DEAR DR. FOX: OK, we need help here... We have a 13 1/2-year-old female black lab. Eight weeks ago, she went to the vet for blood work -- she's in perfect health. Six weeks ago, she walked away from her Eukanuba food for the first time ever. Since then, she's been eating less and less. Her last meal was Wednesday, some ground pork. She's thrown up every day, especially after she drinks water, though she is still drinking. She's lost 10 lbs. Yesterday, she sat in the yard all day, drooling; she ate a lot of grass.

We almost put her down last night, but couldn't. She still follows me from room to room. It is hard to let her go as she is still alert and can move fine, but she's no longer playful.

She is now on mirtazapine and prednisone. Her spine sticks out in the back due to weight loss. It clearly hurts her. I just want her to eat, but it seems spinal pain causes a gag reflex. I use an oral injector on the side of her mouth to administer medications. What now? Better pain medications?

Vets here want $1,500 for an endoscopy -- mine was $1,200! How can they charge such high prices? Give me some ideas, please. -- P.G.

DEAR P.G.: I'm so sorry to hear about your old dog. You could spend a small fortune on diagnostics. My response following all of those tests: "Then what?"

I would first suspect and check her blood for renal failure and have an X-ray done to check out her vertebrae. Spondylosis and other degenerative diseases of the spinal cord can cause dogs pain, fear and lack of appetite. Analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs can provide temporary relief, but can cause nausea and disinterest in food, and affect kidney and liver functions.

Massage therapy -- as found in my book, "The Healing Touch for Dogs" -- acupuncture and laser therapy may give some relief. Give her a heated pad to sleep on. Injections of vitamin B-complex are old-school remedies for poor appetite. She may eat Gerber's baby food or something similar made at home in a blender.

You need to consider a third-party evaluation of your dog's quality of life if you are undecided about the final hard decision of euthanasia, which, considering your dog's age and breed, may be the kindest step to take. In-home hospice care is catching on, with veterinarians and trained veterinary nurses coming into the home.

The bottom line here, considering your dog's age and symptoms, is palliative or comfort care. You and your dog are victims of the kind of veterinary practice which mirrors the human health care industry's costly diagnostics and treatments of terminally ill patients, focusing on organ functions rather than on the whole patient. It may be good business, but is it ethical and humane?

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: My husband and I adopted a golden retriever about nine months ago from a rescue organization. The dog was estimated to be between 18 months and 2 years old at time of adoption. He had an initial check with a vet through the organization and was neutered as well. Right after the adoption, we took him to a local vet and established a record for him there. Our vet agreed that he was in good shape. We were thrilled to have a young, beautiful, exuberant golden who was full of life and still had a lot of puppy in him. He loved his big yard and many toys.

All was good until mid-December, when he developed several ear infections over a few weeks. He was examined by the vet and given medicine. One of the infections bothered him a great deal, as he developed a hot spot, which was also treated by the vet. None of that was too substantial, but in mid-January, he had a grand mal seizure out of the blue. We immediately took him to the vet, who examined him and performed blood tests. Upon her recommendation, he was put on a Phenobarbital regimen -- three tabs per day. We began the medication and within a couple of days, our dog was so groggy he could barely keep awake. I went online and saw that Phenobarbital can cause sedation, lethargy, weakness in hind legs and potential liver damage. We spoke to the vet about how lethargic and sedated he seemed. Over the course of several weeks, the dosage was reduced until it was at just 1/2 tab daily.

There have been no further seizures, but our wonderful, peppy dog has morphed into a dog who seems like a senior citizen. He once bounded up and down stairs and on and off the bed, but now he acts like he can barely navigate. He no longer plays with his toys, and his interest level for everything around him, including visitors and other dogs, is minimal. His appetite is still good, although we have reduced his intake of dry food and added veggies in order to reduce his weight. A friend who saw our dog when we first adopted him said he seems depressed. There have been no other seizures past the initial episode.

We have since changed vets, and the new vet ran a thyroid panel, as our dog is exhibiting many symptoms that can be attributed to thyroid problems -- including weight gain even though intake is reduced, lethargy and heavy shedding. The tests revealed that the dog is not hypothyroidic. The new vet has further reduced the Phenobarbital dosage to 1/2 tab every other day until the original prescription is gone, which should be in two weeks. The vet said his feeling is that the dog has been extremely reactive to the Phenobarbital and that once he is weaned from the drug, he will regain his previous demeanor.

