Hero the Sharpei: Unwell :(

Showing posts with label Unwell :(. Show all posts

Kidney Failure

This is koko here writing an entry on this little blog... a blog that has sort of gathered dust over the last couple of months. According to Google Analytics, many returning readers would still drop by occasionally, and for that we thank you for remembering us.

Life has been pretty crazy for cheche and I, especially with a hyperactive toddler and a not-so-well dog constantly requiring our undivided attention. Hero was diagnosed with kidney failure in April, something that is not unexpected ever since we knew he is suffering from FSF, a form of congenital disease in the breed.

It all started when hero had a kerfuffle with a stray while taking a night walk. In the heat of things, he had the misfortune of tearing a tissue on his front leg, at the carpal region. Due to the swelling, hero was on anti-inflammatory medication which resulted in him vomiting and having bloody diarrhea for days. We took him in for a blood test and that was how we found out about his kidney condition. Hero was at stage three of kidney failure.

While we are fully aware of such possibility, we were not prepared for the news. Since then, we have worked out a treatment schedule and made all the necessary arrangement. In addition to conventional medication (Azodyl and Ipakitine), we put hero on special diet and also holistic treatment, such as herbal remedy and acupuncture sessions. The hardest part is the daily fluid therapy, i.e. subcutaneous injection, where he would be most uncomfortable with the poking of needles, but we do give him a treat as a reward for his patience.

Hero sleeping with his favorite toy.

Canine renal disease cannot be reversed and it is slowly taking its toll on hero. We are working hard to keep hero with us as long as possible during this difficult path. Thus far, hero has been admitted to hospital twice, with each visit having to spent a couple of nights on intravenous drips. He seems happily engaged for now and we know he is a trooper although he is losing strength by the day. Taking care of a dog with chronic kidney disease is physically taxing and mentally challenging. The constant worrying and roller coaster emotional feelings can really put a strain on the most upbeat of souls. However, having said that, we would still do it many times over, for the joy he has brought us ever since we had him is priceless.

Hero and meimei staring into the open sea.

In a month’s time, hero will be seven years old. We still have many planned adventures to go, mountains to hike, food to taste, rivers to cross and most of all, meimei is looking forward to hero walking her to her first day of school next summer. With so much yet to be done, it is difficult to imagine hero not being a part of all these. Sometimes, life just seems so unfair.

I guess Dr. Seuss was right when he said "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened".

The Day We Almost Lost Hero

We were all looking forward to spend the weekend at the beach in the east coast, a 4-hour ride from the city. The day started off normally as we made our way out of the city towards the east-coast expressway. It was a beautiful sunny morning and the traffic was clear.

We arrived at the beach resort at around 3pm and immediately went about settling down and unloading the luggage from the car. Hero was sniffing all over the place excitedly whilst marking every tree in sight. I gave hero some water to drink which he gulped down ferociously. We left him alone and went about settling Meimei in the room.

After a while, I came out to find hero yelping in pain outside the chalet. His stomach was bloated as if he had swallowed a ball, with excess salivation from the mouth. When touched, it felt tense. He was retching and attempting to defecate unproductively in a panic stupor. Immediately I knew something was wrong and it’s serious. I vaguely remembered reading on the internet about stomach bloat in dogs and how such condition could be life threatening. Without wasting time, I ran to the resort office and asked for the nearest veterinary clinic. Ruby, the resort owner, said the nearest would be in Kuantan town, about an hour drive from the resort. She quickly made a phone call to the veterinarian whilst I ran back to get hero and the car.

The journey to the clinic took about an hour but it seemed to have lasted forever. While Ruby took the wheel weaving in and out of traffic along the coastal road, I was holding on to hero whom were in great distress as he could not find a comfortable position to sit still or lay down. He kept whining and changing his place and position throughout the entire ride. A sign that he was in great pain.

At the clinic, hero was immediately sedated to have an x-ray taken for further diagnosis. The veterinarian explained that if the stomach was indeed twisted (gastric torsion), cells may die (necrosis) due to the lack of oxygen supply and this could lead to further complications. Ruby and I waited at the clinic as the vet drove hero to the x-ray center, located a distance away.

About close to an hour later, the vet returned with hero, still sedated in the crate. With bated breath, I waited as the vet reversed his truck into the porch. As he alighted, his expression did not tell me it was good news. He promptly confirmed that hero had a condition called gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV) and immediate surgery was recommended to avoid further complication to his organs which could result in shock. He further added that the surgery would take about two hours.

