January 3rd 2009 4:00 am
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This is a problem that has been going on for a while but Mom just never wrote it in my diary so she thought it is time we write about it. Back around February, I stopped eating and playing and just laying in bed so mom got worried and took me to the vet the end of March. They did blood test, ultra sound and urine test and found that I have high liver enzyme and urinary tract infection. The UTI went away with some antibiotic but the liver problems persists.
The dogtor put me on Marin and we went back for blood tests again in May, June and August but the liver counts were still high. The vet then added Denosyl and I have been taking that too since September. I also had some mild seizure episodes in August. They think I had some infections and gave me some antibiotic and the seizures seem to have gone away. I went back for another blood test on December 21 and the liver counts still did not improve.
Needless to say, mom is major worry about me. Although the vet never recommended any kind of special diet for me, mom has been giving me home cook diet since April. She usually cooks for me chicken or beef, peas, carrots, oatmeal and sweet potatoes. She also makes a frosty paws for me with Vanilla yogurt and canned pumpkin.
After seeing that my liver count did not improve, the vet referred me to a specialist. We went to see him December 31. He had no idea exactly what is wrong with my liver either and wanted to do another full blood test and ultrasound. The problem is he charges over $500 for the blood test and almost $400 for the ultrasound. Ouch! Mom said no thanks, paid the $90 consultation fee for nothing and left.
Mom then went on a quest to find a way to treat my liver without the vet's outrageous charges. Back in April, mom found a Liver Cleansing Diet on the internet by a Dr. Jean Dodd. It consists of cod fish cooked with many different vegetables. Mom made it for me but I would not eat it because I don't like fish and she ended up throwing it away.
Well, we joined a Yahoo Group called Canine Liver Support where all the members have dogs with liver problems. The admin there, a nice lady name Angela, recommended that we contact Dr. Dodd for consultation. Angela and her dog live in Florida but they pay to consult with Dr. Dodd all the time by telephone. Well, guess what? We discovered that Dr. Dodd has an office only 5 minutes from us and is just down the street. Mom sent Dr. Dodd an email attaching the results of all my blood tests and she responded right away full of advise. Dr. Dodd told mom not to spend any more money for diagnostic tests right now and substitute chicken for the Liver Cleansing Diet. Her consultation fee is only $75 so we made an appointment for me to see her next Wednesday.
We are very happy and excited to have found Dr. Dodd. All the people in the Canine Liver Support group LOVE Dr. Dodd and think that she is a GOD SEND. They cannot believe that we are so close to Dr. Dodd's office and told us how lucky we are. Dr. Dodd emphasizes treatments by diet and hopefully, will help mom heal my liver.
Mom discovered that she has probably been giving me too much fatty protein like beef and chicken livers which I love. I don't like chicken breast too much but she will have to be more strict with me from now on. It is for my own good. I am very picky so it is very hard for her to get me to eat. She will also have to add more vitamin supplements to my diet.
We can't wait to see Dr. Dodd next Wednesday and will woof again after my appointment.
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