Please pray for Digi .... UPDATE PG3 #37

[king2005]

I know I'm not well liked here, but please I beg you to pray for Digi!! I don't want this to be my last week with her... I love her so much & shes too young :(

please ignore my typos I've been balling my eyes out for nearly 4hrs & I can hardly see, think let a lot spell...

Digi got sick this morning at 6am.. I thought she was having an allergy to something she had eaten so I thought little of it... then about 10pm she was terribly sick.. I had never seen water pour from her mouth before puking & then puke up a lot of foamy water... It was like watching a horror movie.

I ran to the computer & started looking up an emergency vet as I feared she was poisoned... They were almost positive she wasn't poisoned but something worse was wrong. So I rushed her to the vet (couldn't go to the vet until I had dealt with poison control.. it was the worst 15 mins of my life)

I got to the vet & Digi was her normaal LOVE ME I'M CUTE!! We were put in a waiting room & then Digi had diareah.. it looked bloody & odd... They took a sample & foud massive amounts of hair in it.

we were moved to a different room & then they told me we could come out as it was going to be a long wait... SO digi was walking around freely (doors were locked & no one else was around. Everyone patted here & then it happened.. She had more diareah, but nothing like I had ever seen before.. it was really really bad... thats pretty uch when I lost it as I knew it wasn't allergies.. something was very very wrong with my baby.

I'm trying to remember what its called, but she either has pancretitus or her digestive system is killing its self... This explains so much, why shes a horrid picky eater, doesn't eat much of anything, & can't put on any weight :(

I don't have $1500.00/day, so I have 4 medications in hopes its not the 2 bad ones. if shes not improving in a few days I have to say good bye :(:(:( I don't want to say goodbye please please please pray for her, I love her so much!!!!

its 3am here.. I'm going to try to get some sleep. Digi is tied to the bed so she can be close to me. I'll be staying home with her tomorrow & watching her like a hawk.. I'll try to give updates as soon as I can

[chocolatepuppy]

Oh no.:( Many prayers headed Digi's way. I hope she'll be ok.

[king2005]

this morning started off bad... she puked up more blood :(

I medicated her just now & I have to runto work for a couple of hours then run back here for the rest of the day... This feels like a nightmare & I can't wake up

[Scooter's Mom]

You know you always have my prayers, as well as all of your critters.
Give Digi a big gentle hug from me. She is such a good girl, and hopefully everything you're doing to help will pull her through.

((Hugs)) and prayers to you and to Digi.

Crystal

[king2005]

You know you always have my prayers, as well as all of your critters.
Give Digi a big gentle hug from me. She is such a good girl, and hopefully everything you're doing to help will pull her through.

((Hugs)) and prayers to you and to Digi.

Crystal

thank you

work sent me home.. they told me to screw work & just be with Digi & do what needs to be done for her... The whole office was upset & all my friends were crying. They all love that wiggly little pup... Shes still wiggly as nothing ever breaks her spirits.. but she is tired & sore.. Shes been cuddling up to me a lot since yesterday so I know shes hurting. But she still wants to play :(

I'm leaving in 20 mins to bring her to her normal vet... I hope they can give me good news. She is loved by so many

[cassiesmom]

hugs and prayers for Digi and king2005

[caseysmom]

Sounds like a nightmare you are going through, you and digi will be in my thoughts and prayers. Big hugs to you.

[Taz_Zoee]

I have always loved Digi since the first day you got her. I am trying to type through my tears here as well. I will be hoping that this can be fixed and Digi will be with you for many years to come.

[K9soul]

You and Digi will be in my prayers. I'm so sorry to read this :(.

[lvpets2002]

:( Oh No poor wittle Digi.. I sure hope meds can help this baby to get well.. Sending Lots of PT Positive Vibes & Prayers & Huggss.. Keep us posted on how Digi is doing & the Vet visit..

[Catty1]

Prayers, prayers and more prayers for Digi, dear little wigglebutt. :love:

Prayers that this can be treated and you and Digi will feel better soon.

HUGS!

