Howard

[kinley]

Here's just some pictures of him. He isn't getting better. Doctor said that if it keeps getting worse he will wave any fee for euthanizing him.

[Fidget]

I'm so sorry he's not responding to all the good care and effort you've made. Euthanasia might be the kindest thing left that you can do for him at this point. It's awful, I know, but not the worst thing that can happen to him.

[goddessbaby]

he's a tough little guy. I read through several threads but I must have missed where the vet said what happened. Did we ever get a diagnosis?

[midgard]

I'm so very sorry and I hope he gets better very soon! Thoughts and prayers for this little guy.

[BoiseBallz]

I'm glad to see you post. I was just thinking about this guy earlier today. I actually looked up your profile to see if I had missed any posts on him, and when I saw that you hadn't posted since the 6th, I feared that he may have succumbed.

Maybe I need to look up the old pics, but it doesn't look worse to me. I so want to aspirate, culture, and flush those bullae. Did the vet not aspirate them? Is he still on antibiotics? When you last posted, you indicated that he had gained 10 g with the tube feedings. Has he not continued to gain? Has he not taken food on his own?

[lorrainesmom]

I was wondering about the little guy myself. I agree with BoiseBallz, that the swollen places should be flushed, and I would put antibiotic cream on them. Is the little guy still gaining weight, is he still on antibiotics? Myself, I wouldn't give up yet. He's come so far, and youve done so much, I just wonder if aspirating those spots would make a huge difference. I'm pulling for you and the little dude.

[Albert Clark]

Hope he makes a 360 degree turnaround and starts to get much better.

[boafa]

I hope he doesn't make a 360 that would put it right back to the condition it's in.... What it needs is 180.....

[DVirginiana]

Sorry to hear he isn't doing any better I wouldn't lose hope just yet; if he's still responding positively to the tube-feedings and isn't lethargic/non-responsive, he may still do a turnaround. They're very tough little animals. It may not help, but like someone already said, you can always apply painkiller-free antibiotic ointment to those places; it won't hurt anything at any rate.

[kinley]

Thank you all for your kind thoughts. I really want to clean the spots also. The vet told me not to though because he's not sure what's underneath (I'm honestly frustrated that he can't do more to figure it out). He said that his life is riding on the 50/50 chance that there is new skin underneath it. If it's muscle under there, he said that Howard will not make it because it's such a large area. We all have our fingers crossed that it's new skin. But I just really don't think it is. Waiting for the blister to open is literally killing me inside because I know I'm going to have to see what's under there soon and I just don't think it's going to be what I want.

He has plateaued at 124g and hasn't gained any more weight from the tube feeding. He is still on antibiotics, but only has two treatments left of it.

But! I don't understand, honestly, why the vet wouldn't just take a syringe and suck some of it out to see what exactly it is. Surely a tiny spot of penetration couldn't hurt him that much because I've been giving him antibiotic injections. If someone could explain that to me, I would appreciate it so much.