My 11 week old puppy has a liver shunt :(

[ally173]

Originally Posted by Robin Lodal

Ginger and I are finally home. Shew, its so nice to finally be home (we have been gone all week).

I hope I can remember everything b/c I am tired. This may be scatter brained! lol

Got lost in Knoxville b/c there were so many stupid detours b/c of the UT game but I eventually found some tiny side streets to get me to the hospital.

Ginger is doing well and she weighs 2.6lb. Her incision just makes me so sad. Poor thing. But she is doing really well and I just can't keep her calm and still b/c she wants to run around with the rest of the babies here at home! lol She is wearing her softee collar from Bo (see pictures). SO adorable!

She is on some pain meds for the next few days, antibiotics for the next few weeks and we are also going to try to wean her off of the Lactulose in a month or so.

As for the Vetri Soft Liver Chews, she is definitely using those instead of the
Denamarin. They said that Denamarin and Denosyl have not been 100% proven to help with liver compromised babies so I am not making a huge gamble if I switch over to the chews (b/c they are basically the same thing). I was told to give her either 1/8 or 1/16 of a chew b/c of her size.

As for splitting Denamarin or Denosyl. You CAN split them. The reason they say NOT to split them is b/c the active ingredient in them is affected by moisture (which is in the air) and so they just say to not split them. However, if you split them and then feed it to your baby immediately, then you are fine. They just put that on there also b/c some people will split their
pills all at once and then just give them as needed (which is a "no no" for these pills and why they are in blister packets instead of just in a pill bottle. So you CAN split them whenever you give them to your baby (in halves or fourths or whatever). All of this information came from the UT pharmacy.

I went ahead and got some more RC kibble ($18 for 6lbs WOOHOO) and canned LD ($2 a can WOOHOO) to stock up!

Well I am exhausted... and I will attach some pictures for you
all.


Robin & Ginger

1st/2nd picture is of Ginger and the med student, Terry
3rd/4th picture is in the car getting ready to head home

i am so glad she's doing better and she's adorable. is she eating fine now; after my dog was in the hospital i had to feed her some gerber baby food just to get her to eat and some boiled chicken and rice; however i switched her from kibble completely since she was not getting enough water and was getting dehydrated; i feed her the honest kitchen now and i add digestive enzymes, probiotic and milk thisle drops; the probiotic healed her tummy and the milk thislte drops healed her liver. good luck

[Robin Lodal]

Originally Posted by dianaww

Hi I have just sat and read all this post right from the start, and I am moved with so much relief, that firstly you are a wonderful person, and care so very much for this little girl, and that her op went well. It is great she doesn't have a LS but I can imagine, you must wonder what was going on?

Do you know what is was/is?

Whatever the case, she has clearly landed on her paws with you and your family, and she will have so much fun with you and your other fur babies.

I want to wish you every happiness with her, and also say that we need more like you.

She has Microvascular Dysplasia (MVD). Here is a link with more info: MVD and thank you for the compliments!

Originally Posted by ally173

i am so glad she's doing better and she's adorable. is she eating fine now; after my dog was in the hospital i had to feed her some gerber baby food just to get her to eat and some boiled chicken and rice; however i switched her from kibble completely since she was not getting enough water and was getting dehydrated; i feed her the honest kitchen now and i add digestive enzymes, probiotic and milk thisle drops; the probiotic healed her tummy and the milk thislte drops healed her liver. good luck

Oh goodness, is she eating? YES! I think the poor thing could eat all day long! lol She is now eating 4-5 small meals a day and I measure everything (down to the kibble, yes I count! lol) and sometimes I feel like she wants more but its important that her daily allowance to be split up throughout the day so I hesitate to give her too much at one sitting (its easier on her liver to have smaller amounts).

She is just your typical puppy, running all over the place and causing chaos. I really need to get some updated pictures and videos (life has been really crazy with a lot of other stuff going on so it hasn't been a priority) b/c I know that you all would appreciate it. I will try to do that soon. I weighed her today and she now weighs a whopping 2lb 15oz! lol haha So she has gained a lb in the past 6 weeks or so, which is amazing! I am so excited to see her growing so well on such a low protein diet.

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

You'd better watch out Robin, before you know it, she'll be a big girl! That is so great Ginger is growing and eating and acting like a puppy. I know you must be so relieved. Hugs.

[AbbysMom08]

This entire story has run the spectrum of emotions with me.
Your first post had me in tears. Not only for your little furbaby but because of you and your hubby. The two of you are truly angels on earth. She is such a very lucky little girl to have such a loving family. You are truly amazing.
I know if I were in that situation, I would also do everything possible for my baby.
I am so very glad to hear that she is doing so well.
I will keep her, you and your family in my prayers.
God bless you.

[Robin Lodal]

Originally Posted by Mom to Hot Rod

You'd better watch out Robin, before you know it, she'll be a big girl! That is so great Ginger is growing and eating and acting like a puppy. I know you must be so relieved. Hugs.

I AM SOOOO relieved. I am so thankful that we made the choice to give her a chance and give her those few extra hours to pull through while in the hospital that first night. Shew, if we hadn't, I would always wonder "what if?" and that thought would haunt me. So at the least, we decided to give her a chance and wait it through the night to see any improvement... and she gave us hope and look at where we are now.