[Glacier]

Sure sounds like pancreatitis to me....which I have an unfortunate amount of experience with. Several of my dogs have had acute attacks, two now have the chronic form. It's not fatal, if treated, but it is painful. Even the chronic form can be managed. Paxil is fourteen, had it for years, and still doing well.

The danger with an acute attack is dehydration. Digi likely needs to be hospitalized and on IV fluids for a few days with no oral intake of anything. The digestive system needs to shut down for a bit to reset itself. Then very small meals, very bland food. NO treats, no fat likely ever again. Pancreatitis is most often triggered by a fatty treat(gravy, roast drippings, pigs ears ect).

Paws crossed for your girl. PM me if you want more details on what we did with my dogs!

[Karen]

Poor Digi - she'll be in our prayers.

[Husky_mom]

keeping you both on our thoughts... hope she can get comfortable and as Glacier said some fluids and best wishes for her recovery...

we like you both!!!

[MonicanHonda]

Poor Digi. I hope She becomes better. You're definitely in Remy's, Honda's, and I's prayers.

[Daisy and Delilah]

How scary. I'm so sorry to hear this. I'm sending thoughts and prayers out to both of you right away. Feel better Digi!!
{{{{{HUGS}}}}}

[king2005]

Thank you everyone!

Glacier, if Digi does have pancreatitis I'll gladly listen to what you have learned & do for your pups to help them through it!!!

Also what do you feed your sled dogs to keep their weight up?
This vet (there are 2 vets I love at that office & trust) said he wants me to look into what mushers feed high energy dogs, as he thinks that'll help Digi put on healthy weight. Then I can walk her all the time & run her in the yard often without her turning into a bag of bones


==============
Update:

The vet doesn't know what it is yet, as it could be several different things, so he took some blood. He is leaning towards Parvo or a bacterial/viral infection (I forget the names of everything, I'm freaked out & functioning on no food & 2hrs of sleep).

Digi is an Out Patient. As the stress of being at the clinic locked up & then alone all night long could cause far more issues with her getting crazy stressed & spazzing out. The vet said she is in great spirits for such a sick dog, & he doesn't want that to change by keeping her at the clinic (unless things get worse). So we're working off of plan B.. Plan A is her staying at the clinic if she gets worse

She was given 2 balls of fluid under her skin, an anti vomit shot, and an antibiotic shot. I have to take her to the vet twice a day. I have NO issues with it, I just wish it wasn't 80km/trip.. but my baby is worth every km!!!

She is full of gas & very tender. She was very good through all the poking & proding & grabbing.. she fought but calmed down the second I put my face to hers & spoke to her... The vet was very impressed with her fight as he said most dogs like this just lay there & mope... SO he said its ok to gently play with her to keep her spirits up as thats whats gonna help her fight off whatever she has. Just nothing crazy, like fetch, no rough play.. just toss a toy a foot away or just high enough into the air she can catch it without jumping.. its fun, but its not going to make her tired

The vet knows I only have 500.00 & I told him I can give him the 500 right away & 100.00/pay. He said thats fine. We'll work something out as we go on & learn whats wrong with her.

SO lastnights visit cost 200+60, & today cost me 200.. Tomorrow should cost me a little over 100 & if I have to come in again, it'll be another 100.

Much better then 1500.00 min, & these guys aren't scaring me 1/2 to death!! They said I shouldn't worry about her dying, there is plenty of hope for her right now.. So I finnally feel relieved enough that I haven't cried in about an hour... I'm so tired & worn out. But can't sleep as I feel I have to keep a super close eye on her.. just incase she crashes.

[Taz_Zoee]

I am glad to hear it's not as bad as the ER vet lead you to believe.

I will keep you and Digi in my thoughts for a speedy recovery. :)

[king2005]

I am glad to hear it's not as bad as the ER vet lead you to believe.

I will keep you and Digi in my thoughts for a speedy recovery. :)

Thank you

[MonicanHonda]

Well parvo and bacterial infections sound better than pancreatitis. Well, they all sound bad but you know what I mean. :) I worked at a vet's office and all the parvo patients I've seen are really lazy and can't move much. So maybe you caught it early and that's really good. If it is parvo of course. I'm glad Digi is going to be okay!

