Say a prayer for my little man

[newyorkiepup]

Cruiser is not doing well at all. I'll start from the beginning. I haven't posted a lot on here but as you may recall, we got Cruiser on June 5. He was my 30th birthday present. The next day we took him to the vet and he had 3 vaccines (distemper, bordatella, and lyme) and later that afternoon he started throwing up. It was after hours so we had to take him to the emergency vet. They said he had low blood sugar and put him on an iv for 4 hours. After that our vet gave one vaccine at a time and premedicated with benedryl. He also got neutered. He had no further problems. He has not gained much weight though and doesen't have much of an appetite. He's a very picky eater. He had been eating better the last couple of weeks. He did throw up a few times over the last few weeks but the vet said not to worry about that because puppies get into stuff and throw up sometimes.

Now to the most recent stuff... This weekend we went to my parents for a family reunion in Iowa. Saturday morning he was doing great. Running around, giving people kisses, etc. We had to shuck sweet corn for the family reunion and he was outside with us. He started nibbling on some corn and nobody seemed to think that was a problem so I didn't really either. A few hours later, he threw up multiple times. It had corn in it. Then he was just throwing up water. I called a vet and spoke with him and they said to make sure he wasn't hypoglycemic and keep karo syrup on his gums because he wouldn't eat anything. He just didn't snap out of it and got worse. I couldn't find an emergency vet around to help so we drove 3 hours back in the middle of the night and went directly to the University of Minnesota vet hospital. He is slightly anemic and has low urea. That along with his lack of weight gain and his lean appearance and poor appetite leads the vet to believe he may have a liver shunt. They gave him a subcutaneous fluid and sent him home. We are taking him tomorrow morning to our regular vet for full blood tests.

He has not been good today at all. He has not eaten much. I did get the vet to prescribe some a/d and he ate a little of that and some nutrical. That's it. He's very lethargic, has a hard time walking, and has had some seizures tonight.

I have spoken with the breeder. She says she knows the mom's blood line and she does not have any liver shunts in her background. She says the dad has been tested and doesn't have one either but she's not 100% sure about his background. I've read up on liver shunts today and I suspect the emergency vet is right. It seems that the surgery is quite successful and that most dogs live a totally normal life afterwards. But the emergency vet also told me that the surgery will be thousands of dollars. I just don't know what to do if he does have this. I Love him more than anything! I want to do everything to help him. But my husband was already mad that we went to the emergency vet again last night. This puppy has cost us a TON of money in vet bills and I'm sure he won't want to incur more. I am exhausted physically from about 4 hours of sleep in the last 36 hours and emotionally from crying thinking about losing my little man. I can't believe this is happening. I have wanted a dog my whole life and I couldn't love him more and now this happened. All I wanted was a healthy puppy and now we have all these problems. I thought I would have this dog at least 15 years and we 've only had him 2 months!

Anyway, I'm just sharing my concerns and hoping for reassurances and prayers for the best. Thanks for listening.

[LaPeque]

I am so, so sorry. I'm a new yorkie owner as well, and had a pretty hefty bill right off the bat as well due to an intestinal infection ... I know how upset and frustrated you must be.

I'll pray for the best for your little one. If it turns out to be liver shunt, I hope it's a mild case that could be controlled by diet.

Hang in there - I wish the very best for you.

*Hugs*

[YorkichonBella]

I am so very sorry that Cruiser is going through all this & you too. I am sending prayers for your little guy! Hope that someone can give you good advice for his health. Hugs from Bella/Mommy Pls keep us posted...hope all goes well!

[lexisnana]

I'm so sorry to hear about your pup!! Please don't get discouraged. If he does need surgery, maybe your vet can work with you on payments. I know what it's like to be caught in the middle between your babies needs and your husbands concern about the money. We all want healthy babies, but they don't want to be sick either. We're all they have. Don't give up hope, maybe it's something simple. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

[KYBLUE]

oh i am so sad for you

hopefully it is something else and he will recover

is he a tiny guy? may god speed his recovery

[Patti]

I am sorry to hear about your puppy. I have one with MVD which is an internal liver shunt that is not operable. Depending on the type of live shunt he may need surgery or maybe just diet and meds. I will pray you get some answers and he can be treated without a lot of expense. Cali was a real sick, costly puppy but grew out of a lot of it.

