[kjc]

Originally Posted by kjc

I have been in contact with Krystal. I don't know yet what the plan is with Kathleen or what she planned to do to help Melody. I am assuming that after speaking with the vet, it was decided to leave Melody with Krystal and begin medications, as Kathleen has health issues of her own to deal with, and was unable to go pick up Melody as was planned due to bad weather.I am not trying to be rude here but there we many people including rescues that offered to help. Kathleen is the one that made her self available, yet she knew she had a medical condtion and an upcoming operation , this is what caused the OP To not pursue other avenues.. True It was 4 days ago, I am very sure a rescue could have made travel arraingments by then NOW we are 4 days in the negitive? True It wasnt decided by DR Tobias or a vet at UCLA what to do with Melody or if foods and meds were enough True, but not the point., Kathleen decided this and Melody's Vet and from what I am reading had no follow up plan if it didnt that we know of as she now has a medical condition and is getting an operation.



Update on Melody: Melody was/is very close to dying from the toxins not being removed by her liver. She weighs 2.6# and at that weight accompanied with her level of toxicity, prognosis is poor that she would survive a surgery to repair her liver shunt at this time, or even the trip to the hospital. Again I am not trying to be rude here but who determined this? I did. Im going to assume that you did not speak to the vet? No Im also going to come right out and say that NONE Of us are vets here so we dont know for sure that this is the case!! True I am also going to assume that the current vet is not qualified to determine if the dog can be stablized and prepare for surgury? Any Vet should be able to access a dog's condition.
It appeared to me that it may take a day or two to arrange for a rescue to pick her up, that's when Kathleen volunteered to get her. That fell through due to the weather. I PMed Krystal to get Melody on antibiotics, lactulose and Denamarin immediately to at least help Melody's liver to recover, if at all possible and to at least begin getting the toxins out of her body making her healthier for the day she does have her surgery, and while arrangements could be made for whatever they decided to do. Please clarify who is " they" Kathleen and Krystal, if Krystal has no finacial ability to get the liver shunt operation I am assuming Kathleen had a plan and as YOU state Kathleen has medical issues WHO , WHERE and when is this puppy going to get to those hospitals. This is what needs to be worked out now. I am waiting to get some answers from Krystal or Kathleen as to what they had planned to do.

Melody started her meds and a new diet. Krystal mixed the new with the old, but Melody picked out the new and ate it. This made her stomach bloat this morning. It has gone down some, and Melody is still exhibiting neurological symptoms but has shown some improvement.

I still have questions that I'm waiting for answers on. Rescue is not totally out of the running, I'm looking into air travel to U of T through Pilots N Paws, Maybe a YT member there to get her off the plane and take her to the U of T, and now waiting to hear from Kathleen and Krystal for their decisions. I know Kathleen was looking into having the surgery done in California, so waiting for an update there. And is there a rescue that could pick her up immediately? I know some of this is redundant, but I'm not familiar with rescues in her area and anything will still take time to put into action.Its frustrating because 4 days have passed that would have allowed a rescue to get her! True.


And just to throw this out there: This is the 3rd LS/MVD case I'm aware of where the Vets and/or clients got a diagnosis and nothing further was done. In Melody's case, a low protein diet was advised but no meds prescribed. I don't know if the Vets are dropping the ball coupled by the clients not understanding the severity of LS/MVD or not understanding the options available or what. I'll be reading threads in a different light from now on.

[QUOTE=jeanm1963;2953969]I do NOT blame Krystal at all , Im sure no one will , however leaving Melody with a VET that doesnt even know enough to perscribe meds certainly isnt going to help MELODY. True IT is also not going to help MELODY if we are assuming things. True YOU stated Melody is not stable enough for the operation , HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS?? Natural sequence of events This should not be determined by 1 phone call to Krystal, expecially now since we know that by the phone call between Krystal and Kathleen we assumed Diet and Meds would help , they HAVE NOT. But they have helped. She was still functioning as of my last correspondence with Krystal.[/QUOTE]

Liver shunt/MVD are basically treated the same, with medications and proper low protein diets. Without medications and special diet, the dog will continue to produce toxins that it cannot get rid of, until the point that it dies. A dog with LS can exhibit no symptoms at all, or as the body becomes more and more toxic, symptoms will appear. The first symptoms are the inability to maintain a healthy weight, and lethargy as the liver cannot store energy producing nutrients. As the body becomes more toxic, neurological signs appear such as circling, head pressing, drooling, blindness, etc. If nothing is done, seizures, coma and death would come next. When lactulose and antibiotics are administered, they mechanically begin to change the condition of the body and help to physically block the production and absorbtion of the toxins, thereby allowing the liver to begin to rid the body of the toxins that have already infiltrated the dog's system. How quickly this happens depends on the amount of functioning liver the dog has left. Of course the ideal situation is to surgically repair the shunt or medicate the dog and feed a special diet as soon as this condition is diagnosed, not to wait until the amont of toxicity is evidenced by the dog's behaviors/symptoms.