If any of you were wondering what is going on with Miss Potts:
Pepper came home Tuesday because her liver values were going down. She was given four medicines--one to continue to improve her liver function, an anti-nausea, an antibiotic, and a pill to encourage digestive movement.
All the way home, she was happy, sticking her head out the window to sniff at the wind with her big doggie grin. Her energy seemed better and she played fetch with Michael for a bit and ran around for a bit. We set out baby food beef which she lapped at, wet cat food which she tasted, dry dog food and doggie treats that went completely ignored, and a little spaghetti sauce. It seemed like she was on the mend.
She tired out very quickly and spent all afternoon, evening, and night laying in my chair. When I checked on her in the morning, she had thrown up all over herself but was too weak and tired to move out of it.
I called the vet who recommended bringing her back in. Though I love Pepper, I was hesitant because the last visit had cleaned us out financially, but she reassured us that they would work with us on the price and on payments, they just wanted little Peps to get better. So, Wednesday morning I took her back to the vet.
Wednesday they ran a barium dye test--they feed her dye and take x-rays over several hours to see how it is progressing through her digestive tract to detect any problem areas or blockages. It moved very quickly through her stomach but slowed down considerably in her lower intestines. By the next morning, it had finally moved into her colon but was not progressing significantly further. They gave her an enema to help her expel they dye, but it still did not completely vacate. This meant that little Pepper Ann had to go into surgery.
They were looking for potential blockages, specifically near her cecum (the dog equivalent of an appendix), but this would also allow us a look at the liver that had been irregular and the possibility of getting a biopsy. Because of the ineffectiveness of her liver she would have difficulty filtering out the anesthesia and waking up afterwards, so she was given anesthesia that humans are given that would not enter her liver at all and avoid that risk.
What they found when they got in there: intestines are supposed to constantly move, even when at rest, so when you see it, it is wiggling like a worm inside. Hers were completely still, not moving at all. Her liver did not look infected, but its levels are still high indicating irritation. The gallbladder was full of bile which had not been released, meaning it too was not doing its job. Bile can back up into the liver causing irritation and high ALT numbers; sluggish intestines can cause vomiting; liver irritation can cause intestinal discomfort...basically, every current problem could have caused all the others, which means we have no idea what started this whole thing rolling but her little baby organs aren't working properly.
On a more positive note, she is drinking water and her kidneys are beautiful and healthy; her stomach is shrunken from two weeks of little to no food, but it too is in good condition.
There was no blockage to be removed, which is both good and bad--the surgery gave us a lot of information but still not a cause for this rapid decline; if it had been a clear, tangible blockage, we would be able to remove it and start the healing process. As it is, we are still very unclear as to what is happening to our puppy. The current plan is: she is still hospitalized, being given heavy doses of medicines that are supposed to jump start her digestive tract. They are also force feeding her with syringes because her guts can't work until they start doing what they were intended to do--digest food.
Michael and I went and saw her this morning after getting the kids off to school. She looks miserable, in pain and emaciated with eyes foggy with pain and a long incision covering most of her abdomen. She is missing a great deal of fur from having been shaved for the IV and the surgery, and she is so cold that she can't stop shivering. Even despite all of this, she was so, so happy to see us (okay, to see Michael) and to be loved on; everyone there tells us how sweet she has been through this whole thing, what a darling she is to work with because she is so gentle-natured. Dr. Carruthers, the vet, is absolutely wonderful. She calls us with frequent updates, she is sympathetic and optimistic and hardworking, and she walks Pepper around and snuggles her because we can't be there too often.
She has lost a third of her tiny 15 lb weight (5 lbs, in case you were struggling with the math, lol) and because we still don't know what is causing this, we don't know if we are making progress or if she is just getting steadily worse and worse. I worry this is a stall at best, and that we are very quickly burning through our options.
To end on a happier note: at the vet's, we saw the biggest, most brutish cat I have ever seen. He was named Bob, apparently he had just wandered her one day and stayed, and he is bigger than a lot of dogs I have seen. Mike thinks I am crazy, but that big ol cat cheered me up.
Remy LaBeau, my orange tabby cat, had to be shaven today. He has let himself go, getting considerably overweight. Now because of either his physical inability or his general disinterest, he is no longer willing/able to groom himself. Cats have deodorizers in their saliva that prevents predators from tracking them or prey from detecting them, which means that when they bathe themselves, it removes odors from their fur....Rem stinks. It was gross, and it was embarrassing. If he will not groom himself, we are going to relieve him of the responsibility.
Groddy cat.
Keep Pepper in your thoughts. Poor dog doesn't deserve this.