[lvpets2002]

:love: Oh Bless your Heart Jessie.. I wish I was close to you to give you & Digi some Huggss.. I know your tired Honey but you have to make yourself get some sleep.. You dont want to have a wreck from falling asleep on the road taken Digi to the Vet.. Take some care of your self as well.. Also sending Lots of Prayers & Prayers && PT positive vibes..

[Tollers-n-Dobes]

I hope Digi will be ok! If it is Parvo, here's hoping you caught it early enough and that she'll make a fully recovery soon. Someone I know just went through Parvo with two dogs, both of whom are pretty much back to normal now.

[Glacier]

Also what do you feed your sled dogs to keep their weight up?
This vet (there are 2 vets I love at that office & trust) said he wants me to look into what mushers feed high energy dogs, as he thinks that'll help Digi put on healthy weight. Then I can walk her all the time & run her in the yard often without her turning into a bag of bones


==============



When my dogs eat kibble, they eat Acana Performance(the "Red" formula). It's designed for working dogs. Ozzy is a hard keeper. He gets dangerously skinny in a hurry, so much so that he has been tested for thyroid cancer. He eats Acana Extreme. It's an extremely high fat, high protein formula. It's also ridiculously expensive, almost 80 bucks for 35 pound bag. I buy the other stuff by the ton literally, so I have no idea what it costs a bag, but I think it's about 50 bucks. It might be cheaper down south. You might want to check out Red Paw too. It's a common sled dog food.

The majority of their diet is raw wild game meat. I dont' know any musher who feeds strictly kibble or raw; everyone I know mixes the two. Ozzy maintains his weight much better on raw meat than he does on any kibble. I get pure fat from a butcher for him too. Ozzy weighs 40 pounds(about 47 would be ideal). He eats more than my 130 pound malamute. Ozzy also gets fed twice a day, the only one of my dogs who gets breakfast.

Unfortunately, if it is pancreatitis, none of those options will work. The key to managing pancreatitis is limiting fat to just about nothing. My two chronic pancreatitis dogs eat Acana Senior. One, Earle, is also hypothyroid so keeping weight on him is not a problem! He has the opposite problem! Paxil has always been a hard keeper with a poor appetite. It's part of why her first musher rehomed her. He was a distance musher. A distance racing dog needs to eat no matter what, no matter where...Paxil just won't do that! I bribe her to eat occasionally with a couple tablespoons of senior canned food on top of her kibble, which is always soaked in water. Strangely, her appetite has increased this winter and she's holding her weight well. She eats pretty consistently lately. Odd because she's fully retired now and getting much, much less exercise than she did before, when she was my main leader.

[Karen]

I am glad to hear this vet thinks there is hope. I know there will be some stressful times while you find out what it is, but your little cutie is worth it, to you and to all of Pet Talk! She couldn't have a better, more caring mommy.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Could Digi have eaten something that could be causing this? Something like clothing or something other than food? A sock, hosiery, etc.

king: Sorry I don't know your first name. I hope you can get a little food in your stomach and get some rest. It sounds like you're wearing down. You don't want to get sick yourself. Sorry.....it's the mother part of me talking.

[K9karen]

We obviously care about you and Digi. I'm so sorry that Wigglebutt is so ill but glad you were able to see your regular vet.
Whatever it is, I hope Digi recovers quickly and comfortably. She sure is a beauty and I, too, fell in love with her. Please keep us updated. Hugs to you too!

[king2005]

Thank you everyone!

Digi seems to be ok. Shes been begging for food like crazy (can't feed her anything) & hasn't puked up anymore blood or her 1 liquid med (for her tummy). No poop which means she is empty so thats really good so her system can reset its self.

Shes been so good when getting fluids under the skin (gets poked twice) & getting 4 shots/day & blood taken from both front legs.. thats 8 pokes total yesterday! :eek:

Last night she had a normal sized drink of water & nothing has come up :)
I'll be taking her outside to potty around 9am, unless she gets up before that. Shes resting so I don't want to get her up & going as shes going to need all her energy so she can be all wiggly and happy at the vets for 10-11am.