The time was 9pm. We were back at the resort having BBQ dinner when the vet called to inform us that the operation went well. We were told to come over at 10.30pm to see hero and if he was well enough, we can take him back, as the clinic would be closed the following day. Cheche and I arrived at the clinic punctually and as we entered the clinic, we could hear the lone cry of a frightened dog from afar at the back, and instinctively we knew it was our boy. Hero was so happy to see us and likewise for us, it was a deep relief to see him responding playfully again without the pain, at least for the moment. But we knew this was not over yet, as post-surgery care could be perilous, where intensive monitoring was needed.

We arrived back at the resort close to midnight. Hero did not sleep, and so did we. Poor hero was in such pain that he just stood still on all four legs throughout the night, wobbling at times due to sleepiness. Each time he tried to lay down, it was too painful even though he was on pain killer. And he would vomit white slimy substance each time he drank any water.

The next day, we thought of leaving for home early, but given the condition hero was in, we were concerned whether he could withstand the long journey in the car. Thus, we decided to stay on for hero to have a proper rest at the resort. However, his condition took a turn for the worst in the afternoon when his stomach started to bloat again. We rushed him to another veterinary clinic as the one where he had his surgery was closed. At the clinic, the vet gave hero a massage on his abdomen and to our relief, the bloat subsided after a couple of hearty burps. Apparently, the bloat was due to the accumulation of gas in his stomach due to post-surgery complication.

We finally made it back home the following day and upon reaching, we noticed that the incision on hero has split open and blood was dripping from the wound. It must have been from the car ride or he had scratched it. We have to clean the wound several times a day to keep infection at bay.

We fed hero several small meals a day at short intervals and limit his water intake during the recuperation period. He would still vomit occasionally after his meal due to the effect of the antibiotic he was taking. And because we controlled his fluid intake, he would licked on wet floor at any given opportunity.

It has been two weeks now since the bloat incident and hero is recovering well. He is still on special diet and since he has finished the course of antibiotics, the vomiting has stopped too. With proper care and good rest, we hope hero will make a full recovery soon.

After what we went through with hero, we do not wish for anyone to go through such horrible experience with their beloved furry friend. Bloating is the second leading cause of canine death, after cancer. I hope the information here would one day be able to help someone out there to act immediately upon recognizing the symptoms of bloat... cause every second does count.

Return of the Appetite

I'm glad to update that hero's appetite has returned and in fact, he seems to miss his usual food more than ever now that he has recovered. We have been giving him a diet of dory fish and beef soup mixed with rice, as he is allergic to most commercially available dog food.

Each time when cheche is preparing his meal, I can't help but to tease him by making a slurping sound as if to eat his food... and it always drives him mad... ahh, the joys of having a dog... just kidding :) but seriously, we never been happier to see such snarl and it's good to hear him growl over food again. But for those midnight sleep interruptions to make up for loss walkies, well that's a different story.

The Power of The Paws

This is koko here reporting on hero’s condition. Whilst the wounds are still healing, spreading is under control with no new lesions spotted and hopefully the new class of antibiotics would do the job this time round. His appetite has returned and hero has been eating well since. We hope that he will start gaining some weight over the next couple of weeks.

We clean his wounds a couple of times a day, and restrict his movements to avoid further infections or aggravation of his wounds.

The love we received from everyone out there has really touched us. Little did we realize that this little insipid blog of his does reach out to many from far and wide… such sweet serendipity of life.

Thank you for the heartfelt comments, dedicated blog posts and special mentions for hero, and also the emails offering well wishes, advice and suggestions from furiends and strangers alike. We sincerely thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness and genuine concern.

If I may ask, please do us a favor by giving the furry friends next to you the biggest squeezy hug ever after reading this… it’s from hero, whom want me to let you know that he is most grateful for all the love sent to him, from you and furry friends.

May the power of the paws be with us always.

On a different note, despite all the suffering he has to endure, hero would still welcome us home each day even though it requires him to limp in pain to the gate. Often, in a medicated stupor, he would make an effort to lick my face even though he has not eaten for days on end. Perhaps trying to comfort us in return, knowing very well of our concern for him. Each time he does that, it ruffles my heart. Such acts of affection are defining moments of a dog’s love for their hoomans... simple, pure and unconditional. I hope he knows it’s reciprocal.

Pei ess: Please spare a moment to visit my furiend, Lola, who is having the FSF sickies too. She is in need of the POTP urgently and hope everyfurry can send some healing vibes to Lola.

Fighting On

My weight has not been improving yet but my appetite is better now.

However, the ouchies have spread to other parts of my body... and this has gotten my hoomans to worry again.

This may not be the way I want to end the year with, but as in life, there are periods of joy and there are times of tribulation. But the love and pawsitive vibes I felt from my furiends, warmed my little pei heart during these dark days. As the hoomans are juggling between jobs, getting ready for the stork to bring hooman puppy home, and taking good care of me, they would not be able to help me update this blog often enough from now on. However, I promise that I would fight my sickie and be healthy again... but can you please promise me that when I'm back, you will still remember me, Hero the Sharpei.

