Casey Update + Speaking To Yourself In Public
July 14, 2008, Matthew Good The soonest I am able to get Casey in to see the vet is tomorrow morning. Things haven’t gotten any better. He can barely walk, licks his feet incessantly, and is lethargic. Roy called me last night and was worried that at some point Casey might have walked through antifreeze or some sort of fertilizer, so I immediately washed his feet, which caused him to yelp. I’m quite concerned to be honest.
Speaking To Yourself In Public
I went and got a coffee this morning and while I was standing in line I glanced over and read the headline on the front of the Globe & Mail (which was actually last Saturday’s edition - “Canada Takes Notes From Failed Soviet War”.
I then blurted out at a rather noticeably embarrassing volume - “you mean we’re leaving?”
I then returned home and looked up the article. It begins with the following…
“The Canadian military has been studying the Soviet debacle in Afghanistan for clues on how to prevent similar mistakes as NATO tries to beat back a persistent insurgency and ready the country’s weak but pro-Western government to assume greater control.
It began a research project in 2006, a year in which fighting intensified for Canada in the war against the Taliban.”
So let me get this straight. We’ve been involved in Afghanistan since 2001 – Joint Task Force 2 was the first operational combat unit in Afghanistan – and it’s taken this long for the geniuses in Ottawa to actually comparatively research the Soviet-Afghan conflict?
The article goes on…
“The project was undertaken … for the purpose of determining whether this history offered any lessons to be learned for the Canadian Forces,” an executive summary of some of the research said.”
On April 8th of last year I wrote an entry regarding the death of six Canadian soldiers in combat operations in Afghanistan. In that entry I made the following comment…
“This morning my first reaction to this news was to FedEx history books to General Hillier, Mr. O’Connor, and the Prime Minister.”
What I want to know is this – what special breed of moron commits soldiers to combat operations in a regional engagement wherein the inhabitants of that region have a storied past of successfully resisting and repelling much larger and stronger foreign forces without actually first doing our soldiers the service of due diligence with regards to historical military precedents?
I’ll not blame the Tories; they weren’t in power when we initially committed our troops, though they didn’t exactly vote against it either. But being that they are now in power I will hold them accountable for their actions, especially the extension of this country’s mission in Afghanistan.
“…for the purpose of determining whether this history offered any lessons to be learned…”
Are you kidding me? Who did the Department Of National Defence outsource this to, a grade 9 socials class?
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Good luck with Casey :( I hope he’s ok!
And yeah, a grade 9 social class sounds about right.
Geez, that’s extremely worrying about Casey.
You know, there’s an excellent “Animal Hospital” here in Richmond that you can walk into on an emergency basis. Or at least they did when I took my dog there a couple of years ago.
Dr. Michael Schaufele saved my dog one Friday evening. She was having a stroke and rushed down there and banged on the door loud enough that he heard us from his living quarters upstairs and came down and let us in. This was long after they’d closed - yet he still took us in!
Anyhow, I know that they’re extremely caring there so it is an option if things get worse.
http://www.richmondanimalhospital.ca/
Thanks for the update - worried about the little guy. :(
(Is he licking the bottoms/pads or tops of his paws? Wonder if he burnt them or, if like Roy said, walked through something toxic.)
Ummm yeah…
the realization that our North American governments are lacking sound judgment and real intelligence, despite all the raving educational institutions that charge thousands of dollars for a diploma is discouraging at best.
Is there not an emergency vet service???
As for the Case - I’d scour the countryside looking for a vet ASAP, my friend.
I thought anti-freeze was only dangerous for dogs when they drink it - I’m no vet, but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t cause his paws to hurt. It’s awful, seeing your dog not be able to run, isn’t it? I have a big German Shepherd and he pulls up lame occasionally with a bad back leg. Good luck, let us know how he’s doing.
Matt, I am hoping that the dog situation is just a fungus/yeast infection, which can be caused by purely your dog having fur on their feet, and walking outside, and to the beach those are prime spots for dwell in.
If you smell your dogs feet and they have a strong “dog” odour then that is most likely the case.
Cheers,
Brett
I was going to ask the same as many people above, is there an emergency vet around that you can get a hold of? I hope that everything with Casey is okay.
oh but G2 is terribly underfunded.
