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Posted on 01/02/2007 9:57:39 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
This is a horse chat thread where we share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.
I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts look for it there and wake the thread up!
I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will now be pinging everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in . There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news . Legislation that might affect horse owners.
So... like the previous threads, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.
Previous threads:
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN
New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!
It looks good, what I can see of it. It’s close enough to three days that you can leave the wrap off now can’t you? Is it still rainy and muddy where he is?
No it’s not muddy or raining now. I’m going to leave the wrap off at least for today. I’ll see how it looks tomorrow...the thing about wrapping, I’ve never been able to get one to stay on.
I think the fear of leaving it unwrapped is if he would bump it and bust it open? I haven’t been letting him out in his pasture to keep him from moving to much. But he has been known to paw the panels:\, if he thinks it’s feed time:)
If it was still real muddy I’d have tried to wrap it.
Becky
How’s Cartman this evening?
Becky
Good luckthen - maybe he’ll be careful for a few days :)
I have to get a new keyboard - the sticky keys aren’t making any sense.
Well, we just took Cartman in and had him euthanized at the emergency clinic. He just wasn’t doing well, and I called to see how much it would be to take him in there, and it really wasn’t bad at all. So, we thought about it, and listened to him struggling to breathe, and just decided to go do it.
It went OK - More in a bit...
I’m so sorry you both had to go through this but it was the very best thing you could do for Cartman. Unfortunately that’s one of the responsibilities we take on whe we love our animals.
Agreed... We’ll go through this with all of ‘em, one way or the other. I feel good about it... he might have suffered for days otherwise who knows, it was hard to listen to and do nothing.
I’m glad you realize that. I think it’s our duty to stop their suffering, however that might be. And with terminal illness, going with dignity is so much better.
Oh it looks good. Is it really cracked in the hoof wall too? Any idea how he did that?
And now the rest of the report...
We just about walked out of the place.
I had called there twice, first to talk about the symptoms I was seeing and find out about how much it was and everything, and she said “OK - well, if you do decide to bring him in, call ahead and let us know you’re coming, and we’ll be ready”. So we did that. We called back, and I got a different woman on the phone, but told her we were coming in to have a cat euthanized. “OK”
So we went. When we got there we rang the bell and this woman vet asst type opens the door, we bring him into an exam room and open the crate up. Cartman starts getting agitated trying to crawl off and yowling, and he sounds terrible, breathing even more labored when he was stressed. She scoops him up and says “I am going to go back and see if they’ll put him directly on Oxygen.” “Huh?” “Well, yes, his breathing... he sounds like he needs oxygen right away”... I said “You don’t know why we’re here.” She said “No, I guess I don’t”. “We’re here to have him put down”. Some more confused backchatter... I said “I’m sorry, I thought you were the one I talked to on the phone (how many women are working Sunday night at this place anyway?) “Don’t you even want us to examine him? I mean, he’s up and about... You have to pay the exam fee anyway”. I said “Sure, I would like the vet to examine him and talk about what to do” She starts like she’s going to take him back somewhere to do that... I say “I want to be with him, I want to participate in that.” “Oh - OK - well, I’ll have the doctor come in here then”. “Thank you”.
I sortof remembered that about this place from when I had to take Zulu there years ago. They treat only emergencies, they do most of it without the client there. They thought I was weird for wanting to be with her too.
Anyway, then we waited and waited and waited and waited and waited and we started wondering if they’d forgotten us. The gals were carrying on in the back, talking and chatting away and dealing with other animals we could hear back there, but no doctor. Hmmmm... I said to ecurbh a couple times... “Wanna just walk out?” “And do what” “Take him home and wait for him to die there”. He didn’t like that, so we’d wait and I’d ask again... finally he agreed, yes, let’s go. We were about to walk out and write “NEVERMIND” on the chart when the doctor came in... I’m glad we stayed, he was real good.
The first thing we noticed about The doctor was that one arm was very small and malformed. Only about as long as it should have been to the elbow, obviously a birth defect. Interesting he chose a very hands-on profession, and he had learned how to do it well.
He was very kind, and checked Cartman best he could, he said his lungs were very congested, and his heart beat was very weak... that they couldn’t really know why without tests... So I brought up that we’d like to put him down... I think he was trying to figure out how to tell me that’s what he needed. The communication around this place is non-existent ;~)
He had to give two shots of the sedative before Cartman fell asleep, he was a stubborn old cuss. But it was a relief when he finally fell silent, no more labored breathing.
We brought him home and buried him out by Logan and Zulu. May he rest in peace and meet me at the Rainbow Bridge... I doubt he will though, he’d probably just say “Screw you guys, I’m going home”. :~)
I’m so sorry. I think you did right by him, FWIW.
Becky
Very hot again today. Kids put in hay yesterday after the show. About 150 bales from Amy's dad's field. Not bad hay and it was free! Alison won hi-point again. My truck is going into the body shop today, so I have to run.
Hair and Ecurbh, so sorry about Catman.
You did the right thing, no question. He was clearly in great distress, probably congestive heart failure, and with his lungs gunked up he felt like he was slowly suffocating. Poor lamb.
I’m sorry. I know yall are sad. He leaves you with a lot of good memories though. He was special and fiesty to the end, huh? I always liked reading about him. I smiled at many of your posts. I smiled again at the end of your last, very sad one.
Hair, you did the right thing. It sounds like his kidneys had shut down and he went into congestive heart failure, a common end of life occurrence with cats. Yeah, they could have put him on O2, given IV fluids, even added furosemide, but it would have only prolonged the inevitable and increased his suffering.
On a brighter subject: I will be in Goldendale, WA, in August to visit my classical dressage mentor for a week. Is that anywhere in your neighborhood?
At least the long wait in the exam room was time for Cartman to settle down again... and we could pet him and it wasn't a big fight when the doctor came. That was good.
I appreciate your posts, he was a good kitty. He sure was remarkably good with the kittens.
Goldendale isn't real close to here, but it's closer than Texas! Goldendale is on the East, dry half of the state, it will be hotter than heck there in August. No more though, I guess than what you are used to. But don't expect it to be cool! It'll be a hundred degrees there too, by day.
If you look on this map, you're the red star, zoom out one click and go West on 84 and then North a bit on 5, and I'm near Olympia.
The man sounds like a very nice vet. Our small animal vet also is very nice with a pretty sorry staff. I wonder why that is? Cartman will be at the bridge, although from what you’ve said about him, he might make you wait a few minutes :) That’s what I’m expecting from my old Maine Coon, Punkin. He always made it clear I was his servant.
~smiles~
We’ll see :~)
I liked the vet... very nice and very gentle. I guess I could have explained myself better to everyone, I just thought, since I asked if they were busy or quiet and they were “quiet”, and that I had told them I was coming to have him put down, that when I got there they’d know I was coming and why. That wrong assumption set up the chain of no communication.
But even still, I bet it was quieter than trying to get into my regular clinic on a Monday morning. And ecurbh could be there with me, which I was thankful for too.
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