I am just so blessed to have a community of others who love their babies as much as I do mine. I have gotten a few comments from others (family, church members, or just random people) who think we are not making good choices and are wasting our money when we could easy go and buy several puppies for the price of her vet bills, but they are just missing the WHOLE picture. Sometimes I try to explain, other times I just say "we ALL spend $ on what we value... I value my babies" I don't criticize what they spend on their junk! lol

Originally Posted by AbbysMom08

This entire story has run the spectrum of emotions with me.
Your first post had me in tears. Not only for your little furbaby but because of you and your hubby. The two of you are truly angels on earth. She is such a very lucky little girl to have such a loving family. You are truly amazing.
I know if I were in that situation, I would also do everything possible for my baby.
I am so very glad to hear that she is doing so well.
I will keep her, you and your family in my prayers.
God bless you.

Thank you. After we decided to give her a fighting chance, we knew that we would do what it took. It has not been easy (emotionally, physically, financially) but these are just temporary sacrifices for a long term gain. I am an unemployed teacher and I was just devastated when I did not get a teaching job in the small community that I live in. I laugh now b/c God definitely has other plans for me (for NOW at least) and its a blessing in disguise that I did not get a teaching job b/c there would've be NO way for me to take a week off here and there to take her to TN and just to feed her around the clock while at work and with my DH's job, it would be almost impossible for him to do it all the time while I was teaching. God is great, isn't He?

I have never had intentions or seen myself as a SAHW or SAHM but honestly, I have REALLY enjoyed my time at home with my babies. I try not to take it for granted. God has blessed us with a few different totally unexpected opportunities like foster parenting (skin kids). We are currently in week 7 or 8 (I forget!) of 10 in training and it has just been a wonderful experience so far. We are going through a therapeutic agency and so we will be fostering children who have high needs/issues and who require therapy a few times a month. The agency is wonderful and we take Ginger to all of the meetings and everyone adores her. Seeing them support us in this whole ordeal has solidified things even more with fostering with this particular agency. They understand how we feel about our pets and I really appreciate that.

So that is one of the reasons I have not updated as much as I'd like. We have just a few more weeks to get our house "kid ready". DH and I are both 25 and we have no kids.... so we have a lot of work to do. I am trying to take 2 of our spare bedrooms (one was my office...and now I am consolidating and sharing an office with DH) and turning them into a girl room and a boy room. So I have been scavenging craigslist, cheapcycle, etc to find some good deals on bunk beds, etc. So yeah, I have been busy and not ignoring you all lol I haven't even signed Ginger up for the GE yet and I need to get on that! I need to get her measurements soon.

Sorry about rambling ... what can I say.... I'm a woman

[SweetKiaraJ]

I am so happy to hear that you gave this little one a fighting chance and that she is doing well. I read the thread from beginning to end and its nice to see it have a happy ending. I pray that your little one continues to heal quickly and provides you with decades of endless joy. She's a cutie!

[TOY]

Woo Hoo! I'm so glad Ginger is doing so well. (There...that kept me on topic.)

Now......oh my gosh, I didn't know you were nearly that close to getting your foster children!

I know you're busy but drop me a line when you know sex, age, etc. of the kids-to-be.

What fun....and how great it's going to be for them to have Yorkies to play with...especially tending and caring for Ginger. Plus, lucky kids to get such caring, compassionate foster parents.

[Lisa and Pic]

Thanks for the update on Ginger and really enjoyed your insights on your life right now. Isn't it funny how something bad (no teaching job this year) can turn into blessings? (Ginger and foster parent classes) So happy for you.

I work part time for a child advocacy group and we advocate for many foster children in court. Cannot tell you how much you and your husband are needed. Bless you.

Sorry, got off topic of Ginger, but just wanted to throw that in.

[dianaww]

Hi I am so glad your baby is doing OK now, and hope she continues to make a speedy recovery.

Well done too on being such a caring person, and being a foster parent, I hope that goes well too.

I am sure it will as you clearly have the qualities, that are needed to make sure it a good experience for all involved.

We need more like you in the world !

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Wow, Congrats! You definitely have your hands full! You'll make great parents.

[TLC]

WOW ~ So Ginger has MVD and not a LS
I think I missed a couple pages....

[AmyChristine]

I am glad to come back here and learn that she is doing well. Copper's last BA test was post 125, he is 2 1/2 years old and has MVD also. Most days you wouln't know that he was sick at all, changing his diet really helped, he was also very symtomatic before all the changes.

It will be nice to get to watch her grow up and be a healthy, happy puppy. She really has a special mommy to take such good care of her I am glad that you found eachother.

[Robin Lodal]

Originally Posted by TLC

WOW ~ So Ginger has MVD and not a LS
I think I missed a couple pages....

Yes, check #129 (on page 5) for the update about having no shunt.

[AbbysMom08]

What a lucky little girl Ginger is to have such a loving home.
I look forward to seeing her grow.
You are going to make wonderful foster parents!!
God bless you both.
I will keep you, your hubby, and your furbabies in my prayers.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by tepowell

I recently lost an 11 week old puppy with multiple liver shunts. Is this hereditary, or what? The breeder is giving me another puppy with some of the same blood lines. What are the chances of having the same problem?

It is just a heartbreaking experience. Those of you who have pet insurance should check the fine print. Most policies do not cover genitic or hereditary illness such as liver shunt.

this is correct about insurances and i believe it is genetic so make sure the parents are bile acid tested and so is the puppy before you get the puppy so you do not get your heart broken again