06/22/2023
Dash is the best boy. He bonded with my first and only grandchild immediately. But now I might lose him before he turns 6. �
A few weeks ago I started noticing that he was consuming a lot of water, and of course having to p*e a lot more. It kept increasing to the point he would drink to the point of making himself sick. I had recently started him on a medication so I looked up side effects and that was one, but it said it usually resolves. I waited-it continued to get worse, so I took him off the medication.
This part probably doesn’t impact the crisis, but 🤷♀️ I have been seeing symptoms of a neurological problem gradually getting worse over a long period of time-years. It finally got to the point that I called the vet and made an appointment for the following week. Recently a littermate had an episode where suddenly he couldn’t walk. So I spoke with her and we found that they both had the same symptoms going back to when they were young puppies that just increased over time. So I called my vet back and they said they would just refer me to a specialist. This was Monday 6/19. They were going to call me on Tuesday and let me know the procedure-if we would have to come in for an appointment there first for the referral or if they could just set up the appointment.
The night before when I feed my dogs I opened a new bag of their regular food. Both dogs for some reason didn’t really eat well. Monday morning was about the same, although my girl(Tessa) did finally eat most of her food. Dash literally ate a few bites. I also knew that this bag of food was from a new lot, so I called Chewy and asked if they had had anyone call in with issues, they had not. �Monday night I enticed Dash to eat a little. A few hours later he threw up a very large amount of food-more than he had eaten in 2 days for sure, and it smelled very very foul.
Monday night he was clearly not well, actually moaning some from time to time. He seemed to get worse by the hour-I was up all night with him. I called the vet first thing Tuesday 6/20 and told them I need to get him in today, fairly sure that he had bloat/twisted stomach or a blockage. They made an appointment for 3 pm.
I had just finished boiling chicken and rice and was letting it cook in his bowl Tuesday around 11:30, when he again threw up a tremendous amount, terrible smell. I called the vet back and asked if we could come now. By the time I got an answer and got to the vets it was 1:30, but he had also thrown up again before we could leave the house. His stomach had been very very distended, but it was much smaller after all the vomiting, so I was a little relieved with that.
The vet quickly examined him, and got him to surgery. But the e rays going in were disturbing. He did make it through surgery-actually recovered well initially. But what they found was very very bad.
The initial word was good-they didn’t find any sorts of mass or tumors-no cancer. Dash’s stomach was about 4-5 times the size it should have been (seen in X-ray). And it still had large amounts of kibble in it. But they examined the intestines and found no obstructions, so why was the food not leaving the stomach, remaining in digested?
His pancreas was very enlarged. Blood work showed his enzymes were extremely high-he has severe pancreatitis. The vet said that the elevated enzymes could have caused the digestive problems. Next was that his blood sugar was very very high. But again, she said that could also be a result of the pancreatitis. But … his liver is enlarged, with hard lobes growing on it and pale in color, and his liver enzymes are all off. But again, she said this could also be from the pancreatitis.
So the hope was to manage the pancreatitis-which with as acute as his is, without the other issues, what I saw online the projected survival at this point was 27-58%. Hopefully the other issues would resolve. But even so, then I still have the underlying neurological problems. ��Right now it’s Wednesday 6/21. When the vet called first thing this morning the news was bad. His blood sugar has gone even higher. He has a very high temperature. His heart rate and blood pressure are both elevated. And he is not moving at all- not even raising his head-even when they draw blood.
The doctor started him on insulin, antibiotics, and switched his pain medication. Two hours later his temperature is down, he is at least lifting his head a little. But his sugar levels have not responded, so they are continuing to add more insulin.
The biggest concern immediately is that this vet does not staff 24 hours. The only places anywhere near here that do are emergency clinics, and she estimates the cost to be about $2000 per day. I’m already looking at about $2500-3000 now. The vet really wants me to move him so he can get overnight care if possible. I am on fixed income and there is no way I can afford that. Just paying the bill I already have is going to be a real challenge. But I will do anything for him.
If we can pull him through, it’s looking very likely that he’ll be on insulin. I’m not sure but I think the pancreatitis is manageable by diet.
Dash fought hard. But the odds were against him. He held on long enough for me to come say goodbye to him. We let him go about 5:30 Wednesday.
Watch you babies closely. There were some early signs, but I attributed them to the medication side effects he had recently started. He had started taking Apaquel for itchy skin- and the itching was new. I thought it was a hormone change after being neutered, but it was probably from the diabetes or pancreatitis. So even months ago, there was an early sign that if anyone had had any idea, this could have turned out so differently.
But Saturday we were playing fetch in the yard, and by Wednesday, he was gone. Animals are not like people. DH Lawrence wrote
“I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself. A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever having felt sorry for itself.”
We have to be vigilant and keep watch for any even slight sign something is wrong. Hug your fur babies close.
