Update on Mariner.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

It has been a long time since I have updated on Mariner. 

First a little bit about Mariner for those who don't know about him:

Mariner fractured his skull as a puppy (about 7 weeks) while still with breeder.  He is the biological brother of our older doodle Boomer.  We adopted Mariner knowing he had seizures and was blind. Mariner will be 9 in July.

Over the years Mariner has regained functional eyesight and we have been able to control his seizure with Phenobarb and Potassium Bromide.  He was also on synthroid for underactive thyroid.

He was overweight 82 pounds, he should be in the 50 pound range.

Recently we switched vets.

Our new vet told us that he believed Mariner his medications and treatment did not seem appropriate and did not have a good quality of life. He did complete blood panel and special thyroid panel.

His medications were changed.  The Phenobarb has been dropped, he is on Thyroxine 0.6mg twice a day and 2.5 mg Prednisone once a day.

The old vet didn't want to address his dental issues - not wanting to put him under anesthesia.  Our new vet did a full cleaning and removed a decayed tooth.

Mariner has dropped almost 20 pounds and is a totally different more alert and active dog.

For years Mariner has needed stairs to get on the couch.  The other day Mariner jumped up onto the downstairs couch, something he was never able to do!!

One other thing - he used to shake after getting groomed.  Now before he was groomed we upped his prednisone - no more shaking.

We are very happy with Mariner's medical care.

[Amy and Annabelle]

That is so good to hear. What made you want to switch vets?

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

It started when Boomer (our older doodle) was having a problem with his eye.  Our old vet was away so we went to a closer vet that was recommended by another vet that I know.

It turns out that Boomer had cancer in his eye and had to be removed.  Although Boomer had been seen by our old vet and we told him about Boomer having a bloodshot eye, he said it was nothing but it was probably the cancer in the beginning stages.  He did not even really examine the eye.  We feel that he missed it entirely and it could have been caught earlier and perhaps saved his eye.

After that we switched because it became obvious that the old vet missed other things on Mariner and Shayna. We were led to believe that for Mariner controlling the seizures was most important part of his medical treatment, his other issues and quality of life were ignored.

We had placed a great deal of trust in our old vet as I had known him for many years as a client of mine and it seemed as though he knew what he was doing.

[Amy and Annabelle]

The new vet sounds like a good one. I am happy you found him. Sounds like Mariner is on the road to feeling better.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thank you for this update, Andy. I am so glad that you've found a vet who is helping Mariner enjoy life more fully. Sounds like a keeper to me!

[F, Calla & Luca]

What good news.

[Leslie J]

I think it was a great idea to get a new opinion. Sometimes vets (or doctors) get in the habit of a particular treatment and it takes a fresh set of eyes to see "outside the box". It's great to hear Mariner is doing better!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

WOW!!! What absolutely wonderful news.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm so happy to hear this great news.  A knowledgeable, proactive Vet is such a gift.

[Debbie and Toby]

Wonderful news! So happy to hear the new vet is making changes and Mariner is doing well. Hoping Boomer is doing well, too.

[Wendy and Myla]

Wow - that is such good news for Mariner!  It must be awesome to watch the change in him!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

So happy to hear Mariner is feeling much better and how great to now have a vet you feel you can trust.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

That's wonderful news for Mariner!