Porter's Page!

UPDATE (October 2021): I had the "Molly" and "Mandy" threads merged with the "Porter" thread. I also had the "Pet Shaming" thread merged into this one; The first pictures of Porter can be found on Page 13



UPDATE (Thanksgiving 2020): I had all of my “Mandy” threads merged into one, so did some rearranging to keep the original post at the front of the thread...

In September 2018, my parents and I adopted Mandy almost nine years after we had to put Molly to sleep.

We believe she was born on July 9th, 2018. Less than a month after we got her, we realized she was drinking excessively, and as a result, urinating excessively. We suspected an issue with her kidneys and took her to the same vet who treated our last dog. The vet concurred, and referred us to a specialist.

An ultrasound revealed that Mandy had Congenital Renal Dysplasia, a rare kidney disease that is unfortunately fatal and kills affected dogs within the first two years. It is possible for dogs to have only one affected kidney and live a normal life, but this is even rarer.

She is still for the most part okay, but her appetite has diminished slightly and her energy levels are much lower than they have been. Keep in mind that this is an 11-month old puppy!

She also sheds like crazy, has lost weight, vomits and/or spits up a lot, has bad breath, and has bloodshot eyes, among other things; these are all signs of kidney issues.

Like I said, she does not seem to be in any pain, but her behavior is not typical of an 11-month old puppy.

She is a total sweetheart, and loves both people and other dogs, though she will back away if energetic younger kids come on a bit too strong. She has never shown any signs of aggression and has, in my opinion, the perfect personality. She has also peacefully mingled with cats, a ferret, and a tortoise.

We do not expect that Mandy will live to see her 2nd birthday, and at this point I’m wondering if she will live much beyond her 1st.

The important thing is that we have given her pretty damn good life, however short it may be.

My mom has an Instagram account called MandysDogLife, and that is where the name of this thread comes from...


UPDATE (July 2019): We put Mandy to sleep on July 1st, 2019 after her quality of life deteriorated



From the “Is 11 weeks old too young to spay a dog” thread: My family adopted a female Lab mix from a meet and greet event at Pet Valu. She is the sweetest little puppy in the world, but before we finalized the adoption, we knew she'd already been spayed. We all thought it was rather young (meaning my parents and me), as have numerous friends and a pet shop employee. Our vet (who treated our last dog in the last 4 years of her life) didn't seem worried at all.

Obviously, there's nothing we can do about it since she's already been fixed, but I was wondering what other people thought...?



UPDATE (March 2020): Our current dog is Porter and he can be found HERE, on page 13; He was 5 months old at the time of the original "Porter" thread being started on March 9th, 2020. We thought he was part hound but a DNA test confirmed that he is 100% Labrador Retriever!

He was rescued from an Amish puppy mill by Home at Last Rescue (same organization where we adopted Mandy).

My dad’s coworker (also my coworker) volunteers for Home at Last, and was fostering him; He brought the dog into work to show us, and we fell in love!

He came with the name “Portugal” from the rescue (he had a brother named "Peru"); I have officially decided to name him Porter.

My first dog was a Black Labrador Retriever named Molly, who bore a striking resemblance to Porter, even though she was an English Lab and Porter is over the American variety. Molly was born on December 11th, 1994; We took her home in January or February of 1995, and she died on December 23rd, 2009 (15 years old)!

After nearly a decade without a dog, we adopted Mandy in September 2018; Mandy was like 11 weeks old when we took her home. Our happiness quickly turned to heartbreak when she was diagnosed with Congenital Renal Dysplasia a month or so after we got her; She was drinking excessively, we figured there was something wrong with her kidneys, and a trip to VSEC (a specialty veterinary clinic in Levittown) revealed a worst case scenario. Mandy did just fine for more than six months, but then in May-June 2019 her health really started to nosedive. We made the difficult decision to put her to sleep on July 1st, 2019; Mandy was barely a year old and we only had her for ten months! Less than a year after Mandy died, we got Porter!

 

They are such a part of our life that it is hard not to miss them. I still miss our pound puppy even years after having to put him down. I feel for you.

 

I'm sorry to hear. It's always hard seeing them go especially after developing that bond over several years. I got my three year old black lab from a neglectful owner. Has been the best dog I've ever had. He must enjoy the truck more than I because he sleeps in the bed every night.

 

Great looking dog!

 

Thanks! Probably gonna be getting another one soon!

 

I hate having pets for this reason, I got my puppy a long time ago. while I have hardly aged, she's gone through an entire life time.

