Very Sick Puppy
 

A nice lady emailed YHR last night about her puppy (Mindy) who has been very sick for a couple of weeks. I made arrangements for her to meet me this morning at GCVS in Houston. The puppy has severe ascites and has been losing protein. She also has not been eating. Her vet has not been able to determine what is wrong so he had suggested internal medicine. Sadly, the cost was too much for her and she just wanted her puppy to be ok so she reached out to rescue because the breeder refused to help in any way at all. It kills me to take puppies from people like this lady. All she cared about was that Mindy get proper care. The breeder could have cared less...just tossed another puppy (the brother of this one) at her and refused to help in any other way.


So.....the initial thoughts are that she either has portal hypertension, mvd or a shunt...or something else??? They just called me to let me know the results of her ultrasound. They found a large vessel that they called "weird". They are not sure what it is. :( She will have a CTscan on Monday. In the meantime they are doing blood work on her, including BATs.

Problem list on admission:
1 Severe ascites
2 Low blood protein levels
3 Electrolyte abnormalites
4 Increased Heart Rate

I am at a loss.....this is new territory for me. I just hope she has something that we can fix. She is not on the YHR site yet, but will be later tonight.
Prayers appreciated...little darling is going to need lots of them.

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Aw what a sweetie.. those eye's melt my heart.

Sending prayers for this sweet baby.. and prayers for you and your group in finding the right path for her.

Ple?...

Well, that would be a thought, but it is not common in puppies. But, anything is possible.

I would prefer it be a shunt but ascites is usually not seen with shunts.

She freaked me out about that blood vessel...it was a radiologist who did it and she did not know what it was.

how sad// hope everything turns out

Poor thing is skin and bones except for her bloated tummy. :( She weighs 2.4 pounds...I hate to think what she would weigh without the fluid build up. :(

Oh my, I hope you'll find the cause & be able to treat it. So the lady now has the brother & the breeder didn't take back the sick pup? How old is Mindy?
Thank you for the work you do!

This is stupid, but has she been ever dewormed? How old is she?

It sounds like it could be portal hypertension. That can lead to all of the symptoms you listed plus the development of collateral circulation. I hope you are able to find the underlying cause. She is a cutie.

Ah she looks so sweet like a little racoon in negative, I hope you can find out what she is suffering from and it is treatable. I know that she will get the best of whatever is available now she is with you. I feel so sad too for her owner who so obviously wants what is best for her.

No, it is not stupid. I thought the same thing and forgot to ask...or look on her records. But....she has fluid and I don't think that is the same as bloating from worms. I will definitely check though because she is having diarrhea as well.

She is 12 weeks old. The people got her from the breeder in June...she was born on May 7th. UGH

I am praying it is not because that does not have a great life expectancy. If it is going to be her liver, I am praying for a shunt so we can just fix it.

There are some very favorable reports on idiopathic noncirrhotic portal hypertension. These dogs seem to do well with palliative care.

Let us know when she is up on the website so we can start donating for her care.

Yes, the lady has the brother...now she is upset that he could get sick. I told her to get insurance on him NOW. The breeder told her to bring both back and she she would refund her money; but she told her she would euth Mindy and she said the breeder had the gall to complain about how much it would cost to euth her. What a total POS. :(

Mindy is 12 weeks old.

My thoughts.......poor baby....WHO WAS THE BREEDER? Maybe if her name appeared in print, her attitude would improve......and yet again Linda, you rise to the occasion......thank you for your involvement with these poor little souls......

She is on the website now. Thank you. :) I am waiting now for them to call me with an update about her blood work.

:thumbup:

The vet just called. Mindy's ammonia level is extremely high, her ALT is elevated and her Creatinine is low. She also is anemic. The owner had said she had some black stools which is a concern because she had her on prednisone. So....they need to figure out why she is not metabolizing the iron appropriately. Her marrow is functioning, so that is a good thing.
She said the creatinine could just be due to her not having enough muscle mass.
Poor baby...she is a mess...but I am hopeful that we can help her. I am going to keep thinking positive thoughts! :)

She is such a little doll I hope they can find the cause soon and get her on a fast track to being healthy.

Oh my goodness what an adorable little pip squeak.

Prayers being said that they can find out what is exactly going on with this sweet baby.

What an adorable little pup in such a sad situation.

I'm praying she can be helped.

Prayers for Mindy...

I did call the owner and yes, she was dewormed. She also had a fecal last week and it was negative.

Thanks everyone...I think Mindy is going to really need lots of prayers. I am so worried about her. Poor little baby. :(

oh this is so sad... I just know the lady who owned her is heart brokes.

She cried and cried. It was sad.

Here is another picture...cute little bug:

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What a sweetie, and bless you and your group!!!

This is so heartbreaking for the baby who is so ill, for the owner who selflessly gave up her baby so that she could have a chance foe a healthy life, and for the people who take in and care for these babies. Thank goodness for people like you, Linda, who rescue these precious babies.

Golly, she is darling! Once again, YH is so great! You folks are probably the life-line for this pup. Kudos the the owner who was willing to do whatever the pup needed.

Omg POS is right. When Scrappy had to be put down, it was $50. The cremation was what was expensive. I hope this little girl can be saved.