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Maggie Cummings
Guest
I just found this picture. I thought it was pretty and thought I'd share something nice....
Awwww! Very handsome!
What a lovely memento! He looked very active and ready to go someplace real fast LOL. You had him for 17 years, right? Do you know what he died from?
The biggest bladder stone you ever saw, and the complications from surgery.
Oh, right! I saw that stone. My God, what kind of surgery was it? I mean, when Beasty Boy had a big stone in his bladder ( he was only a year old then), it was removed through his the rear.
Sorry Maggie. I just realized this may be painful for you to talk about. I sincerely don't want to bring up painful memories.
Bob was a beautiful animal, and he reminds me much of my own Beasty Boy who also has a propensity to pass stones.
They cut out a section of plastron.
Well, I'll make sure they never do that to any of my torts! Sometimes we go through experiences so that others don't have to. Thank you Maggie for sharing your pic of your beloved Bob.
Ohhhh.... I'm getting it now. I recall seeing mentions of Bob but didn't realize this was going on with him. I was a brand new tort grandma then and preoccupied with trying to get one of the hatchlings to eat which took couple of months. Frankly, I had little if anything to offer to the forum members, was just sucking in all the know how from you guys in attempts to save this baby. I am so so sorry that Bob got so sick and you had gone through the torment of aggressive medical treatment of your tort only to lose him in the end anyway. I can so relay to that! Many years ago when I was moving crossing the Altlantic I had a dog, love of my life. She was 7 yrs old at that time. Moving with the animal for a private citizen was just not being done back then but I was determined not to leave my best friend. It took me nearly a year of completing all requirements of both country officials before we (me and my dog, 1 suitcase of clothes and another one of books and favorite vinyl LPs) moved without any surprises or problems at border crossings. Idyllic life lasted for only 4 more years. My baby started getting stuff and I was leaving my entire earnings at the vet's. Then one night I woke up to her panting, something she'd never done before. Our vet met us in his office at 02:30 am took labs and xray that showed large tumor on her spleen... He took it out that morning, I had to go to work and was hoping to pick her up on my way home with script for pain management. Well, I'm not sure if she knew it was me walking into her room, she looked totally disoriented and sedated. The vet said that she was not excreting anesthesia meds efficiently because she was overweight... he wanted to give her more iv hydration. I took her home that night. My stepdad was caring for her while I worked. The next late morning I got a phone call from my dad that my baby called him to let her outside and just collapsed by the door unconscious and not breathing. By the way she looked and my dad's description of events preceeding, I suspect she died of pulmonary edema. That surgery was just too much for her. So dear Maggie, I know the heartache, the hope, fear, determination, dissapointment, pain, grief of a pet owner who's dealing with very sick animal, and I am so sorry you lost your handsome Bob despite all the efforts to help him and save him. I'm not sure how much time has passed since his death but I hope that your heart heals in time enough to share your wisdom with this community. It's one of those things that is very hard to talk about but some of us and our torts will definitely benefit from your experience and words of advise. Thank you for posting this picture of your handsome Bob and hang in there. I love reading your posts because you always seem to speak your mind no matter what. Sometimes your posts make me laugh and sometimes the make me think about stuff I never really did think about. Good stuff for a new "tort custodian"
I'm not seeing the picture.
For some reason the pic won't show for me. But knowing Bob, I'm sure it's a great pic.
Same here, can't view it.
Saw that stone posted on another thread. That this is massive.
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Maggie Cummings
Guest
I did everything right and he lived and was treated like a king. He had the best wild hand picked daily diet, he was socialized, his water bowl was emptied daily, it held 1.5 gallons. He used his swimming pool. He died at 17 anyway. I have no words of wisdom.
What a wonderful picture Maggie.
The picture is gone again.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Maybe @jaizei can help with pic or knows why it's not showing?
