[TOBY'S_MOM]

I had brought Toby in to the ER vet over the Easter weekend as he was having a hard time to pee. Just little drops, no real stream. The doctor took blood work, urinalysis and an exray looking for blockages. She send us away with antibiotics for a bladder infection. I was relieved that is all it was. On Monday, Toby could not pee at all. I brought him to our vet and she catherized him and did another urinalysis. She found ammonium biurate crystals in his urine and suggested that Toby come in on Wednesday for a bile acid test, more exrays and blood work. She phoned me today with the results and I am devastated. She told me that his bile acid tests were high in the 200 range, his blood work was good, and his exray showed a very tiny liver. She suggested a possible liver shunt or another liver disease. She has put him on the hill's ld diet. He has no symtoms of illness at this time. He is a happy little 2 year old. She has suggested bringing him to a specialist in Toronto, Ontario (I live in Northern Ontario) to test and see what the problem is. I have already spend over 1000 in the last week and still do not have a diagnosis. I love him so much. I am not sure if I want to pursue another round of tests and the expense that goes with this. Not to mention, surgery and of course all the risks that come with this. There are never any guarantees. I hope no one thinks I am a bad person for not wanting to dish out alot of money. This would definitely put my family in financial hardship and again there are no guarantees. There is ultrasound available here and I will definitely request that Toby have one so that maybe I will know exactly what I am dealing with. If anyone has information that could be useful to us, i would appreciate it so much. I have also noticed that alot of members with dogs that have liver shunts give there dogs milk thistle. I will definitely ask the vet about. I want to do everything a can. Thanks for any info.