Alison - (Tailends 24.08.06 – 23.03.07)

Alison arrived at Tailends on 24th August 2006. She was very thin and was immediately taken to the vet for a dental and a thorough check, including blood tests. She is a frail 13 year old white and blue girl, who has spent her entire life in a bleak kennel. Blood tests revealed that she probably had inflammatory bowel disease and she was put on a course of steroids, antibiotics and Tramadol. A urine test indicated the presence of blood and protein, so after a long course of antibiotics she was taken to the vet for a scan. Sadly this revealed that the lining of her bladder was markedly thickened in an irregular way, indicating the presence of cancerous cells. My vet suggested that we try Piroxicam which is a human drug that has had some success in reducing the thickening of the bladder lining.

We were aware that the capacity of Alison’s bladder was very reduced and the outlook was quite poor. However she was happy and pain free though she did have to empty her bladder frequently. She enjoyed going for her walks and was eating well. We were also using Cystaid capsules, which might help a little. Alison went to the vet on December 13th for another scan to see if any improvement had taken place. This poor girl had suffered so much in her past but at least she was now enjoying some home comforts for however long she may have here. She was a very different girl to the traumatised dog who arrived here in August. She became confident and very affectionate. She had made good friends with Daisy May, our very nervous little girl, and Bluebell, who is such an old lady but still enjoying herself. Alison was very fond of Charlie (as pictured with above, enjoying a chat while out in the sunshine). All three girls shared a room at night where they slept soundly in the comfort of their donut beds and fleeces.

Alison went to the Veterinary Hospital for another scan on February 2nd and were delighted to report that her bladder was almost back to normal. Our vet was amazed that she was doing so well and we could only hope that her progress would continue. Hopefully she would be able to come off the tablets completely in a few weeks. We continued with the Cystaid which is mainly glucosamine and can only benefit her in the long term.

Our dear Alison (who came to Tailends on August 24th 2006 with Hazel) left us on Friday 23rd March. This was such a tragedy, especially as her scan on February 2nd showed that the bladder lining was completely back to normal. The Piroxicam had worked - or so I thought. I took her to the vet on Tuesday 20th March for a further scan and blood test to ensure that the situation was still stable, and potentially for a dental scale and polish. Sadly the blood results indicated that her kidneys were seriously failing and the dental would not be possible. The scan showed that the bladder lining was beginning to thicken again. We could not continue with Piroxicam because it would fatally damage her kidneys so there was little to be done. She was still eating and seemed happy enough so it was decided with Alison (our vet) that we keep her and monitor the situation very closely.
Alison started to have difficulty breathing early on Friday morning and I realised that there was a chance that any cancer present had spread to other organs, including the lungs. I was not going to let her suffer so I immediately called out the vet, who agreed with my thoughts.

Alison died peacefully in her own bed without any distress or pain. She had just seven short months at Tailends though this was more than the seven weeks which her friend Hazel had. Alison loved the beach and did have some real quality time here until she finally became so ill that she could not stay with us any longer. We miss her so very much. It is so difficult to cope with the grief especially as dear Lucas died just two weeks before Alison. However this is not about me but about these wonderful dogs. I am so glad that we were able to help this poor old girl who had languished in miserable kennels for so many years. Farewell my sweet girl until we meet again in a better world.