You’ll recall I posted about lack of lessons learned when tanks were brought sent over and when several tories suggested the solution lied in getting some helo’s for our troops.
yeah, those worked out great for the russians!
if they want to study the enemy, i’ve always suggested looking at the IRA.
*two things…obviously “we” rushed down there - my dog didn’t drive.
And the part where I suggested burnt pads/paws wouldn’t explain the lethargic part, but sunstroke would. It was awfully hot again yesterday. I’m no vet and you’ve probably already thought of these things but I’m awfully worried. Don’t like to hear that one of our furry friends is down and out.
When you call your vet do they give you any idea of what they think could be wrong? At the very least, you could probably call the RAH and they might have a clue, although I understand it’s pretty hard to make a diagnosis over the phone. Just might have some things you could try/watch for.
If Casey has somehow injested a chemical, get him to a vet ASAP. It doesn’t take much for a small dog to go into acute kidney failure and it can happen rather quickly.
Matt,
A similar incident happened to my dog Ernie and here are some possibilities that the vet went over with me:
a. Poison control suspected that ernie may have gotten in contact with insect spray or fertilizer
b. May have gotten something stuck in his paw … the body reacts to foreign substances and may explain the vomitting and lethargy
c. A serious allergy to something
Update, Ernie continued to lick his paws to the point of rawness for months and standing on them alone triggered a burning sensation.
I still dont know what happened but I would suggest to the vet to run some tests for allergy, gestation of a foreign object and blood work. You also want to rule out things with the liver.
Matt, its very tough to see your little guy like this… i know this first hand.
I hope for casey a very speedy recover.
Tina
[quote comment="58332"]If Casey has somehow injested a chemical, get him to a vet ASAP. It doesn’t take much for a small dog to go into acute kidney failure and it can happen rather quickly.[/quote]
I’m with polarbear here ~ I would err on the side of caution and assume that he’s ingested some kind of toxic chemical [fertilizer, rat poisoning (remember all those dog loving neighbours of yours???). He’s telling you by all the licking of his paws that this is a source of pain. The yelping is another red flag. My 2 year old had a kidney infection in February and it really doesn’t take much to cause damage or worse failure and it can easily become fatal.
I would rush him to a vet.
Good Luck!
Poor little guy, I wish you could get him in sooner. Sending lots of love Casey’s way!
Yes blurting out in public can be embarrassing and I can say that it happens to the best of us!
Just my 2 cents on Casey: he may have burned his foot-pads on the sand and the residual effect on that is his illness. You may be on the right track with the fertilizer though which would explain the sore feet and the illness. I thought they were supposed to post signs in municipalities when the fertilized. Could the vet not suggest some kind of home remedy to help him out in case he did eat something that he shouldn’t have? Charcoal? How’s his temperature?
Is there not any 1-800 Vet numbers where they could offer advice over the phone? They have a similar thing with Sick Kids in Toronto which we used in the middle of the night when we were a long way from home and one of the kids was sick.
Good luck.
Have you had a chance to inspect for any open wounds? Our dog cut her paw on the deck once and we were pretty freaked out because it got infected. The vet told us to keep dipping it peroxide, rinsing it twice daily, and even Polysporin was suggested (didn’t even charge us). About a week later it healed. But yeah, given that it is fertilizer and herbicide/pesticide season, I would definitely get him checked out.
Don’t let your dog lick the feet though regardless. Their mouths aren’t nearly as clean as you hear in old wive’s tales. Anything kind of sore will get insanely infected if they continue to lick it.
Oh dear… people here have mentioned tons of possibilities as to what could be wrong with Casey, and some are fathomable, and some don’t make any sense at all. No one can diagnose anything without him being seen so the best advice is to get him in, somewhere, if you’re that worried. You’re the ‘dad’ you know if he needs to be seen ASAP or not. If he does, find somewhere. There MUST be Emerg. vets out there somewhere.
Don’t ‘call’ somewhere, because ANY veterinarian who has half a brain, will not give advice over the phone. It’s against the law, and it’s bad medicine.
Good luck Matt. Give Casey a hug on behalf of all of us.
Donna
(the vet. tech.– I’m not blowing hot air!! :))
Uhhh, let me amend my last post as I made it sound like everyone else here is “blowing hot air”. Not what I meant… everyone’s just worried. Sorry if I offended anyone!
I have a really sweet habit of inserting my foot into my mouth. :P
Regarding Casey - I have animals so I can appreciate worrying. Hope he is ok.
