I just wish that I could keep him and give him the care that he needs. I am just not in the place to do that right now. :( Thank you for you input and I am so happy that your little guy is getting the hang of it.

Liver Shunt is so serious. It'll be hard finding a home for him, It's going to be expensive. I would give him away to someone you trust. They have to go into it knowing they may/or may not live very long. I had one and it's heartbreaking. But there are milder cases also. If he's taken to meds, he'll likely live on them a long time.

As a breeder I can tell you, you definitely do not want to breed the parents again. If it were my litter, I'd have to do Bile Acid Tests on the rest before they leave at 10 to 12 weeks. I wouldn't want a family to love this companion and then be devestated by the diagnosis. I'm sorry, I couldn't help as a breeder to give my 2 cents re:liver shunt.

BTW the pictures are beautiful,

I wonder how much the corrective surgury would run for liver shunt? Did the vet give you a ball park figure? And at what age?

BTW susan123 your pm folder is full.

Well, she said that there are 2 types of liver shunts. One is correctable and one is not. If it is correctable then she was saying something like $1000-$2000. She is not totally positive because only 1 place does it here in Alaska. Veterinary Specialist of Alaska. So I am going to have to calls them on Monday and see what I can do and at what age. We have still not done any blood test to make sure that this is what he needs, but it seems to be working and he is just to small to take any blood from him. I am so sad for him and I hope that I find a good forever home that will take good care of him. It just makes me want to cry thinking about this little guys life.

i also would give him away to someone you really trust and knows the breed and looking for a puppy. and they can use the money they would have spent for him to fix him!

This is exactly along the lines of what I was going to say. I know this entire thing has been so hard on you both emotionally and financially. Unless the vet knows someone that would be willing to take him, love him, and take care of his spcecial (and expensive) needs, I would put him up for adoption with a Yorkie Rescue. People who look for rescues to adopt sometimes are more able to do this. I do believe that with his beautiful pictures on a Yorkie rescue stating his story, a very loving person would adopt this precious boy in a minute. My heart truly goes out to you, please know that. How wonderful that the medication worked for him and that he is doing so well. He sure is a special little boy sure to steal many hearts.:heart to

oops, I cleared some ;)

There's money for ultrasound, surgery. Surgery cost most if it's intrahepatic (inside) as opposed to extrahepatic (outside the liver) then there's meds and all of the vet visit and blood panels. My girl, I had purchased as one of my first pets, didn't live long enough to do that. She just did the medicine and a few vet visits and tests and it was $600. They said it wouldn't be worth surgery, she's was too small at 14, she passed at 16 weeks. There are lots of livershunt resources on the net that would be able to tell more then I could.

Thank you everyone. I am not sure what I am going to do, but I am sure that I will figure it out in time. Thank you for giving me some ideas. It is going to be a very hard decision to make. Until the time comes that time comes, I am going to give him as much love as I possibly can.

Thanks,
Sharon

Sharon,

I know this is rough on you, just know we are here for you if you need anything, seriously. I really hope it's not a severe case for both of your sakes. But like I said we'll be here if you need anything.:big_hug:

Thank you for all your support. This might have turned out terrible with out it.

Any more news from the vet Sharon? What is your little guy weighing in at. Mine is REALLY slow going.

I am going to go and visit them today. She called me and she is having another doctor look at them today and see what his opinions are. She think that there are way to many soft spots on his head and so we are getting another opinion to see where to go from here. She said that we might have to put him down. He keeps going through these weird episodes of breathing. In the medical field we call it fish breathing. Scary!!! When he does this she just drives him around a bit and it seems to calm him down. But she said which ever way that it goes today I am going to get both the puppies back it Tinkerbell will let them both feed. Yoda is sucking out of a bottle so that is wonderful news. I am not sure what he weighs. I know that she is feeding them really well, we have just been focusing on the medical problems. I will get his weight when I am there so I know where my base line is if he gets to come home.

I know that yours is really slow going, but he is starting to look like he is gaining. Keep up the good work. I love the pictures. You need to get one up of the two puppies together, just for comparison.

Sorry to hear about the soft spots and the breathing thing. Darn, this is really rough!
Please let us know what the new vet says.
I'll try to get a decent pic of the two pups together.

Sad Update
 

Yoda was just seen by another vet and it is still not good. They all think that he is not going to live more then 3 months. The space between his skull plates are just too big. Some of the largest they have ever seen on a little one. He also has water on the brain. They are so suprized that he has made it this long. They said that they usually diagnosis liver shunts when they are a few months old and to have this little one reacting to the medication this early is really good for now, but is really bad in the long run. He mostlikely will not live past 3 months even with out the skull plates being the way that they are.

So I was thinking on the way home that I am going to take care of him until I either run out of medication (which gets really expensive) or when he has one of his little breathing out bursts. Which ever comes first. Mostlikely it is going to be the breathing out bursts that he has been having every couple of days. I feel extremely bad about it, but I really have to do what is best for him. Please pray that he is going to have a comfortable and speedy crossing of the rainbow bridge. Until then he is again a permanent attachment to me with his meds being given every 4 hours and feedings ever hour and a half.

I'm so sorry, Sharon. I missed these latest developments. I hope you take some solace in knowing you gave him a fighting chance and are making his days as comfortable as possible.