[Lorraine]

This story is about a 4 year old Yorkshire Terrier. At the end of May, she was having some bowel troubles diahrrea now and then that would clear up then start up again. This went on until end of August when the owners could not seem to clear it up and the Vet they saw didn’t have a very good result. They called me.
I picked her up and brought her home saw a Vet here in my area. It wasn’t resolved so I took her to a different clinic. They did the normal workup I would expect, stool culture to determine what sort of bad bacteria might be there for a target specific antibiotic, blood tests for kidney, liver function, test for Addison’s was added to the geriatric blood panel which included white cell counts etc. Results were high white cell count and losing protein from her intestines. But what was the cause?
We tried a few different things and with everything we tried, it would work for a day or two then the horrific diahrrea was back again. Xrays showed fluid accumulated in the body and perhaps a mass in the liver area.
She was then referred to a critical care hospital for an ultrasound which did not show anything abnormal. She then was referred to an internal medicine veterinarian specialist.
I got a call late this afternoon from the owner, this little yorkie will be fine.
The cause of all this? Basically the owners killing her with kindness aka feeding all the wrong things. Hamburgers and other things from restaurants, ice cream, Dairy Queen ice cream. As she was getting more and more of a tummy/intestinal upset, she was getting pickier about eating. Which the owners then tried different dog foods all of which just made things way worse.
Luckily we got her into the specialists in time. Luckily they could save her. She will be on a special diet for the rest of her life but will be fine.
Be very very careful what you are feeding your Yorkies and be especially adamant with any new owners of your dogs or puppies you are putting into pet homes. It could save a life.