FYI, donations to raise money for vet bills through Yorkie Talk aren't permitted.

It has been my experience that no matter what tests your vet does, the vet school will repeat all the tests so it would really be a waste of money to have your vet take xrays.

Vicki/Bleu Boy would be better able to advise you on AI specifically, but in in general diagnostics alone can run a thousand dollars before you even get a diagnosis.

oh no i dont want to try to raise money through here. everyone has been so wonderful trying to help me with roriee.. i am up eariy with her this morning. she was in her cage but she makes a grunting noise in the back of her throat when she wants my attention and she was doing that this morning. omg i havent heard her do that since last weekend when i was on the computer and she wanted my attention!

she seems more alert this morning. but this is another symptom i am going to talk about and this is the reason i took her to the vet in the first place but it seems she still has it and this is where her pain is coming from. her mouth. when i try to clean her up after the pedisure she is screaming bloody murder. when i try to put a washcloth close to her mouth she trys to bite it and screams. i am looking at her hair that is matted and i see that her skin under her chin is red. she will not let me clean her up. i try to but she just will not have it at all. i am also seeing that her back legs are not working at all and her front legs do work a bit. she is wrapped up in a towel next to me but she wants to be in my arms so she paddles her front legs to propel her to me. right now she is quiet but she will not take any norishment even through a syringe. i will have to make sure she eats later this morning but when she screams my roommate gets upset. and its understandable since she sounds so bad.

anyway we are just holding on here. little changes but not much more to go on.

i am ok as long as i am proactive with her care. i really want to clean her up since she is sticky from the pedisure but i will wait until later today.

when the doctor first looked at her last week. he said she had to many baby teeth that were still there. would that cause her pain?

no teeth will not cause that pain not puppy teeth they have hardly any roots. It probably hurts her neck when you wash her face so leave it alone for now the stickiness is least of your worries. I am concerned financially here this is not going to be a good situation. If you give her up to rescue they will get her the medical attention she needs but you will not get her back sadly. Sometimes in life we have to be unselfish and do what is right for the dog and this dog needs to be under the care of a neurologist asap. i know you do not want to give her up just as i would not but she really needs to get cared for and she is in pain so if finances are this tight you may have to make a hard choice i am afraid :( Time is of the essence with this little one. I have spent over 20k in vet bills and when it is a serious thing like this it is costly and you need to be able to afford care for yourself as well as that is important. Times are very hard i know for everyone but you really need to start thinking what is best for this dog and get her the proper help. I hope you do not get mad at me but I have tried to come up with all the options and i am afraid if you mess with this much longer this dog will not make it and the worst of it as you describe she is in pain and no one should be in this kind of pain it is just not fair to this little one. I know you love her very much but sometimes loving something that much means doing the right thing for her. There are some wonderful rescues on here that you can work with in getting the care and as much as it upsets me why the owners cannot get the dogs back after they are better it is due to owners apparenty not paying back the bills as agreed so they end up getting them care and rehoming them at a cost so they can get the money back to help other dogs. Life is not fair I find with all this but sometimes we go through things in life as a learning process so maybe for some reason there is a lesson here that you are learning not sure what it is but I truly believe we go through things for a reason. I hope this all gets worked out for your baby quickly and again sorry if i upset you but i a very concerned about this dog.

who do i talk to for her to get the care she needs?

i am not mad at all. i know i have to make a hard choice and i have to do it in roriees best interest. i love her so much and the thought of being without her is crushing me inside but i have to get her the help she needs.

what if i did pay the bills back? like a payment plan? would they consider working with me and me giving them what i can until the bill is paid?

I would conact a local rescue near you on petfinder.com you can do search by area and talk to the rescue and tell them your situation and see if they can work out a payment plan, etc and see if they will work with you. If not i can refer you to a rescue that I know of that will take her but they i do not believe will do a payment plan :( I can check though and i will email them now.

okay lets do this.. thats how much i love her. i have to do what is best for her.

i just emailed the rescue i know and going to email another one as well - i know one is out of tennessee which i think is close to you
i am so sorry i hate when it comes to this but I always want to let others know there are other options to help a sick dog even though it breaks my heart this option :(

the thought of being without her is beyond my strength capability. but i have to do what is best for her.

i completely understand as i almost lost my boy to pancreatitis and i was so upset and it cost me 10k to save his life over a years time. This is why i try to help so many as i know how painful and financially draining it can be when they get sick and i wish there were more options :(