When I woke up this morning I had a Digi on the bed hehehe I've been tieing her to the bed so she can be near me & when I hear her starting to puke I can move her to the puke blanket & help make sure she doesn't puke on her paws again.. silly thing

oh ya...The vets & attendents noticed that Digi was becoming fearful of them, from all the poking, proding, grabbing & feeling they have been doing to her yesterday.. So 4 of them (1 vet, 2 attendents, & Dr. Hills son) got down & gave all sorts of loving to Digi to let her know they still love her & don't mean to hurt her. She was so happy she was kissing everyone & was so wiggly!

Dr. Hill's son got to help in giving Digi her fluids. The attendent poked Digi & he held it in. Digi was a very good patient for him to work with, as shes non-vocal, doesn't squirm much, & is a sweetheart. He did a good job on her :) I think hes between 14-16yrs old. He wants to be a vet like his dad, so his dad brings him to work to help do minor things & observe everything. If hes anything like his dad, I think he'll turn into a wonderful vet :)


AWWWWWW... Digi got up, sniffed Cash (cat) & curled up beside him! of course he didn't like that too much (she was laying on him) so he got up & left... Digi is all sad, so I'm gonna go cuddle up to her & take a short nap before we have to leave.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Great news. I hope she continues to do better. It's refreshing to hear of such a wonderful vet staff there. Feel Better Digi!!:)

[king2005]

Great news. I hope she continues to do better. It's refreshing to hear of such a wonderful vet staff there. Feel Better Digi!!:)

Thats why I travel 40km to go there :) They are awesome! She got 3 new Bandanas yesterday from them too :D Digi is an all time fav there, so she gets spoiled rotten everytime shes there.

Work is trying to find a spare camera so I can take it home & monitor Digi while she's sick.. Then I can monitor her from home.. The joys for working with the company & being well liked :D YAY toys! I mean yay I way to monitor Digi while shes ill :p:D

[Husky_mom]

great!!.. keep up getting better sweetie!!! hugs to you all... and take a nice deserved rest you both.. :)

[chocolatepuppy]

Keep getting better Digi!:)

[king2005]

great!!.. keep up getting better sweetie!!! hugs to you all... and take a nice deserved rest you both.. :)

Digi is high on sugar (like she needed more)... The vet said to give her Gaterade to get her to drink more.. My goondness she likes that stuff (shes not gorging, she just gets all happy when drinking it).. now shes WIDE awake and wants to play hehe

I'm taking a nice LONG bath in a few mins as I haven't had one in days. Jordan is going to stay with Digi so I can bathe alone (Digi usually watches me bathe & then joins me when the water has cooled down). I just want so soak & relax for a good hour or so :)

[K9karen]

*whew* That's good news! I think it'd be impossible NOT to love Digi! I'm sorry she has to endure all the pokes and prods. I hope you enjoyed your relaxing bath then went back to loving on Digi!

[KYS]

I am glad she is getting better.
Sending more wishes that she will be 100% real soon.

[king2005]

SHes had 5 mini meals today & has been drinking well :)
She had a little poop this afternoon. It was soft but not runny

[wolf_Q]

I'm sorry to hear that Digi has been ill. I'm glad she's starting to feel better, hope she's back to her normal self soon!

[king2005]

Thank you everyone!

Digi had her 2nd poop this morning & it was about 95% normal! It was a tiny bit too wet, but its prob becuase I'm turning her kibble into soup. But she didn't flinch in in pain or anything bad when whe pooped, so thats a great sign :)

Also if anyone wants to see her LIVE sign up on yoics.com & email me ([email protected]) your youic login name (its the email address you used) and I'll share the video stream for a few mins.

Yoics works on all common browsers, as long as you have Quicktime installed :)

I can't share it with everyone all at once or for too long, as it'll suck up all my bandwith at home & murder my connection. But it can handle a few people all at once for a few mins just fine :)

I'm so happy shes getting better!!!

