[My little buddy]

We have a 4 yr old yorkie whom up until recently, has been the most energetic, healthy, and normal specimen of a yorkie that you could want

However, a week ago Friday, all that changed rather drastically.

The following symptoms appeared over about an 8 hour period which eventually caused us to take him into the Michigan State University Animal Hospital:

1. Almost hourly vomiting. Always clear but with foam and sometimes had a jelly like consistency. He would then drink water and repeat the cycle.
2. Stools were basically water with blood.
3. Was developing red colored blotches (not sores) on his belly and inside his ears.
4. Was very lethargic (my guess is due to dehydration).

MSU performed xrays, blood tests, urinalysis, stool sample, and also had him on an IV to get fluids back in him. All the tests came back normal. No blockages, liver and kidney function were normal, no temp, and basically were at a loss to say exactly what was going on. Once they got him rehydrated via an IV for 12 hours or so, he started again drinking and eating without the loose stools or vomiting. They decided to let us take him home to see how he would react, although now his skin was red from head to toe!

He seemed to be coming back nicely at home over the next couple of days. Stools had hardened up some, vomiting had stopped, and he was getting back to his old self more each day. Eating and drinking regularly, good stools (no blood), and we really thought we were getting out of the woods.

So now they were considering starting him on Prednisone for the skin condition as the thinking was that he had some kind of inflammation. His bark also got lower and less sharp which they thought was either due to gerd type issues, or another cause of inflamation. Almost to being hoarse. However, they were leary to do so given his tummy issues. So they had me start giving him doggie Tagamet to settle his stomach in preparation for the Prednisone.

After just one dose of the tagamet (3 days after being home) the vomiting returned, his stools went back to water with a few drops of blood, and he was beginning to show signs of lethargy again. Rather than waiting it out, or letting him get so down as he was the first time, we took him back to MSU immediately.

Second trip they performed over 3 days this time:

1. Another set of xrays of just his lower digestive system since the vomit was clear.
2. Another stool sample
3. Ultra Sound
4. IV's again
5. Skin Biopsy (for the reddened skin that was not getting better)

Again, all the tests came back normal, although we are still waiting on the skin biopsy results. The only thing they have found is that they said there was indications of a bacterial overgrowth in his stool but was not an indication of some kind of serious infection. His temperature has been and still is perfectly normal throughout this entire week. So they have now ruled out basically everything that would be a known cause for this behavior. Everything from pancreatitis or intestinal blockages, to infections or poisionings.

The good news with all this is that his skin is now almost back to normal without any meds, and he was once again drinking and eating normally. Although his bark is still not normal, they once again let us bring him home yesterday evening rather than keep him all weekend. He ate last night and this morning without issues. They now have us feeding him a low residue food that is supposed to be easy on the tummy. And he is drinking ocassionally as well.

The bad news is that his stools over the course of today have returned to basically water or much of nothing, and have seen a few very small streaks of blood in them, but no where near where they were before. I am hoping we are not starting down this path again and we will watch him closely over the night and tomorrow.

Should we have to take him back a third time, they are planning on performing an Endoscopy of his tummy and intestines to try and pinpoint what the heck is going on.

He has already been through so much (as well as our bank account), I just am hoping against hope that he will bounce back and we don't have to keep escallating his tests.

Any thoughts on what might be going on, or suggestions on questions we could ask to make sure they already eliminated that possibility?

Thank you in advance for anything you could think of that may assist us in getting his issues resolved once and for all.

Kat n' Jay