 

You are looking at 2 of only 3 pictures I have of Molly and my Tacoma together. The Tacoma was purchased on September 30, 2009. We made the difficult decision to put her to sleep on December 23, less than 3 months after we bought the Tacoma. She was 15 years old, she had severe arthritis, and her kidneys were failing...




"Our love is unconditional
We knew it from the start
I can see it in your eyes
You can feel it from my heart

From here on after
Let's stay the way we are right now
And share all the love and laughter
That a lifetime will allow.

I cross my heart
And promise to
Give all I've got to give
To make all your dreams come true
In all the world
You'll never find
A love as true as mine

You will always be the miracle
That makes my life complete
And as long as there's a breath in me
I'll make yours just as sweet

As we look into the future
It's as far as we can see
So let's make each tomorrow
Be the best that it can be

I cross my heart
And promise to
Give all I've got to give
To make all your dreams come true
In all the world
You'll never find
A love as true as mine

And if along the way we find a day
It starts to storm
You've got the promise of my love
To keep you warm

In all the world
You'll never find
A love as true as mine"

I Cross My Heart by George Strait




You see, Molly was a Black Lab. My Black Lab. My BEST FRIEND. She came into my life in 1995 when I was five years old and she was just seven weeks old. She got skin cancer at the age of 9 and was not expected to live past the age of 10. The vet amputated one of her toes and she became like a puppy again (if you closely at the paw hanging off the tailgate you can see the missing toe). At around 10 years old she was having trouble getting into our van and we had to buy a ramp. She lost her hearing and most of her sight between 2007 and 2009, but she was still the same happy healthy dog right up until she turned 15. Then, she nosedived, and we had to end her suffering; Here's a picture of me and Molly from June 1996 (Date in lower right corner believed to be accurate)...

 

Oh, and here's a picture of Mandy from last night...

 

Yes. The vet usually won’t do it that early

 

She came up from South Carolina and they probably want to make sure there will be no unwanted litters...

She has some discharge from the incision (now almost healed), but it is clear and our vet told us not to worry unless it turns yellow and/or thick.

Seriously though, I thought it was way too young!

 

spaying females early is no problem. on the other hand i am against neutering males early due to a handful of reasons.

 

Because it takes a while for the testicles to drop, among other things?

 

There are studies about mental maturity, behavior, and weight gain with males.

Females that don't get fixed have a higher chance of certain types of cancer and will of course make a mess of your white carpet . Three are things Read while waited two years to get my weimaraner neutered.

 

My vet had me wait till my bulldog girl was 6 months old to be fixed.

 

Yeah my vet said to wait till 7 months to a year. He said to early and it can stunt his growth BUT I know friends who got rescue dogs and they all came fixed already.

 

My original post from October 2018, before we knew what was wrong with Mandy:

About a month ago, my parents and I adopted an 11-week old female Labrador mix puppy named Mandy (she came with that name and we kept it). We believe she is largely Lab and Jack Russell, but not entirely sure...



In the last couple of weeks, she has been drinking excessively, to the point where she will just puke it all back up (along with whatever else she just ate). We actually have to ration her water because she will literally drink until she barfs.

Her regular vet confirmed that there is in fact something up with her kidneys, but couldn't figure out what.

She had both blood and urine tests but they didn't shine much light on the issue. My parents took her to a specialist about 40 minutes from home this morning, and she got an ultrasound (like what they give pregnant women). We are currently waiting for the place in Levittown to get back to us with some of the test results.


The only two noteworthy symptoms are:

• Excessive thirst.
  
  
• She will eat, but she doesn't have the voracious appetite one might expect from a puppy.

Why I'm pretty sure she isn't dying:

• Mandy is not the slightest bit lethargic, and quite eager to play. Sometimes she takes long naps, but is always ready to play when she wakes up.
  
  
• She is very friendly and energetic, and craves attention.

 

Maybe have her tested for diabetes. Not sure if dogs can have it (I assume they can?) - but my cat is diabetic and had similar symptoms before we got him on insulin. He's also old and fat though - you're pup looks young and healthy. Good luck, hope they can get it sorted!

 

Kidney or diabetic!!

http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/dog...ns-a-z/my-dog-drinking-a-lot-water-polydipsia

 

My friend's wife was saying Mandy could be in the early stages of diabetes...

 

Sounds like a possibility for sure. Go get her tested. If it's not severe it can be solved with just diet changes alone. If it's very bad, you would have to give her insulin daily, but it's not difficult.