He coughs or gags a bit now and then to remind me he's still quite sick, but we're sitting on the front porch right now. He's not bloated like he was before, so I think a lot of the fluid build up might have gone down. He didn't want to go back inside after peeing and is laying in the sun watching all the birds and the occasional rogue pussy cat that has the audacity to walk by his house. Really acting pretty normal. Begging is a big part of his life and he keeps doing "twirlies" by the treat jar (which has been removed). So that he doesn't have his whole world turned upside down, we are giving him tiny spoonfuls of the prescription dog food when he asks for a treat. He seems to be satisfied with that. That works good because the vet said she would rather him have several small meals throughout the day rather than his two regular ones - thought being it is easier on him to handle and digest. He can't have it right now, though, because he has to have the sucralfate on an empty stomach, at least two hours after a meal and at least one hour before. It coats the intestines & stomach and helps heal ulcers and sores. That means at least 3 hours with no treats. No fun for a world class beggar!

great news !!!!!!!!! i love the last line....world class begger ! my bella will go as far to FAKE a pee on her pee pad to get a pee pee treat ! lol

Aw! Glad to hear he is doing better! Tummy ulcers alone can mess up a dog bad! Poor guy! Prayers for you both....

Yeah I am glad to read that Columbo is doing rather well and wants to lay in the the sun and watch the birds and kitty cat's.

On the carafate are you giving it to him in the slurry form?

Prayers certainly continue for Columbo.

So glad Columbo is doing better. I can just see the love that you and your husband have for him and I am so glad there are so many other people like me that will do whatever it takes no matter what the cost to give their babies all the care and love that they need. I have four of these precious little ones and I would rather go without eating than to not give them the care they need. I'm praying that the biospy results will give you an answer and be something that can be managed easily. Keep us informed.

I'm sending warm thoughts and prayers!!! Blessings!!

He is about the same today. Yesterday, I put him in his car seat and ran a few errands, but felt that was probably overdoing it for him. I also offered him a walk and he wasn't up to it, but he doesn't mind moseying around the yard. Still a bit of a cough once in awhile. It's obvious he doesn't feel great, but he doesn't feel bad, either. He is such a trooper. Pretty much the same today. I heard from the vet yesterday. She said his fungal test came back negative. She said his condition can be caused by a fungus, but she has only seen that in the midwest, so it wasn't likely. Something to do with the soil there. Columbo visits Indiana a couple times a year, so I asked her to do that test. If they have evidence of a fungus in the intestines, then they can't be on steroids, so he is ok to continue that treatment. Yesterday, the vet said she expects to have the preliminary histology report back today and will call when she hears something.

A YTer had a pup with that fungal infection. It is histoplasmosis. Her pup was very, very ill but did survive. Here is a link about the types of PLEs:

Intestinal Lymphangiectasia

Praying he continues to do well :hands:

I am very happy to read that Columbo is growing a stronger each day and that the fungal test came back negative. Praying for good news from the histology report.

Yes, we dissolve it in 6oz of water and then give it to him with a syringe.

This is a very good link. In hind site, Columbo's first symptom was weight loss and loss of muscle mass. Unfortunately, several coincidences made this difficult to see. About 6 mos. ago, I switched his food. He had been on Innova low fat small breed for several years. And went from being slightly porky to just slightly larger at around 8.5lbs. We could never get off that last tiny bit of fat. Well, Innova was sold to P&G and they stopped making the small bags of his food, smallest was now 15lbs. That would have been stale by the time he finished it 5 or 6 months later. So, it seemed like a good time to look for a new food & I switched to Wellness Core grain free, which is high protein, low carb. So, when he lost another pound (now 7.2 - 7.4lbs), we (and the vet) thought it was attributed to the new diet and were happy with his new weight. It seemed a good weight for him, especially since he didn't need any extra weight on his new knees. The knee surgery was another reason we thought he'd lost weight and muscle mass. Just so much going on with him making it hard to see. Since he had no other symptoms, after his round of tests last months (including bile acid test), his regular vet wanted us to change his food to a balanced senior diet and then planned to recheck his bloodwork in 30 days. We were 2 weeks into the newest food when this all happened.

I am thrilled he is doing better and pray for continued recovery. On a funny note...the only time Huey got hold of one of our medications (we are a couple of aging farts and have multiple bp meds, etc and are very VERY careful not to drop anything), it was hubbys carafate. I looked it up on line and saw it was about the most non toxic med a dog can take and was used in dogs...worries gone. Works well for hubby, hope it continues to work as well for Columbo!:D

Yes, it's so important to keep things away from the pups. A gal I work with's dog just chewed up her $5000 hearing aids that she accidentally left on the coffee table. About 5 years ago, I left a small half full jar of vaseline on the end table. When I came home, it was empty on the floor... lets just say pooping was easy for Columbo for several days! I did the same with dog tooth paste when he was a puppy. Came home and he'd chewed it open and ate it all. Luckily, nothing was toxic.

Sounds like everything is going pretty well for Columbo, very good to hear this. Hope he continues to improve, he'll remain in my thoughts and prayers.