Folks, we always strive to present new material every day, but like you, we are dog people, and that means we are faced with an occasional medical event in the dogs we love.
In our case, we are suddenly navigating what it means for one of our dogs to have been diagnosed just this afternoon with a likely liver shunt.
On the one hand, we've been blessed in that it's our first foray into the land of liver shunts since 1978. On the downside, it's our first foray into the land of liver shunts.
We learned that a liver shunt means that important blood vessels traveling to the liver to purify it instead go around it. Ammonia builds up, and the dog exhibits bizarre behavior.
In our girl's case, odd behavior wasn't sudden.
A year ago, we lost a beloved heart dog, and we assumed that the dog he left behind - our girl - was in mourning. She was sullen, sad, and distant. She'd lost her buddy, it made sense.
A few months ago, however, we realized that her behavior was becoming something else even as she sent us mixed signals: Yes, she ate, she played with her remaining housemate, and she loved affection. But she also began to howl mournfully for no apparent reason at odd hours. She began to pace. She would fall off the bed or the deck.
Like any of you, we had her checked immediately by our vet. At first blush, she appeared normal, but God bless our vet, she trusted us to know that something wasn't right. Last week, we ran comprehensive blood work.
Today, we learned that her results were off the chart, and a liver shunt seemed likely.
Suddenly, it all made sense. A dog with a liver shunt acts like she's drunk because ammonia builds up in her system. It explained the weaving, the pacing, the clumsiness.
We are relieved to know that our girl is not in pain, but now we are learning how to manage a dog who is three sheets to the wind.
Please understand. We're not sharing this information for sympathy, We've always been about education, and perhaps one or more of you are dealing with the same thing and wondering, "What the heck?"
We repeat. We are dog people. We face the challenges presented by our four leggers and move ahead to make their lives better, and in so doing, it we makes our lives better, too.
We write to ask for your patience. For a day or so, we'll be posting posts from our archives as we take the time to learn about low protein diets, Lactulose, advanced imaging, and potential surgery.
Because we are "glass half full" kind of folk, we see this diagnosis as a positive alternative to what it COULD have been: A brain tumor or canine cognitive disorder.
Be of good cheer. Hug your dogs and we'll keep you apprised as we learn more. ...