Maggie, I was referring to wisdom of coping with the crisis, impending loss and post loss of beloved pet. To me this is tha hardest part of being a pet owner and I've always looked for people with different experiences to share our perspectives, have basically "sounding board", voices other the my own to help me validate my feelings and some tough decisions. It's just good to hear from others with similar experience, getting out of my own head always helps me and I suspect there are many more people who feel this same way I doI did everything right and he lived and was treated like a king. He had the best wild hand picked daily diet, he was socialized, his water bowl was emptied daily, it held 1.5 gallons. He used his swimming pool. He died at 17 anyway. I have no words of wisdom.
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Maggie Cummings
Guest
Well, truthfully, I feel full of pain, I still cry daily, I loved him more than I ever loved anything. Everyone could see that he was different, more personable, and it was obvious he loved me. He was like a dog with me. He would never leave me alone. In the hot afternoons we would go into his shed I'd lay in the hay, he would climb up and put his head on my leg and we would nap together. I could tell so many stories like that. Every year he went to get his picture taken with Santa. I live in a small town and more people knew Bob and his name, I was just Bob's "mom". But what I remember most was the nightmare of his death. The Vet was an ***. I knew more than he. I at one point started mouth to mouth because Bob was not breathing and they were not bagging him. The "Vet" closed Bob up even tho I could see he was still bleeding. I even screamed at him to remove that stupid plaster thing and stop the bleeding. At midnight, he was put into my Camaro still under the anesthesia, I was 100 miles from home, alone and I knew my tortoise was dying. My friends had gone and it was just me and Bob. I kept pulling over and bagging him. He was not coming out of the anesthesia. I did mouth to mouth, I bagged him, I yelled and shook him. A 2 hour drive turned into a 4 hour drive. Then when I finally got home how was I going to get him into the house. I weight 120, he, 125. All I know is, next thing I knew He and I were in the warm bathroom. Our cheeks were together from then until 5 am when he breathed his last breath on my cheek.
I really don't have any advice. I'm bitter, and I'd sue him if I had the wherewithall. Yet I thought Bob was sick in May and because I'm on SS there's not much money, so I mostly tried to make him better on my own. I did take him to his Vet, we did an ultrasound that said it saw nothing.I feel Bob's death was my fault and there just is no way to deal with that. I have no wisdom as to handle a crisis, because I haven't. My best advice, if you think your tortoise is sick, take him to the Vet right away. No matter what it takes. Had I done that, maybe, Bob would still be alive.
And I still don't know for a tort that was so healthily fed, and well hydrated, where did that stone come from. Why? What did I do wrong? Anybody know?
I really don't have any advice. I'm bitter, and I'd sue him if I had the wherewithall. Yet I thought Bob was sick in May and because I'm on SS there's not much money, so I mostly tried to make him better on my own. I did take him to his Vet, we did an ultrasound that said it saw nothing.I feel Bob's death was my fault and there just is no way to deal with that. I have no wisdom as to handle a crisis, because I haven't. My best advice, if you think your tortoise is sick, take him to the Vet right away. No matter what it takes. Had I done that, maybe, Bob would still be alive.
And I still don't know for a tort that was so healthily fed, and well hydrated, where did that stone come from. Why? What did I do wrong? Anybody know?
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I'm so sorry Maggie.
I don't have the experience to speculate. And only in trying to help you, I ask these questions in hopes they offer clues.
Was he with you all 17 years? From a hatchling?
I don't have the experience to speculate. And only in trying to help you, I ask these questions in hopes they offer clues.
Was he with you all 17 years? From a hatchling?
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Maggie Cummings
Guest
No, I He was turned into Y's rescue when he was 4 and 35 pounds. Already pyramided. I took him for what she said would be 2 weeks. That was 17 years ago....
So, it's possible that his 4 years before you could have resulted in the start of that stone. Which would answer your question "What did I do wrong?" With, nothing.
It won't ease the pain and won't change what happened but hopefully that will relieve you from any guilt.
Again, I know it's tough and I can't imagine to what extent for you. So please just accept my condolences.
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