Regarding studying the history of the Soviets Afghanistan - they should probably just go watch Rambo 3!
Interesting from wikipedia -
“According to the 1990 Guinness World Records, ‘Rambo III is the most violent film with 221 acts of violence, at least 70 explosions, and over 108 characters killed on-screen. However, the body count of the fourth Rambo movie surpassed the record. In comparison, Rambo holds the record with the most kills out of the entire Rambo series, with 236 kills and an average of 3.2 kills per minute.”
Hope Casey is okay.
I agree with the vet tech that only a vet can diagnose. However, I’ll give my 2 cents since I just lost my dog to complications from an autoimmune disorder. Paw licking can indicate joint pain and his lethargy is quite disconcerting. Make sure if the vet dosen’t find anything glaringly wrong during the physical check up that he gets a full blood panal including ANA before starting any anti imflamatory or steroid meds as they screw up futher tests.
My heart really goes out, the loss of my dog and what we went through March-June of this year is still fresh. Keep us updated.
Oh, also, when we treated Echo she ended up at the emergency vet hospital who gave us the best care ever and we choose to let their internal specialist follow her instead of our regular vet.
Maybe you are already familiar with Nikolai Lanine? He was a Soviet soldier during the occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980’s. He apparently lives in Canada now and has written some excellent comparative pieces on the issue, including “Invasion: A Comparison of Soviet and Western Media Performance,” published last year: http://medialens.org/alerts/07/071120_invasion_a_comparison.php.
He also had a much shorter op-ed published in the Globe and Mail in 2006, which you can find by typing “nikolai lanine globeandmail” into Google.
I really recommend both.
The constant licking of the paws is a sign of an allergy to something, usually.
I hope Casey is okay, Matt. I’m sure he will be. Best wishes.
[quote comment="58348"]Maybe you are already familiar with Nikolai Lanine? He was a Soviet soldier during the occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980’s. He apparently lives in Canada now and has written some excellent comparative pieces on the issue, including “Invasion: A Comparison of Soviet and Western Media Performance,” published last year: http://medialens.org/alerts/07/071120_invasion_a_comparison.php.
He also had a much shorter op-ed published in the Globe and Mail in 2006, which you can find by typing “nikolai lanine globeandmail” into Google.
I really recommend both.[/quote]
He also made a really excellent presentation to an anti-war conference in Vancouver last year.
(Apologies for the double post.)
Here’s wishing the best for Casey. Give him a few strokes for me.
Matt, here’s a useful website on Dog health. Hope Casey gets better quick.
http://www.helpmyhound.com/?gclid=CJeniJTV4YwCFQhaZQodkHqO6w
I hope your dog gets better. It is true that kids and animals can get sick fairly easily, but it also true that they normally recover fast. My dog has a hygroma on her leg right now and I am going to have it removed. I don’t look forward to watching her maneuver herself with the cone on her head. PS… on the hat…I have one similar to that and I think they look slick….
Just in case… On the corner across the street from Granville Island Vet there is the 24 hour Vancouver Animal Emergency - 1590 W 4th Ave. http://www.animaler.com/
Matt,
Given the past dealings with your Strata-lovin’ folks, that is the rose bushes and fences where your beloved companions tripped and suffered thorns, I wonder if they put something on the grass, non-pet friendly fertilizer?
If you were able to bring in some samples of grass that Casey walks on to the vet maybe they could do a little research.
If anything turns up, it would definitely be a case of animal cruelty. There was a recent incident in Toronto with poisoning dogs in a park, public park, and the police took legal action.
Probably nothing but you never know how sick and twisted some people are!
Matt- I’m so sorry Casey isn’t doing well…I know how much my dogs mean to me and it breaks my heart when one of them is under the weather. I hope your vet can help him out and get him feeling well again. Take care of yourself and the boys.
CASEY- FEEL BETTER
Hopefully the vet visit will shed some light on what’s going on with little C and the worst will be over. He’ll probably be back to normal in the next week or so. Good luck.
Matt does your dog have allergies? My dog licks his paws non stop all summer, and is rather lethargic. I realise this is a new behaviour, but my Akita actually developed an allergy around the age of six, and since then, every summer has been difficult.
Hope he’s okay :(
Hi Matt,
I was reading your posts about Casey on my lunch break and did some internet research but by the time I was done hunting my lunch break was over and it was too late to (a) register for an account on your site let alone (b) post a message.
