So we almost lost Sam :(

Caroljo

Gold Member
Jun 2, 2009
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We got Sam at the Humane society in 1997....he was a really weird looking dog and my husband fell in love with him right away! He was about 1 1/2 yrs old when we got him....so he's now around 17. He's a wire-haired dachshund/terrior mix..blond with a strip of white hair down across the middle of his head. My kids always wanted to color it green and make a mohawk (with the wire hair it would stand right up! lol!).

He's been my husbands best friend. He hadn't been well, so i took him in to our vet last week. He needed his teeth cleaned badly, even tho it had been within a yr since we had it done. So because of his age, Doc did blood work first to make sure there was no problems with his kidneys, liver, etc and everything looked good, so they put him to sleep for the cleaning. Everything went well, and they put him in the cage to recover and wake up. One of the girls noticed he wasn't breathing and his heart stopped!

Doc brought him back. When we went to pick him up that day....that's when he told us what happened. We went back to see Sam and believed we were telling him goodbye, and so did the vet.

The next day he called me....i was SURE he would say Sam didn't make it. But he said Sam was doing very well!!! He had gone to check on him at 11:30 pm the night before and was surprised Sam was moving around. The next morning he was more alert and even ate some food! I couldn't believe it, and neither could the Doc! Our vet is the best, he's the most compassionate person i know and he was so excited that Sam could come home with us...(he even discounted our bill! Lol!)....

That was 5 days ago and Sam is like new! Well....he IS 17 yrs old, but we got some more time with him :) Don't forget, there's always hope!!!! :) :eusa_clap:
 
he still had some love left to distrubute to the world.

you go little guy
 
I told my husband that when we "thought" we were telling Sam goodbye, i think when Sam heard his voice he decided he wasn't ready to go yet! Today he's right back to the same barking, begging wanting attention dog he's always been! Lol!
 
Dogs are amazing critters,glad he made it,reaction to the seductive??

Could be....our vet didn't even know how it happened because all his tests came out good before they put him out for the cleaning. They had to have caught it right after his heart stopped, they weren't sure how long he hadn't been breathing. We wondering how long he hadn't gotten air to his brain and if he'd be "not right" .... but it doesn't seem to have affected him at all.
 
Dogs are amazing critters,glad he made it,reaction to the seductive??

Could be....our vet didn't even know how it happened because all his tests came out good before they put him out for the cleaning. They had to have caught it right after his heart stopped, they weren't sure how long he hadn't been breathing. We wondering how long he hadn't gotten air to his brain and if he'd be "not right" .... but it doesn't seem to have affected him at all.

Dogs are tough ,even little ones guess it matters not what happened as long as he made it back.
 
Super.

Sam sounds like one nifty little guy.

Hope you and your family share your lives with him for at least a few more years.

What a guy.
 
I told my husband that when we "thought" we were telling Sam goodbye, i think when Sam heard his voice he decided he wasn't ready to go yet! Today he's right back to the same barking, begging wanting attention dog he's always been! Lol!

Glad to hear it, Carol. Wonderful news. :)
 
That's very happy news Caroljo.

My dog is also long in tooth and her breathe could knock down a rampaging bull elephant.

I was toying with the idea of taking her in for exactly the treatment your dog went through.

So thanks for the warning.
 
That's very happy news Caroljo.

My dog is also long in tooth and her breathe could knock down a rampaging bull elephant.

I was toying with the idea of taking her in for exactly the treatment your dog went through.

So thanks for the warning.

Don't let what happened with us keep you from doing it!!!
Ya...Sam's breath was just HORRIBLE, he had infection that we didn't know about and so had to have the "extensive" cleaning. It wouldn't have been done if his blood work showed he had any other problems that he may not live long anyway. Everything looked good at the time....i think it was just something that happened, the vet didn't expect it either.

If your dog has infection in his mouth that's causing that smell, you really need to have her looked at and taken care of. The infection itself could kill her, besides the fact that if it is an infection she is very miserable!!!
 
So glad Sam is okay!

Listen, there are two types of anesthesia. I don't have the technical terminology, but what I'm telling you is true. Anyone who has a pet they care about, listen to this...

One anesthesia puts the dog out and then it has to gradually wear off before they wake up. The other type of anesthesia (more expensive) can be backed off immediately if there are any problems. So in the case of Sam, he wouldn't have had to slowly "wake up," during which time his heart stopped. They would have backed the anesthesia off as soon as the procedure was done and he would be awake when they put him in the kennel. Much, much safer!!!!!

When any of my animals needs anesthesia I demand the "good" kind. I don't care if it costs more.

-----

(I've been trying to find information on this, it's hard. I think it's propofol, the animal is completely recovered from it 10 minutes after they quit giving it via intravaneous drip. I just always tell my vet I want "the good stuff that can be backed off quickly!") Next time I talk to my vet, I'll ask.)
 
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Terriers live FOREVER.

Mine is 7 now and shows no sign of slowing down. I suspect she'll make 25.
 
Yes, they are a long-lived bunch.

They have to be...who on earth would get a SECOND terrier, lol? After having one, most people have no desire to return for another...so it's in their best interests to live forever.

Ok, I'm joking. I know that's not true...but they do make life interesting.
 
We got Sam at the Humane society in 1997....he was a really weird looking dog and my husband fell in love with him right away! He was about 1 1/2 yrs old when we got him....so he's now around 17. He's a wire-haired dachshund/terrior mix..blond with a strip of white hair down across the middle of his head. My kids always wanted to color it green and make a mohawk (with the wire hair it would stand right up! lol!).

He's been my husbands best friend. He hadn't been well, so i took him in to our vet last week. He needed his teeth cleaned badly, even tho it had been within a yr since we had it done. So because of his age, Doc did blood work first to make sure there was no problems with his kidneys, liver, etc and everything looked good, so they put him to sleep for the cleaning. Everything went well, and they put him in the cage to recover and wake up. One of the girls noticed he wasn't breathing and his heart stopped!

Doc brought him back. When we went to pick him up that day....that's when he told us what happened. We went back to see Sam and believed we were telling him goodbye, and so did the vet.

The next day he called me....i was SURE he would say Sam didn't make it. But he said Sam was doing very well!!! He had gone to check on him at 11:30 pm the night before and was surprised Sam was moving around. The next morning he was more alert and even ate some food! I couldn't believe it, and neither could the Doc! Our vet is the best, he's the most compassionate person i know and he was so excited that Sam could come home with us...(he even discounted our bill! Lol!)....

That was 5 days ago and Sam is like new! Well....he IS 17 yrs old, but we got some more time with him :) Don't forget, there's always hope!!!! :) :eusa_clap:

our dog is 15 and has degrading kidneys,,,,,we don't let them put her to sleep to clean her teeth.....glad sam came back;)
 

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