Hi Connie here from Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue in Tennessee....we do not fund but we can get your baby help, but you will have to surrender her to us....if I were you my first option would be to apply for Care Credit....at I believe it is Carecredit.com most vets will take this, call you vet and see if they know about it...then have them run the Bile Acid tets and then they can give you a referral to UT...(UnIversity of Tennessee).....they are one of the best places to go for Liver shunt....if you need more info please contact me or go to Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue, Inc. you can read about Liver shunt there and also there is a link to Care Credit on our web site...Deb sent me your infor and the link to this....hopefully we can get the help you need for your baby...Liver shunt is not a death sentence.....so chin up and we can get her taken care of....
connie@yorkiexpress.com is my email address


Have you looked into Care Credit...most vets will take this....I am pretty sure University of Tennessee does and this is one of the best places to take your baby....but you need a vet referral

connie it is not liver shunt it is AAI i am pretty sure :( the bile acids were done already and i recommended care credit. This girl needs to get to a neurologist ASAP

Connie her number is lower down on the thread if you want to call and discuss some options for this little one but i think time is of the essence here as this little one is in a lot of pain :(

Thanks Deb...i just re read this...I think she needs to get to the Congenitaldogs group....she can email Melissa at sunny0345@aol.com she owns the groups and can help her, thanks for the correction...lol I just saw the one post of Shunts...

just heads up the group is on yahoogroups.com and you can do a search under that for congenital dogs

also I emailed another rescue group as well and waiting to hear back from them as well

also go to rescue section on here and post a link on this

care credit turned me down. i applied to dougle;'s fund, mosley group and lifelink. have not heard back from any of those.

ok hang in there just keep her comfortable and hopefully we can get someone on rescue group here to help i just posted the info there to see if someone can help out

Have you called the Hospital and asked if they will take a payment plan (other than Care Credit)?

Do you have a Credit Care? Could you apply for a Credit Card and pay that off in payments? Do you have any family to borrow from and pay them back in payments? How about your roommate, could she lend you the money?

i applied to care credit and they turned me down. the hospital says on their website that they absolutly do not accept payment plans but they do have 2 grants to apply to but i can only do that through my vet.

my roommate is a student and doesnt have any money. my family will not loan me the money for my puppy. they do not consider dogs to be close like i do and the way everyone on this site does. we love our babies and consider them family, best friends, companions and even closer then our human friends/family.

olga is trying to get roriee a transport to her. she has a rescue and she will get her the treatment she needs and i can get her back. unless of course roriee needs the really expensive surgery then i will have to make the difficult decsion then to give her up completely. olga has little lucy and i am doing everything she told me and roriee is better already!

i am feeding her by syringe pedicure.. i have a ace bandage around her neck loose but tight enough that it supports and on top of that i cut a tennis velcro guard on top. already she feels better because she is talking to me.
the low grunt in the back of throat when she wants attention :)

i am so glad to hear that sound! she wants to be on my lap and i will get her in a minute and we will lay here together as we do in more normal times.

This great news - Olga is very nice - My friend rescued a liver shunt pup from her Charlie who is now Harley and owner sheree so i am so happy she is able to help with aai pups that is awesome :)

ok - THIS IS GREAT!!!!

I am soooooooooo glad I posted about Olga to you! I LOVE OLGA and her rescue is AWESOME!!!!!

I want you know to that I have nothing but respect and trust for Olga, she goes over and beyond, she cares sooooooooooo much and she researches and learns everything and anything to get the pups in her care the very best!

I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO HAPPY that Roriee is hopefully going to be in her care! And that's great that you'll be able to get her back. Also know, that if it comes down to surrendering her, you will do it because you love her and want her to have the care she needs. I know that thought is heartwrenching, but I am such and advocate for rescue, and if I were placed in a situation as well, it would break my heart, but I would do what was needed to save my babies life too!

You are a Good Person, and I will be praying for you both :)

100% agree i would do the same as hard as it was and times are hard for alot of people so hang in there and hopefully it is an easy fix and olga can get it under control and you will get your baby back :) I am thinking positive thoughts

It sounds like wonderful Olga has stepped in to help your little girl out! :bravo:

Don't give up on the grants. As I mentioned before, in most cases you need to get a diagnosis and a treatment plan first, then your vet can recommend you for it.

When Lady was diagnosed with diabetes many years ago and she had to be in the hospital for almost a week, my vet recommended her for a local grant. She happened to be on the board of director's for this particular fund and they had their monthly meeting at my vet's office while Lady was hospitalized so it worked out perfectly. Lady was a guest at their meeting, IV pole and all, and she got the grant.

