Grace Exline
New member
Ok, one of Zoe's puppies who had previously been a health happy bullie all of the sudden got sick in November having problems with her liver. After about a week in the hospital and $5000 she pulled through and was as good as new, that is until last week. I got an email from her owners saying that she had gotten sick again mid last week having the same issues with her liver as before but this time she not only didn't start improving she quickly went down hill and her owners had to let her go. I was hoping that someone on here might be able to help us figure out what happened, not only for her owners but also for me because she was not only one of my babies but I'm also worried for her brother and sister that I still have. Anyway, here are parts of the email I received from her owner.
Molly became ill again last week and we took her back to the same 24 hour specialty hospital that she was at last November. We took her as soon as we knew something was wrong last Wednesday morning. The same internal medicine specialist treated her. She quickly verified what we already knew, that Molly was suffering from another liver attack.
She began constant I.V. fluid therapy and started her on specialized liver meds. By Thursday her ALT and ALKP values had dropped signifigantly but the bilirubin had risen. She was not concerned, however, because that number typically lags a day or so behind (as was the case last time). Plans were made to do a surgical liver biopsy Friday morning so we could determine what was happening once and for all and develop a long-term treatment plan.
Friday morning Dr. Rader tested her blood coagulation factor before doing surgery, expecting it to be fine. Instead it was not good. In addition, Molly had begun throwing up so the decision was made to wait to do the surgery at the beginning of next week.
I am in Toledo, OH training at a new job so I could not make it down to see her until Friday night. I left straight from work and by the time I arrived at 8:45 she had really taken a downward turn. She was lethargic and very jaundiced. She was struggling to keep her balance and her breathing seemed labored to me. I began to cry immediately. I asked for another total blood count to see what her values were. The ALT and ALKP had fallen more but the bili had shot through the roof. We discussed fears of liver failure and that they might have to take more drastic measures like a medicated enema if Molly started to exhibit neurological symptoms (bili affects brain function at such elevated levels.) What I see now is that Molly's staggering was not due to extreme fatigue as the doctor thought. She was already experiencing neurological side-effects. I stayed a long while comforting her as much as I could and left in tears with instructions for the doctor to do whatever was necessary and to call me immediately if anything changed.
I went home to get sleep so I could get up early in the morning to go back with my wife. At 4:45 the hospital called me and thought we both needed to come immediately. Molly had lost the ability to stand or even sit up when she vomited. They were fearful she had aspirated some of her vomit before they could get to her. She also seemed disoriented and her breathing was extremely labored.
The following two hours were two of the hardest hours of my life. We sobbed as we drove. We arrived to find our little girl struggling for every breath, barely able to move. They had given her the enema around 2:00 with little effect. We died inside as we held and loved on her for the last time. We had spent our every moment with her trying to protect her and in the end the best way to do that was not to let her suffer anymore. I held her in my lap and arms as my wife stroked her face and whispered in her ear. We lost our first child at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, April 16th.
Any input as to what may have caused this would be greatly appreciated by both her owners and me. Thanks.
Molly became ill again last week and we took her back to the same 24 hour specialty hospital that she was at last November. We took her as soon as we knew something was wrong last Wednesday morning. The same internal medicine specialist treated her. She quickly verified what we already knew, that Molly was suffering from another liver attack.
She began constant I.V. fluid therapy and started her on specialized liver meds. By Thursday her ALT and ALKP values had dropped signifigantly but the bilirubin had risen. She was not concerned, however, because that number typically lags a day or so behind (as was the case last time). Plans were made to do a surgical liver biopsy Friday morning so we could determine what was happening once and for all and develop a long-term treatment plan.
Friday morning Dr. Rader tested her blood coagulation factor before doing surgery, expecting it to be fine. Instead it was not good. In addition, Molly had begun throwing up so the decision was made to wait to do the surgery at the beginning of next week.
I am in Toledo, OH training at a new job so I could not make it down to see her until Friday night. I left straight from work and by the time I arrived at 8:45 she had really taken a downward turn. She was lethargic and very jaundiced. She was struggling to keep her balance and her breathing seemed labored to me. I began to cry immediately. I asked for another total blood count to see what her values were. The ALT and ALKP had fallen more but the bili had shot through the roof. We discussed fears of liver failure and that they might have to take more drastic measures like a medicated enema if Molly started to exhibit neurological symptoms (bili affects brain function at such elevated levels.) What I see now is that Molly's staggering was not due to extreme fatigue as the doctor thought. She was already experiencing neurological side-effects. I stayed a long while comforting her as much as I could and left in tears with instructions for the doctor to do whatever was necessary and to call me immediately if anything changed.
I went home to get sleep so I could get up early in the morning to go back with my wife. At 4:45 the hospital called me and thought we both needed to come immediately. Molly had lost the ability to stand or even sit up when she vomited. They were fearful she had aspirated some of her vomit before they could get to her. She also seemed disoriented and her breathing was extremely labored.
The following two hours were two of the hardest hours of my life. We sobbed as we drove. We arrived to find our little girl struggling for every breath, barely able to move. They had given her the enema around 2:00 with little effect. We died inside as we held and loved on her for the last time. We had spent our every moment with her trying to protect her and in the end the best way to do that was not to let her suffer anymore. I held her in my lap and arms as my wife stroked her face and whispered in her ear. We lost our first child at 6:30 a.m. Saturday, April 16th.
Any input as to what may have caused this would be greatly appreciated by both her owners and me. Thanks.
