Update on son's very ill dog... need prayers..

I don't know if any of you remember me asking for help with my son's dog who was diagnosed with pancreatitus or not, but I would like to give you an update. *sigh*

First of all, the dog, Daisy, is a chihuahua and she has had loose bm's since he had her (3 yrs). She is 9 yrs. old. She was recently diagnosed with pancreatitus. She seemed to get over the acute phase of this (if it was indeed this, we are not even sure) and she has had very bad diarrhea and weight loss. Her appetite is very good and she is drinking water (with gatorade added). But every time she eats, she has to poop like every half hour after that. She is nothing but skin and bones now. The vet took another blood test and my son after not hearing anything for over a week called to find out the results and they told him someone had broken the vial and they never did the test... if my son hadn't called, I am sure they wouldn't have even called him to tell him this! I thought this was outrageous!!

Well, I encouraged him to go to another vet and he did. He went this Tues. She examined the dog and did some tests. Gave him antibiotics, dewormer and a follow up appt....Daisy's poops got less frequent, more color to them, a little more solid, but she is weaker than ever and we feel she is fading fast.


well, in the mean time I found a site that explained this dogs symptoms to a TEE!! It had pictures of dogs that looked exactly like Daisy looked. I sent the link to my son and he read it over and over and agreed with me. It is a disease called "Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency". Here is the link:http://www.epi4dogs.com/

He tried to call the vet today when he got home from work to get her in right away to try and get her treated immediately, as we feel it might be a matter of hours now instead of days or weeks. Unfortunately, the vet is closed. He will try to call tomorrow. In the mean time, my son has researched this very thoroughly and found out what the dog needs (animal enzymes) and got in touch with a vet supply company and has the enzymes she needs overnighted to him, so hopefully he will get them by tomorrow and he can start her on them. Right now he is just hoping she will last until then. I trust him completely to know what she needs as he is very intelligent and absorbs very well what he reads. I just hope and pray we can get this stuff to her in time.

Has anyone in here ever heard of this disease? Had any experience with it? I think she has had a bit of this for a long time. This little dog is a real fighter. I just hope we are not too late...:(

This is Daisy:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...r43/daisy4.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b1...r43/daisy2.jpg

Poor Daisy. :( She is so skinny.
I have heard of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. But that's the extent of it. My friends dog was diagnosed with it as a possibility of why she wouldn't gain weight. And she was having loose stool with some blood at times. The vet gave some meds (sorry I can't remember what) and it seemed to stop. They also perscribed a special food for her. The challenge was her family not feeding the dog human food and only feeding the special food.
Anyway, she has recently began to have the bowel issues again and once my friend can afford it she will have more extensive testing done on her. However, Tessa is only 4 years old and is obviously not as bad (skinny) as little Daisy.

I hope your son can get her what she needs. My friend took her dog to a vet specialists I recommended after they helped me with my cat.

Please keep us updated on sweet Daisy. I will keep her in my thoughts.

Thank you for your reply. The enzymes came in this morning! In just 14 hours!! He is in PA., the enzymes were shipped from AZ. That is pretty quick service. He had already fed her something by the time they came, but he is going to try and feed her again real soon and get some enzymes in her. He is just thrilled that she made it through the night....

I remember her. Poor wee thing :(

Please keep us posted. I hope she perks up very soon.

I will be praying for Daisy and your son! I've never heard of the condition but I really hope she will pull through.

I really hope she is okay and makes it. She is extremely skinny. Poor girl. How the vets wouldn't admit this dog and do everything in their power is beyond me. I hope she makes it... poor little girl.

Thank you so much for your replies and prayers. She is still hanging in there! He is trying so hard to pull her through this. I will be heartbroken for him if she doesn't make it. I guess only time and Daisy's will to live will tell...

Daisy is such a sweetheart. I wish I could give her hugs and kisses in person. I am praying that she makes it and thrives. This story brings me to tears. So sad. Get well Daisy!!!:(

How is she doing?

Glad to hear the doggie now has her meds, hope they take care of things and she gains weight back.

Sounds to me like that first vet was incompetent. A pancreas with insufficiant enzymes would have been easily detected with a 8 hour test on a stool sample. If the dog fails the test then they are given meds, probably what you have now, like Panacare or something similar when the dog eats. Usually solves the problem although they do have to be on it the rest of their lives. Glad your son got a second opinion. Hope things work out from here on.

Now that Daisy has her meds and is eating, I hope she recovers completely. JMO - like in people, slow weight gain is good. If it comes on too fast, the heart could get overloaded.

Hugs to that precious girl and her devoted dad! Love is keeping her moving forward! :):love::love: