this is a neurological condition that will eventually end up with her passing away would she be experiencing pain before that time. Our local vet wants to do tests and x rays which are beyond my financial capabilities and if my little dog is going to pass away even with treatment I would rather watch over her all the time and make her as comfortable and happy as possible as long as she is not suffering. Thank you for your help.

We are currently facing a nightmare with our dog Samra and we are hoping that a Vet/veterinary scientist might be intrigued by the case and try to help us. Here is the summary of our 11-year old Grey Tervuren; Belgian shepherd). In mid-April, she had her first seizure followed by a second seizure three weeks later. At that point, we conducted every possible test including blood tests, X-rays, ultrasound of the abdominal area, and MRI. No cancer was found so it was ruled an idiopathic seizure. She was put on phenobarbital after her second seizure. At first, she had the usual symptoms associated with this anti-convulsive namely ataxia, some lethargy, etc. But after a few weeks, she was back to her normal self, playful and puppy-like. Approximately three weeks ago, I started noticing what appeared to be a relapse in her symptoms. Her back legs would give out at times and she even fell the full set of stairs on one occasion. She was a lot more lethargic but that was easily explained by the fact that we've been experiencing a very heavy heatwave in Montreal. On July 22 we left for a six-day trip to Boston. Upon our return on July 28, I could not believe my eyes. Samra looked very different. She had "crazy eyes" (very wide-eyed empty stare) and she started exhibiting respiratory problems. Over the next few days we took her to the hospital on countless occasions and finally admitted her to the hospital this past Thursday. EVERY conceivable test was conducted on her including: 1) All of the blood work did not reveal anything 2) We conducted a new abdominal ultrasound and it yielded nothing 3) We took two X-rays separated by a few days. There was an "opaque fuzziness" that increased across the two X-rays suggesting that the ailment was progressing but there was no definitive cancer diagnosis (or any other diagnosis) 4) We had a CAT scan of the chest done and it did not reveal any definitive cause. There were some apparent nodules but again it could easily appear as though it is a form of inflammation (i.e., no definitive cancer). 5) We agreed to have a spinal tap done on her => Again, there appears to be some inflammation but otherwise no apparent cancer cells etc. 6) We had a bronchial lavage => no cancer but possible inflammation 7) Lung aspiration => no cancer but possible inflammation We have now agreed to have a test for blastomycosis, a test for heart worms (although we always give her the pills), and a test for a new battery of viruses. Bottom line: She has some neurological symptoms as well as some respiratory disease (which seems to be improving due to antibiotics) but after spending an ENORMOUS amount of money, we have no cause and no clear course of action. We have two oncologists, a neurologist, critical care specialists and internists working on her case and they are utterly baffled. Her current condition is stable although neurologically she remains a bit weak (wobbly on her feet and somewhat confused). Any thoughts? Thank you.

My 13 year old Husky had a funny turn last night. She was laid in the kitchen as she normally does after her evening walk, I heard a noise so went to investigate. At first it sounded like she was attacking something, she was snarling. I went further into the kitchen to turn the light on and she was on the floor, limbs going as if she was running, her body tense, teeth bared, ears up and frothing at the mouth. It was her first seizure, never been so scared in my life. Took her to the vet who ran bloods, was told apart from abnormally high potassium levels everything else looks normal. Vet was happy that she seemed more alert then what she did when she came in so sent us home with diazepam incase another seizure occurs. Thankfully she’s not had one, but vet said it could be brain tumour or brain trauma. For the past few months she barks at nothing and the vet back then said it could be dementia. During the night she loses control of her bowels and ends up going in the house. She’s also very unsteady on her walks, she walks fine for a few steps then trots then goes back to walking. This morning when she woke up she was wobbly and looking around the house as if she doesn’t recognise the place, even went to hide under a small table.