Yorkie Angel Patrol has a link for financial assistance on their website.

financialassist

I wanted to add here. When Babybear was going through his ordeal he did not want his face or mouth touched either. We almost thought we were hearing a clicking sound when he opened his mouth. I think it puts pressure on the neck so it hurts them and most of the time we do not think when we wipe their faces or chins and we place our hand on thier neck to wash. That will upset them and cause them to want to but.
Has anyone suggested to you to at least massage and move your babies back legs. Right now she is getting muscle astrophy and you want as little of this as you can get. It takes no time to loose the muscles but takes a long time to get them back. I was moving Babybear's legs every half hour and massaging his legs front and back..
After his surgery I put a collar on him that I made. It was made from the stocking material that you would have put on if you had a cast put on you.. I got it at a pharamacy. Then I took quilting batting and rolled the stocking material over the quilting batting. I made the batting four layers thick. When the stocking was rolled over the batting I think sewed velcro on both ends. IT was a great collar for him. IT was like the old cervial collars they put on us. he wore this for months. I had made a few of them because if one got dirty I was able to just throw one in the wash and hang dry it and it would be ready for when he got the next one dirty.
I know this weekend must have felt like a life ime. I sat through the weekend with Babybear in my arms.. Please let her move her legs if you can. I have read you have her rapped in a towel. The more she lays there and can move her legs it might be better for the astrophy.
I am keeping an eye on you hon and praying for tomorrow.. Maybe your doc can give you the name of a vet near by that has delt with this. Sending many thoughts and prayers.. I have also lite my AAI candle and will keep it going until we find out what is going on with your little sweety.

thank you so much. i have her in my arms and she ismoving her legs both front and back.. i have a collar on her that i got from cutting a tennis elbow one in half and using the velcro to keep it closed. it seems to be working very well for her and she is not crying. she is still shaking alot.. not sure why but i am keeping her hydrated every hour with water and pedisure . i am keeping her head up and not down. this weekend has been a lifetime but as long as i can take care of her and to see her improve in small ways helps me. she tryed to get up and walk to me on the bed.. she wants to be in my arms all the time and doesnt want to be in the bed by herself. i got her a new bedcrate for her to sleep in and some diapers too.. i do not want her to sleep in pee wrapped in a towel. i think at the vet she laid in pee and that is why her little chin is so red. she is feeling better.. she barked at the roommate when she came in which is a good sign.. she is more alert...small miracles..i think being home with me has helped her alot.

i am taking her back in to her vet tomorrow.. i want him to xray her. wish me luck..

I had read that you are bringing her back in the morning for x-rays.. Now it is usually better for them to sedate them to take the x-rays. The neck has to be put a certian way in order to take the pics and please don't like them hold her down specially around the neck until you know for sure that it is not AAI..
Just remember if you need me just email me at Mybaby4me@aol.com.. I have a lot of information if you would like to read more in AAI/AAS...I am here for you..

thank you so much! tonight we (my roommate and i ) both saw so much improvement in roriee i am amazed! with love and 24/7 care she is 50% better then she was saturday when i brought her home. my constant nursing. feeding, loving and tears has brought her back almost! she is moving all 4 legs and wanting to walk but still cannot. but she is so much better that i am thanking god. YT, olga and the liver forums and gme forums for all the support.. and helping me.. she is not out of the woods yet but omg she is better.. she wants to just be on my chest all the time but i have put her all cuddly to bed next to me.. she is in her new bed on my bed. that way she is protected through the night. in the morning i am getting up and taking her in to get her xray and to let the doc see all her improvements.. i bet he will be amazed also!

i am thrilled and cannot even put into words the relief that she is better.. not well but hopefully she continues.

thank you everyone so much for all your support. it has been a weekend of intense grief and i have never in my life been so scared. she knows that i cant live without her.

I am so glad she is feeling better.. Just remember please that the steroids is what is making her feel better it has taken down the swelling in the spinal cord so she still has to be protected. Please give that baby a gental belly rub from Babybear and me.. And sending you some strength hon..

omg one more post and i am off to sleep.. i was in the ladies room and she started barking!!! i mean not the yelping bark but the bark that she has normally! what a welcome sound...

she is in her bed with towels to keep warm and she has on her collar to keep her neck protected.. but she is feeling so much better.. i told her that i loved her and to go to sleepy baby.. :)