I second Barbara who posted up above on the emergency clinic in Vancouver that she found a link for.
Another thought I had from my own pet emergency experiences (in this case, a cat) - does either UBC or Simon Fraser have a vet school? I did an internet hunt and it doesn’t look like they do. But, if they *do* and if you can find contact info, see if they have a clinic. When my cat was sick, and we’re talking my mother driving from PEI to a rural NB university town to pick up the cat in question type of sick, the kitty was referred to the clinic at the Atlantic Veterinary College and, after many trials and, to this day, he’s just fine because of the excellent care he received there.
Most important of all, get better Casey and feel better Matt. There’s no way to state how important pets are. Hopefully both of you will be feeling better soon.
I don’t mean to cause any more worry (I’m sure you’ve got plenty already) but perhaps it might be worthwhile to take a closer look at any public areas where Casey may have been exposed to a harmful substance outside.
You had mentioned your courtyard or public area where you live and also the dog haters that seem to be in abundance in that area.
There are many a sick individual out there who would not hesitate to cause harm to an animal even for something as trivial as said animal pissing on a planter.
When you described the fact that Casey may have walked through fertilizer the first thing that came to mind was the time I burnt my own hands while handling ice melter. It reacts with the moisture in the skin and does cause a rather painful and irritating burn that is only amplified when contacted with water.
I surely hope that Casey makes a speedy recovery.
Poor Casey. I hope it’s nothing too serious.
As for our military, I don’t think they have any idea what they are doing.
I hope Casey is diagnosed ASAP and that he can start whatever form of treatment is necessary. Definitely not something to fool around with, but you know that. My best to Casey and all his ‘people’.
I spoke to my mom about Casey (she’s a vet tech), she told me if you do indeed believe that he might have been exposed to antifreeze this would explain him licking his feet as it is sweet. whether its pesticide or antifreeze you should take him to an emergency vet clinic because if he is poisoned he could have kidney failure or permanent damage. i do realize how hard to is to make a vet appointment as when my dog broke his leg we could not get an appointment for like 2 days:(. so i hope i am not insulting you in any way by mentioning the emergency clinic stuff. i do wish casey and you the very best, and am looking forward to good updates tomorrow. good luck matt. and if you need any questions that my mom might be able to answer do not hesitate to email. austintexas5597@gmail.com,
best wishes and good health again,
Austin
I’m not saying that things with Casey aren’t bad because I really don’t know and it’s obvious he’s in pain but one thing to be said is look how intense the weather is getting - sure, not as hot as many other days we’ve had in the past, but the concept is there… To bring it internal a friend of mine’s dog had sun/heatstroke whatever you wanna call it a couple weeks ago; when I seen how lethargic this normally energetic freak was acting it was the first thing that came to mind just because the way he was acting - and it was the first time I’ve ever seen that in a dog. He pretty much laid on his side for the next couple days until he got better and I’ve never seen him so docile.. So to speculate further on that train of thought, about the paws, maybe they’re just a little toasted from hot pavement or something - was it hot out east? I dunno if thats what it’s all about of course and I think its a great idea to take him to the vet, but the real point I wanted to make to everyone else that’s commented is to quit jumping the gun and taking it to a whole new level..
Btw Matt reading about you in the coffee shop thinking out loud made think all of a sudden - lol were you wearing the hat? lmao oh yeah, rock n roll!
Last thing since so much was wrapped into this post; I didn’t hear about that article until you posted it Matt but I’ve gotta say the first thing I thought was SWEEET! My reasoning is that even if its outsourced to grade schoolers, whatever it takes to make change for the good count me in.
Ok not quite the last thing. I hope your pup feels better soon, and welcome back Matt.
Cheers all
Didn’t you do something similar in an airport recently– pose an indignant rhetorical question out loud to nobody in particular? I enjoy that about you.
And, you’re perfectly right about the whole thing. For god’s sake, every time *I* start a project, I look at what was done last time and the time before… and I work in a freaking office, where the worst that would happen if my project failed is that we’d have a lot of wasted paper on our hands.
(I hope Casey is okay by now…?)
Rory Stewart has a good article on the Afghanistan situation in Time magazine. He’s a hell of a smart guy, and very involved in Afghanistan with his Turquoise Mountain NGO.