[Judy in Waco]

Sending prayers and positive, healing thoughts. I'm so sorry for what you're going through.

[a2luckygirl]

I am so sorry your little guy is sick!
You guys will be in my prayers!

about the big vet bills- banjo broke his leg- and I was worried about the surgery cost- the vet school in Mo. said they could let me pay $100 a month if needed- which is a blessing! In the end I was very lucky and my sister helped me out- but it is nice to know that I do have an option- I can fall back on if needed! so check into something like that!
But I will be praying for a good news in the upcoming test!!

[AprilLove]

I am so sorry to hear about your little Cruiser! Please know he will be in our thoughts, for a speedy recovery. Did you get a contract from the breeder? There should be a health guarantee if so, you should talk to them about the costs if it is LS.

[bettyeanne]

I am so terribly sorry about your little Cruiser. I will be praying for him and you as well. I know it's difficult when little ones are sick ... maybe after the testing it will be a simple, easily correctible problem and he will be good as new quickly! God bless you.

[newyorkiepup]

Yes, we had a contract with the breeder and there is a warranty against genetic defects, but I don't really know what that means. Does she give us our money back(which would help with the cost of the surgery but wont cover it)? Does she give us a new puppy(which is not what I want - I want my puppy to be healthy - if Cruiser doesn't make it, I don't know if I could even get another puppy)? Does she help pay for the surgery (I somehow doubt this is the case)? Cruiser is a member of our family. He's only been here 8 weeks but my heart is just breaking thinking about not having him anymore. We have him in puppy class. He's doing really well. He sits and shakes and lays down and stays and comes and walks really well on a leash. He never barks. He loves kids and other dogs. He's the best little puppy ever. I just can't lose him!

[yorkiesmiles]

Prayers for you and Cruiser. I am so sorry you have so much to deal with right now.

You need to get some sleep, and then get those tests done to see what direction to go in next. Don't get the cart before the horse. There are so many things you could speculate about right now, and it is not helping you sleep.

As far as your contract, you will need to ask the breeder for what this covers. Is none that laid out in the contract?

How hard. Hugs for you

Will be awaiting word on his condition

[Bam Bam SF]

My prayers are with you now, I'm sorry you are going through this

[JonlyCajunQueen]

I am so sorry to hear about your furbaby....I hope all goes well for him so he don't suffer. Ya'll are in our prayers.

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by newyorkiepup

Yes, we had a contract with the breeder and there is a warranty against genetic defects, but I don't really know what that means. Does she give us our money back(which would help with the cost of the surgery but wont cover it)? Does she give us a new puppy(which is not what I want - I want my puppy to be healthy - if Cruiser doesn't make it, I don't know if I could even get another puppy)? Does she help pay for the surgery (I somehow doubt this is the case)? Cruiser is a member of our family. He's only been here 8 weeks but my heart is just breaking thinking about not having him anymore. We have him in puppy class. He's doing really well. He sits and shakes and lays down and stays and comes and walks really well on a leash. He never barks. He loves kids and other dogs. He's the best little puppy ever. I just can't lose him!

Liver shunts are genetic and, unfortunately, two healthy parents can still produce a puppy with a shunt. Since there is not genetic marker for liver shunts, the only way to find out if a puppy is healthy is to have a bile acids test done at eighteen weeks old. Dr. Center recommends all Yorkie puppies have a BAT since Yorkies are thirty-six times more likely to have a shunt than all other breeds combined.

What does your contract say exactly about genetic conditions? Often the health guarantee will include the breeder paying vet bills with a cap of not more than the purchase price or a replacement puppy.

I am so sorry about Cruiser. I can't imagine how worried and heartsick you must be.