[bentley2004]

Hi guys....i just saw the vet Wednesday and feel the need to ramble.....it's been a while since I posted about Cooper and because of his recent visit I'm feeling a bit sad. Only you guys know what its like....

After Cooper's diagnosis we were at the vet every two weeks. With his illness stabilized and the right medication (Epatikin) we were told we could downgrade to once a month for a blood workup and fluids. Cooper seemed to be handling the visits very well and never seemed to slow down. In fact, we were so ecstatic that last month we celebrated his first birthday.

Two weeks ago was his monthly appointment and we noticed a significant increase in his BUN/Creatnine levels. We decided to get a little more aggressive and change his medication (Renagel as a Phosphorous binder and we added Calcitriol which reduces the function of the parathroid gland and increases calsium absorption). We also decided to increase his fluids to once a week.

This last Wednesday was a follow up visit to the changes we made in his meds. I don't know how accurate the visit was because it was really hard to find the Renagel and so he was 2 days without a phosphate binder. Also, I was getting him to take the pill with peanut butter but PROTEIN is off limits.....ughhhhh! Anyway, his tests still came back high so next week we'll retest and the vet suggested that I seriously consider fluids once a day vs. weekly. This means going to the vet everyday at 8am...

I have to tell you....october will be a year since Bentley died and I just can't believe I've been dealing with all of this. Financially its exhausting (none of this is covered by VPI) but more important....its just emotionally draining. i can't bear the thought that this little yorkie with so much spunk in his eyes is going to die. Clinically he's in Stage 3 Renal Failure, yet you'd never know it. He sleeps a little bit more during the day - maybe an hour or so...No signs of lethargy, VERY minor vomiting and no diarrhea. Like most puppies he bounces around, chases his toys and he even has a new girlfriend, a King Charles names Lucy. They are terrific....and it brings me such joy to see them play together.

I guess we'll see how these fluids help and what his next weeks blood work says.....oh, how I hate to have to have poked and probed endlessly....he's such a sport and everyone there loves him.