A Note From Joey and Maggie: Please Stand By

Your 'Long and Short of it All' hosts Joey 'n Maggie, Fall, 2008

We're going on vacation, but we'll be back in a few days with more breaking Dachshund news, pop culture, vintage fun, awesome reader features and great videos.  Speaking of great Dachshund videos, you won't want to miss the return of 'Gauis' in the follow-up video to his smash hit Play?  Stay tuned!
On the home front, we've got some great news!  Well, it's bad news which could be much, much worse, so we'll call it great news!   If you remember in one of the first posts about Joey and his Cushing's disease, we stated that Maggie had some unresolved issues as well - drinking a lot, pot-bellied appearance, etc, like Joey, but Joey's off-the-charts liver values led us to start surgery on him right away.  It turns out that after a urine specific gravity test, urine cortisol test, ACTH stimulation test, and Ultrasound, that Maggie does indeed have Cushing's disease as well, just like her littermate brother.  That's the bad news.
However, the great news is that she does NOT have tumors on her adrenal glands the way Joey did, so her Cushing's is pituitary dependent, and surgery is NOT required for her.  Even our vet said that he wouldn't be surprised if Maggie had the adrenal tumors like Joey since they were littermates. 
Honestly, Joey's vet bills were so astronomically insane - like the price of a brand new mid-size car - that we had no idea where the money was going to come from if Maggie needed to have surgery.  It is such a relief to know that she can be treated with medications instead of surgery - you have no idea.  The guilt of being able to provide surgery for one dog and not the other was too much to handle.  But she is starting on trilostane to treat her Cushing's disease today - the sweet little girl. Hoping all goes well.  2010 has been quite the year for us.
So, we'll be back soon, and give your furry friends a BIG GIANT HUG.  In the meantime, enjoy the archives, and also we've got something really special for you if you haven't already seen it - our dear friends at Dachshund Delights have penned a beautiful poem in honor of Joey and his trials this year.  Don't miss it over at Dachshund Delights in their Newsletter Feature of the Month.

Yours in Dachshund Love,
Joey and Maggie