Hello all,
Here's the scoop on poor lil Rocky.
Rocky was born on October 12, 2007... I purchased him from Puppy Petite.. AKA The Puppy Boutique in Brooklyn NY, on December 15, 2007.
Rocky has and is always energetic, friendly, smart...no symptoms of anything.
On December 25, 2009 around 5 am, I woke up to find Rocky in the beginning stages of a seizure... after about a minute he was back to normal, to where I rushed him to the Emergency Animal clinic in NYC. His blood work came back and they suspected Rocky to have a Liver Shunt. Two days later we did further testing at our Family Vet.. which included the Bile Acid Test. A few days after we went back to the Animal Clinic in NYC to perform an ultrasound, which confirmed our suspicions of the Liver Shunt.
The specialist provided me with a homemade diet, and a prescription of metronidazole and lactulose.. Rocky's body did not respond well to the metronidazole in which i immediately ceased.. He was showing signs of lethargy, loss of appetite.. basically he was limp in my arms. Upon calling the specialist she proceeded to tell me that this may be his normal state since his levels are starting to even out.. Sorry I didn't buy that.. There is no way any dog who was full of life is supposed to normally be limp!
I continued to do my own research.. and through yorkietalk I was told to contact Dr. Susan Center who is located at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY (4 hours away from where I live) .. I scheduled an appointment with her and they performed a 3D catscan on Rocky on MLK weekend of 2010. The scan showed Rocky's Liver shunt.. very weird and cool that you can actually see his insides in 3D. They gave me the low down on the surgery, however I was a little hesitant because his vena cava was dilated at the time. (Usually happens because of the shunt)
Basically, Since December I've been feeding Rocky with Hill L/D.. and he gained about 9 ounces and has been fine.. However, I didnt want Rocky to live a life of that food and fear of seizures, or any other signs that may eventually develop due to the shunt.
On August 3, 2010, I took Rocky to LIVS on Long Island in NY for a consultation about the surgery.. Again I was hesitant because it's a scary feeling.. But the way Rocky responded to the surgeon.. Dr. Marino.. was amazing.. So I took that as a sign from Rocky that he was ok to have this man operate on him. And I must say the dr was great with him.. I felt at ease..
The surgery was performed that same evening.. The Dr. called me as soon as he was out of the operating room to inform me of the surgery.. He had to stay in the hospital for 4 days.. Very difficult 4 days for me.. I've never really been apart from Rocky for even a day..
During the surgery, they took a biopsy of his liver and his bladder.. (he had some tiny stones.. so they performed a cystotomy as well) Bladder is ok.. however his liver biopsy shows that Rocky also has MVD. Ugh! He has to stay on this diet forever, and the fear of those shunt symptoms will forever be with me.. I almost feel as if I put Rocky through this surgery just to have the same fears and worries.
I'm extremely angry.. at the breeder for bringing a dog into this world who has these types of problems.. MVD is hereditary and she really should not be breeding her dogs.. She should be fined or locked up.. It's animal cruelty.. I apologize .. i'm venting here. Anyhow, maybe someone can help me.. I want this person as well as the Puppy Boutique to be put out of business. I would also like for them to assist in the payments.. I've spent well over 10,000 in the past 7 months.. And I would pay as much as I would have to inorder to keep him healthy.. It is sad and unfair that anyone would allow any living breathing creature to enter this world to suffer... knowing that it could have been prevented!
Obviously he showed no signs within the first year, I don't know what the next step is.. if anyone has any advice for me i would really appreciate it..
BTW.. Rocky has been home for 4 days now, he's still somewhat sleepy and is experiencing a lot of pain when urinating.. (he cries when he tries
) I cant wait till he's running around jumping on me and barking to play again!
Thanks for reading and sorry so long..
Dee