megan_kat22 | 09-03-2005 07:09 PM | Liver shunt heartbreak In September of 2003 I bought a 3 month old Yorkie from a lady who loved her dogs very much. But I must admit, she was not in a very good financial situation to be breeding as many dogs as she had. He weighed about 5 lbs. and seemed so healthy. A couple days after we had brought him home I saw a television show that explained how to pick a healthy food for your puppy. Well, I only wanted the best for Tucker, so, I visited the store and bought a premium puppy chow with lamb has the first ingredient.
Within a couple days something had gone wrong, very wrong. Tucker had progressed very well in his housetraining since we had brought him home, but all of the sudden he was urinating in small puddles all over the house. The more he went the more stressed he became and his urine became a dark red color. Very concerned, we contacted our vet immediatly. They ran blood tests and a urinalysis, and at first it was just suspected he had either swallowed a penny (which could cause this reaction), had a bladder infection, or a liver shunt. Many of the vets at the clinic agreed that a liver shunt was the least likely option because of his size and appetite (liver shunt puppies are usally very very tiny and sickly). After X-rays and more urinalysis' it was decided that he did in fact have a liver shunt. We also learned that the high amount of protein(lamb) in his diet had caused us to notice his defect (before it was too late).
We were worried sick that Tucker wasn't going to make it. Knowing that the surgery to repair a liver shunt had very slim chances of being successful, and that it would cost us thousands of dollars did not make the news any easier. But Tucker was a fighter. In just a year of his eventful life he had been on 4 different perscription diets, and many medications, but he was still alive and determined as ever.
August of last year had to be one of the scariest days I've had yet. Tucker had not been able to urinate for about 10 hours, and we had been persistant on giving him water to attempt to flush his bladder out. But, by about 1 that afternoon our whole house was in a panic. Tucker had begun to shake and slobber uncontrollably. We rushed him to the Emergency Vet and discovered his bladder was completely full of crystals and stones. Also, the toxins from his liver had not been filtered and had reached his brain(which had caused his slobbering and extreme distress). After being in intensive care for 2 days, he was finally stable enough to be taken to our home vet for surgery. They had to completely clean out his bladder. Exhausted from his whole ordeal, he came home with the most pitiful face I think I have ever seen. He seemed just content to be home, but that didn't last long.
The next morning when I opened his crate door, he came stumbling out, ran into my dresser, and fell over on his side. I knew something was wrong. Now that we look back on it, he seemed like a live bobble-head, not able to hold still. Once back at the vet, we were told the toxins in his brain needed to be controlled with medicine, so Tucker was put on Neomycin. We were lucky enough to maintain his shunt with medication and a special diet.
To this day, Tucker is still on medication, but has grown to weigh a whopping 12lbs. and is as happy as ever :smile: . We are so blessed to have him now, and I just wanted to share his story, and the awareness of what sadness, pain, and heartbreak liver shunt can cause. Looking at Tucker now, you would never know he has to live with this every day, but I hope everyone realizes the seriousness of it and helps to put an end to liver shunts. :animal36
P.S. I've posted pictures of Tucker on my profile, our lil "liver shunt survivor" ;) |