[Daisy and Delilah]

It sounds like Digi is turning around. I hope she keeps feeling better!!:)

[king2005]

Just spoke to one of her vets!

They said to start her final antibiotics as her belly should be calm enough for it... I hope it doesn't upset her tummy

[pomtzu]

So glad that Digi is doing better. What was the ultimate diagnosis of her problem?

[lvpets2002]

:love: Well this is Great News of Digi getting better.. Woo Hoo Digi & keep getting better..

[king2005]

Thanks everyone :D


So glad that Digi is doing better. What was the ultimate diagnosis of her problem?
The vet is almost positive she has an extra sensitive digestive system & when the cat got into the tash, we think he puked a 2nd time without us knowing becuase Digi ate it (ewwww)... & since Digi is allergic to anything realted to a cow & dairy, her digestive system crashed as the vet thinks she nolonger can tollerate it at all... This is why I buy Orijen 6fish for the cat & dog. Just never though the cat would go into the trash.. now it has a lid & he hasn't gotten into it since.

[Karen]

Oh, my - well at least that's something you can control! :)

[king2005]

Oh, my - well at least that's something you can control! :)

We are lucky for that! The vet told me to keep Peto Bisumal on hand & give it to her for 1 day if I suspect anything. That way I can prevent her system from crashing again, as the pepto will coat her belly & intestines to help calm them down.. THen I can starve her for the day so the pepto can do its job without food getting in the way.

Here is a screen shot image of Digi on yoics (internet remote viewing). I LOVE watching her while I'm at work.. it takes a load of fmy chest. The small bowl that is hanging has Gateraide in it & the big one to the left is filtered water (she gets the best :) )

EDIT: the time on the image is 1hr behind. I haven't correct it yet & we are in EST

[Daisy and Delilah]

Awwwww.....Digi is a gorgeous girl. Her crate looks like a room at the Ritz. Very comfy.:)

[king2005]

Awwwww.....Digi is a gorgeous girl. Her crate looks like a room at the Ritz. Very comfy.:)

She normally doesn't have a towel or the pillow in her kennel. she hates them in there. But because shes sick, I put the towel in there to help obsorb any mess she might make as it tends to leak towards teh back of the kennel & thats where she lays the most. Shes just been extra cuddly so I gave her a pillow...

She pushed the pillow & towel away.. shes back to laying on the bare metal tray... she really just likes the tray.. I think its becuase shes so thin, that any bump in the blanket/towel is super annoying to her as she has no body fat for cushioning. But I got her the XL kennel so she would have plenty of room to move, stretch, & play. I want to get her a 2nd hanging bowl as it gives her even more room to lay & stretch out 100% as shes in it all day while I'm at work. SO she needs the space to play with her stuffies :D

[Daisy and Delilah]

I can understand how Digi thinks. I can't stand anything near me in bed(except the girls). No foreign objects.;) That's a nice kennel she has.

I'm hoping and praying she gets better and has some body cushioning soon.:)

She was really sick. I'm so glad she's better.:)

[king2005]

I can understand how Digi thinks. I can't stand anything near me in bed(except the girls). No foreign objects.;) That's a nice kennel she has.

I'm hoping and praying she gets better and has some body cushioning soon.:)

She was really sick. I'm so glad she's better.:)

Well Shes MUCH better! Almost back to her normal self with bouncing off the walls and chasing the cat, her tail, her toys & invisible things all evening long.. She cut me open good by jumping & bolting off the bed.. My poor foot!

If she keeps behaving shes going to be allowed to sleep on the bed with us every night :) She been excellent on the bed the past week & a bit. Jordan & I really enjoy having her at the foot of the bed... But she still needs to be tied as shes still a pup & will get into things when we're not looking. But she doesn't care, shes happily curled up on the bed with mommy & daddy :)

She just doesn't like the cat coming near me at night. She has shooed him away a few times.. silly pup :rolleyes:

[Daisy and Delilah]

Great news!!! I hope she keeps on feeling better and being a good girl!!

Sorry about your foot. OUCH :eek: