Little Baby Girl

I thought that I'd let you know what has been going on with Emma.

The weekend we returned from Michigan we noticed that she just wasn't herself. Not really eating and some excessive drooling. Matt took her to the vet last Tuesday and they kept her all day and did some tests. We were not sure if the loaf of bread she ate on the prior Saturday was causing her some gastric issues. They planned to do some blood tests and x-rays.

I got a call telling me that the x-rays were normal and that we could pick her up at 6:15. The blood results would be in at 6.

We got there and the doctor told us that the x-rays seem normal, the urine and most of her blood work was also normal.

Except for the liver tests. He believes that she has liver disease. They only way to determine what kind and how bad is with an ultrasound and a guided biopsy. He said she is a very sick dog. She vomited bile at 5:30 despite having fasted all day. She had an injection of pepcid and received some fluids.

He recommended that we keep Emma overnight and she receive a bleeding time and IV fluid. The following day she would have the ultrasound and if necessary they'd put her under for the biopsy. Then she would need to stay for a few days and recover.

The results of the biopsy/ultrasound would tell the MD what type of liver disease she has, hepatitis, chronic, inflammatory... Without the tests he cannot treat her.

Then we get the estimate. One for the preferred treatment and one that is bare bones. $2500 for the full deal and $1100 + $940 for the lesser. Either way we were looking at $3000+ for the first day including $700 we had spend for the day at the vet. Plus min. of $450 per day for 3 days after the biopsy.

They left us to discuss things and we were really balking at spending another $2000+ on an old pet. I'm still recovering from Chase-er-meow-meow just 5 months ago.

We decided we needed to think about putting her to sleep. The MD said he would not disagree with that decision, especially since even after knowing what type of liver issue she has her quality and term of life might only be 6 months.

So we decided to put her to sleep last Tuesday night.

Then the MD recommended that we think about it overnight and take her home. She isn't in pain and we could at least spend the night loving her and saying goodbye. Then we could put her down on Wednesday.

We took her home. She ate her kibble, ate treats, cuddled with us on the couch and in bed. And she seems 100% normal and fine.

We decided we would not to do anything. We plan to add some chicken breast to her diet to increase her protein and maybe some other stuff to keep her healthy and happy.

Until she shows us some sort of visible decline, we're going to just love her.

We just didn't know what to think. Maybe the blood tests were abnormal or a fluke or if she really has some sort of liver issue.

On Wednesday evening we went back to the vet to pick up some medication as recommended by the Vet.

She received the first round of pills beginning Wednesday night.

Thursday I came home to find her lying on the bed soaked in urine. Not good and for sure not normal.

Friday she peed in the living room. And the same on Saturday. She peed without any sense of urgency, no asking to go out. She was just standing there peeing.

I researched online to see if any of the new meds could be causing this side effect. If it was a side effect. We called Jeanne, a nurse, and asked her. Nothing should link the two together. She had been drinking more water, which of course would cause more need to pee, but not like she was doing.

We decided to stop the pills altogether, she hasn't peed in the house since Saturday morning. She is running around at the park, eating and drinking, peeing outside and pooping. Normal dog stuff. She still barks at the television and at the little pain in the ass dog across the way. She is 100% Emma.

Today I called the vet so that I could tell them I wasn't going to do a f/u and to get copies of the lab work and x-ray.

The tech was pretty rude and said he'd check with the doctor to see if he would ok the release of the labs. I questioned this practice and asked that they be ready by this time tomorrow.

I vowed right then to never go back to them.

Then the Dr. called me back. He had lots of questions and seemed really concerned. He was pleased to find Emma doing well. He hoped that I would go for a second op. and he also really hoped that I'd go to a specialist. I said that I've split Emma's care between them and another vet and as soon as I said the other vets name he got excited. He said to please follow up with him after I go for follow up blood tests.

He did concede that there was possible lab error. I know for sure after spending 4 years working at the lab, that it is a valid possibility. I can't remember exactly the stability of the blood for liver tests, but as soon as I see the names it will come back to me.

I told him about the peeing in the house and how it seemed like she didn't even have any urgency and why I thought there was a correlation between the meds and her peeing. He semi agreed, but only because of the timing and not because of any of the meds. He also asked that I bring them in to make sure there was no medication error.

I feel better about the vet. Not good enough to bring her back. I said that the soonest I would consider going to the other vet is next Tuesday. He said that is fine given her current condition.

So until next week I hope to put any additional worry and concern out of my mind.