Have you ever seen a situation like this? If so, is there something else we should be doing? We desperately want to get our happy young dog back to his previous self. Any help or advice you can give us will be appreciated. --C.T., St. Louis

DEAR C.T.: Try putting your dog on a corn- and grain-free diet and see how that helps. Dietary change can be a miracle because corn and wheat cause seizures in some dogs.

Zymox is an excellent ear medication. Ear problems and hot spots can also be diet-related. Fish oil may also be of great help.

Let me know how your dog fares after you try my suggestions.

C.T. RESPONDS:

DEAR DR. FOX: I had to get back to you and let you know that your recommendations were spot-on! We weaned Nicky from the Phenobarbital and changed him from Pro-Plan to Blue Buffalo Freedom.

We have been amazed how quickly he is returning to his previous wonderful, peppy self. He is playing with his toys, has much more energy and is now engaged in his surroundings and excited to play, explore and go for walks. Thank you for such great advice!

A NEW CANINE DISEASE: DOG CIRCOVIRUS INFECTION.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in the online Emerging Disease Journal that pathologists at the University of California, Davis discovered the virus, normally associated with pigs, in dogs in April. The report, titled "Circovirus in Tissues of Dogs with Vasculitis and Hemorrhage," which details the study, can be found at wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/4/12-1390_article.htm.

Symptoms included vasculitis (a destruction of the body's blood vessels), severe vomiting, bloody diarrhea, fluid buildup around the lungs and rapid heart rate and weakness. Without emergency veterinary treatment, dogs can die within 48 hours. This newly emerging disease has also been reported in Ohio. The disease can be transmitted from dog to dog via infective feces. Some dogs' stools have tested positive but with no symptoms of disease, indicating possible immunity in some dogs. As a precaution, pick up after your dog and keep your dog parks clean!

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: In December 2011, my cat started making these coughing/sneezing sounds. Initially, the vet treated her with meds for respiratory issues; however, the cough/sneeze still continued sporadically.

In July 2012, I brought her to the Garden State Veterinary Specialists hospital and an internal medicine specialist saw her. This doctor had my cat get three X-rays, and it appeared that her lungs were a bit cloudy, as if there was a respiratory problem. The doctor prescribed a short term of prednisolone at a very low dosage. This seemed to help. After some time after, Cat started up with the noises again.

In October, another vet saw her and followed up with an X-ray and re-prescribed prednisolone. Again, this worked. In late December, Cat's vet decided to put her on Clavamox. For six weeks, there were no coughing/sneezing episodes, but they started again in early February. Now Cat is on clindamycin in the event she has an infection. The vet also included low-dosage prednisolone for the possibility of inflammation. Neither of these helped.

She was given an ultrasound of her heart, and that doctor did not see any abnormalities. Between that specialist and the regular vet, it was decided that she was showing symptoms of lungworm. She was put on Pure C for 10 days -- it did not work, and a lab test of her feces showed no parasites.

I brought Cat to see the first specialist this week. It seems that the only recourse now is shoving a camera into both her throat and lungs to see what might be hovering in either location. With my permission, she would do a "wash" of the lungs if nothing appears, or a biopsy if something is found. HELP!

Your expertise is needed here -- I am terribly concerned for my 9.8 pound, almost 13-year-old cat. She acts perfectly normal in every way: She's still playful, eats and drinks normal amounts and gets her beauty sleep. And, being a native Californian, she loves to sunbathe on back of furniture wherever the sun is shining. -- T.M., Sacramento, Calif.

DEAR T.M.: As you may gather from my newspaper columns and website, I take a radically conservative approach to many feline health problems because cats can be stressed terribly by various diagnostic procedures.

Cats have sensitive respiratory systems, and various virus infections take their toll; I advocate rhinotracheitis and calicivirus vaccinations. But your cat, otherwise behaving normally, may be having a normal lung reaction to some inflammatory agent -- the buildup of fluid leading to bouts of wheezing and coughing. Consider a possible food allergy or an allergy to inhaled volatile synthetic fragrances. Do some detective work, and transition her onto a raw-food or home-prepared diet.

Cats can get lungworms when they eat birds and other animals who have eaten infective snails. This is yet another reason to keep cats indoors and not allow them out.

PURINA DOG FOOD RECALL

Nestle Purina PetCare is voluntarily recalling a limited number of 3.5-pound bags of its Purina ONE beyOnd Our White Meat Chicken & Whole Barley Recipe Adult Dry Dog Food from a single production run. The product is contaminated with salmonella.

For further information or to obtain a product refund, call NPPC toll-free at 1-800-473-8546, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox's website at DrFoxVet.com.)