Happy New Year to everyfurry and may the new year brings you truckload of nommies, houseful of stuffies, endless walkies, pawsome zoomies and most importantly, healthy bodies.

Note from the hooman: Hero has developed new lesions on other parts of his body, especially his scrotum. This may be due to on-going infection by more than one bacteria in the inflamed tissue. As advised, we will be administrating a different class of antibiotic to fight off the infection. I hope that by posting about hero's fight with FSF, apart from creating awareness about this dreadful congenital disease in sharpei, such posts would one day be a source of reference for someone out there searching for an answer to their beloved pei health issues.

FSF Complications

Can you tell that I have loss weight? My appetite has not been good coz I'm having a bad sickie.

My hind legs hurt and I'm feeling awful.

I wish the ouchies will go away soon.

I don't want any pressies for Christmas this year... all I want is for Santa to take away my sickies.

Note from the hooman: Familial sharpei fever (FSF) has been well documented as a serious congenital disease in sharpei breed and with each attack, it can lead to other complications such as amyloidosis and mucin infection (hyaluronosis). Hero had an attack recently and unfortunately, this time, complications set in and resulted in mucin infection on his hind legs. This is when the damaged blood vessels and skin tissues (mucin) on the swollen leg breaks apart with blood and pus oozing out, due to the damaged mucin attracting neutrophils. I would like to thank Dr. Linda J.M. Tintle (whom has been doing extensive research on FSF in Wurtsboro NY) for her insightful correspondence on hero's condition and any error herein is mine.

The treatment for infection and damage to the blood vessels from the FSF auto inflammatory reaction is by corticosteroids and antibiotics. However, prescription of such steroids will shrink hero's muzzle and he may lose his wrinkles. A small price to pay for recovering his health, which is priceless.

Ouchie is a Friend

Hi there, it's hero's koko (means elder brother in chinese) here... for this post, I would like to talk a little about canine health, or rather canine health problem to be precise. As family members, it's always heartbreaking to see your loved ones having to endure suffering due to sickness or other conditions, and pet dogs are no exceptions. As with life, there are ups and there are downs, in between every exciting adventure hero had, there would be periods of anguishing moment too.

Patella luxation, I wish the name refers to some kind of yummy gourmet Spanish dish but it's not. It is a medical term for dislocation of the kneecap in canine. Every now and then, hero would have difficulty walking as he does suffer from luxating patella, a condition that is known to affect certain breed of dogs and sharpei is one of them. In patella luxation, the kneecap luxates, or pops out of place, either in a medial or lateral position. The latter is more common in large breeds. During such period, hero would be bunny hopping around with three legs. Other than this, there is no further symptoms. Luxating patella is considered hereditary but can be corrected by surgery in severe cases. In hero's case, a therapeutic massage on the leg would normally do the trick.

Normal canine knee diagram.

Dislocation of the knee cap (patella) in canine's hind leg.

However, the above condition should not be mistaken with swollen hock syndrome (also known as familial sharpei fever) which is a inherited, congenital disorder in sharpei caused by an autosomal recessive gene that results in its inability to break down and get rid of amyloidal protein, which may lead to systemic amyloidosis (kidney failure) in some cases. Symptoms include swelling of the muzzle and eyes, temperature increases and sensitivity of the hind legs to movement or touch. During the onset of such episodic fever, hero would stand with a "roached" back and will not eat or drink as a result of the pain in his muzzle area. Treatment is by prescriptive drugs such as aspirin and colchicine but there is no known cure for such a condition.

It is really frustrating when a disorder cannot be accurately diagnosed and good veterinary care is not readily available. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I can't emphasis enough the importance of responsible breeding in order to eradicate heredity conditions in animals. They may not be in a position to change their fate, but we can, and it's only right that we do.

As for hero, whether he likes it or not... ouchie is a friend.

Bitten!

I was attacked by a pack of stray mongrels and got bitten between my ribs and flank... which resulted in a gapping hole :(

Went to visit the vet at night to have my wound cleaned.

The vet said my dermal skin has been torn by the fangs of the mongrel.

My wound condition after two days...

... and five days later.

I guess my wound is healing now.

Vomiting Yellow Bile

Throwing up yellow bile in the morning on an empty stomach... *puke!*.

Btw, if you happen to land on this page because you had searched google as you're concerned with your dog throwing up... no big deal, we do that quite often as a way to rid our body of acidic juices in our tummy. Give your dog a meal or some treats would help to ease the nausea feeling.