Thanks man. What makes this so difficult is I've no idea what's happening to her. IBD is such a fall back diagnosis that it could be something else that we do not know. Makes you want to keep going "well, what if it's this? am i giving up too early?" the other part is, she is still mentally all together. even though she is wasting away, she is still responsive to commands and perks up when I ask her if she is hungry or wants to eat something. there's also the financial component. At what point is it financially irresponsible? Where do you draw the line? I am already 10K+ between the vet visits, admission, biopsy etc..
Did the vet mention at all that it may be a chronic condition that will require medication from here on out? If she does have IBD how long can she live a happy and normal life? You have to try and not let guilt get in the way of anything, you wouldn't be posting on this forum about this situation if you didn't truly love her. You wouldn't have invested the time and money for her wellness if you didn't want the absolute best for her and for her to get better so things can go back to normal. If you have to make the very difficult call its not because you gave up. Its because unfortunately sometimes the health of our loved ones and loved pets give up. Try and take care of yourself first, make sure you are financially able to move forward with treatment before anything. You have to be okay because if you aren't your pet can not only sense it but you can't do much for her either. If you can afford the treatment again then I'd say go for it. At least to give her some peace if a decision has to be made. If the treatment allows her to eat and enjoy some time with you then I think she deserves that shot. If she gets better then that's incredible and if she doesn't well atleast you know that you tried everything til the end. Keep us posted man. Rooting for her!
IBD (chronic enteropathy) is manageable if the dog responds to treatment (steroids, antibiotics, diet) etc. But there's a percentage that just won't respond. She is on steroids, she's got new hydrolyzed protein food, she's on 3rd attempt at antibiotics.. They have done all the studies they can do short of doing exploratory surgery. I really thought she was getting better but she straight up relapsed after the 1st course of antibiotics were done. Spoiler What's made it more difficult now is she just leaking some kind blackish mucousy substance from her butt...soo it's gonna be a long night. Cost wise Visit 1 - 350 Visit 2 - 350 Visit 3 -> admission - 8500 Visit 4 - 300 Visit 5 - 200 Plus some meds/supplies I've picked up.
I went through a similar situation once. It sucked and is still hard to think about. About all I can say is, let your girl get the rest she needs, make sure she's as comfortable as possible, be kind and patient with her, and show her as much love as possible in this difficult time.
So sorry to hear man, I think you've done more than enough for her already brother. That's alot of money and heart for her. Stay strong, ultimately we can't change these things sometimes but know that this situation will pass. I do think that if she can't recover its time to start considering the best option for her to not suffer any more than she has to. She's been brave and so have you.
Dogs are like family. In many cases, the love you have for them is far less complicated than family. My best to you.
it could be a flare and may require steroids for a bit. Obviously I have no idea what it’s like in your position but it’s worth a try right? Also can dogs not take meds like sulfasalazine (treat IBD in humans)? Most of their meds overlap with ours. One of our dogs developed fluid around his heart and lungs 3 years ago. Were told it’s terminal probably cancer maybe heart failure too. Heart was huge so I asked them to treat him for heart failure. They wanted a $5k echo (ridiculous) so I asked they trial treatment given that the downside was low, thy agreed as long as we got labs. Was on meds for 3 years and went back to normal at one point. All progressed this year to where we just couldn’t keep the fluid off of him. The thought of him having trouble breathing broke me, so we put him down. I spent a lot of time wondering about it. Those 3 extra years were amazing, but perhaps the last 1-2 months we shouldnt have prolonged it. I’m of the mind that unless you have nothing more to offer and don’t want to prolong suffering do what you can. IBD off the top of my mind doesn’t sound like that sort of diagnosis but what do I know. Never hurts to get a second opinion
My dogs have shown me more trust and dedication than 99% of humans. We bred them from wolves thousands of years because they really are our best companions
They found us, and we found them, at about the same time (they fed off of our camp scraps, and we fed off their kills)...then it never stopped and the domestication of the dog continues unabated. eta: Dog and Horse are the 2 animals who you can truly say changed humanity.
Thanks for checking in. Yesterday was fking rough. I was sure I would have had to make the call today..especially based on how she was acting this AM. She didn't even go out to pee, or drink water this AM. So I took her to the vet and did fluids ($40) and repeated the stool exam (nothing...so it's not parasites).. After that I took her on a little walk up and down the street. She was sniffing...peeing.. So I was chatting with my BIL and he said oh some people try this "fecal matter transplant" and a company called Animal Biome. I had read something about it yesterday here Ordered it..will be here tomm. Gonna give that a shot..a hail mary of sorts. https://www.animalbiome.com/products/doggybiome-gut-restore-supplement?variant=39383771185232 In the afternoon, I did a quick haircut and bath. She must have felt so much better because she went and grabbed a toy! Still not eating but man it made me happy. God, she looks so frail. Skin and bones.. Yes, Chronic Enteropathy/IBD etc just doesn't seem like a diagnosis I should give up so easily on. But if she doesn't eat, it will be very tough.
Awe man, I really hope it works..... Looks promising! I'm glad you are still trying to save her and haven't given up. Let us know how she responds to the supplement!
I’m sorry that you’re going through this @Sajan. We lost our 19yo Jack Russell last summer and it’s still hard. Dogs are the best. I’m glad you can find an outlet here, bro.
wishing you all the best @Sajan and hope your dog pulls through I had to put my baby girl down last year, and I still think about her every day I keep her ashes next to a picture of her in the living room
fedex being fedex did not deliver my overnighted package. arrived in memphis at midnight but no activity since. and no delivery tomm. great.
Month, my best friend got really sick. Wasn’t eating, was lethargic and all that kind of stuff they took them into the nighttime 24 hour vet and they weren’t super helpful. Gave him a couple medicine sent them home and said they didn’t see anything on the x-ray. the next day, they get a call from the regular vet who had reviewed the x-ray and clearly saw some object lodged in the dog stomach. it was a pecan, and they figured that the dog had eaten this weeks if not months before, and it had just taken that long to kind of tumble along the digestive system, and eventually lodged itself into its stomach. After removal, the dog made a pretty quick recovery. I didn’t read the whole thread so hopefully you trust your vet and all that kind of stuff, but there was definitely a point where my friends were riding their dog off and ready to put him down and luckily he was saved. So hopefully the good luck shines on you. I’ve lost a couple dogs over the last decade that I had for a very long time and I currently have a half pug half Shih Tzu that’s about 14 years old and you can tell he’s on the last few years. it’s just a bummer because you get to know the dogs so well. my wife and daughters have gotten a couple cats and I just don’t care for them that much. The dogs are a whole different story. good luck! And remember that if you have the cash you willing, make sure you trust the vet and that they really explore all options. if my buddies trustworthy vet hadn’t taken a look, they wouldn’t have seen the pecan.
my wife and kids are out of town so I’m now in charge of trying to keep a bearded dragon alive. I go to give homeboy fruit today and I’m told that I nearly killed him.
Well I started her on the FMT capsules... She still hasn't eaten much. It's day 9. She ate a little bit of canned tuna yest. It's like she wants to eat but she is scared or her gut is hurting. Crucial week ahead..
