# Peritonitis in Dog - Outcome??



## Merogsrha (Mar 2, 2013)

Hello Everyone..

My 3 yr old Shiba Inu is at the Vets office right now, with a diagnosis of Peritonitis from unknown cause. Heres the short version of what happened..

'Bear' got loose and went 'visiting' Saturday AM. Did not come home. Sunday PM I got a call the neighbors found him injured on their porch (they thought hit by car, they heard him yiping Sat PM, but didn't find him until Sun AM). Got him home, and realized it was a bullet wound through both of his back legs. Made emergency visit to vet Sun PM. Picked Bear up Monday afternoon, with instructions to keep wound clean, antibiotics, and pain killers. Vet and I both thought we were just looking at keeping him clean, and he'd be back to normal in no time. Well, Bear would not eat ANYTHING from Monday afternoon until I brought him back to vet Thursday PM. Vet called Friday afternoon, with a Peritonitis diagnosis. He is on IV and antibiotics. Unsure of the outcome. Vet bill as of yesterday afternoon was $600 (including Sun/Mon visit). My funds are tapped out.

My question is, What are the odds he will pull through this? He went 4 days with no specialized treatment, no food, and very limited water (he drank alot, but most came up). I have to keep my already tapped out finances in mind... Not that I WANT to, but I do have two kids to take care of, and a house to pay for. If I am looking at another week of him being at the vet with no sure outcome, I am going to have to say my goodbyes today. Has anyone ever went through this with their dog?

Bear:


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## Boss Mare (Mar 2, 2013)

Best wishes for your dog and you!

Not too much experience but I would personally discuss with your vet and ask him/her to be very straight forward regarding prognosis and discuss the financial concern.

In my experience with Shibas is that they can be a very dramatic and sensitive breed -- not that your poor puppy doesn't have every right to be after what he went through. I feel that their recovery is more drawn out and slower due to their sensitivity and low tolerance.

I'd also try to figure out the cause.. Stray bullet fragment, dietary indescresion.... Depending upon entry and exit of bullet it could have also done more internal damage..

A canned food with a strong scent to encourage eating (such as fish), homemade meals, etc to encourage eating (with vet approval)..


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## shorthorsemom (Mar 3, 2013)

Hi, Just wondering how your dog is doing. Had no idea what to write to you yesterday. You have a tough situation and somehow giving advice for your situation is so difficult and personal and would be really hard to write in words of advice here as to your odds and what you should do. Every dog and every situation can change with the blink of an eye. I have had a vet tell me I had no chance for a dog and 6 months survival at best only to see that dog live an additional 12 years to the age of 18( my oldest dog) and I have had dogs I would have given my right arm to help them pull through only to feel cheated when despite all efforts I lost my dog. I do know that shibas are strong, but peritonitis can be really tricky since it usually means infection in the area outside of the intestines or stomach and can be difficult to treat. Also you have to wonder if your dog has a hole from a fragment and it is leaking, if that hole would need to be surgically closed to stop the leaking that would be an even greater expense. Only you and your vet will be able to determine what is best for you, but I would never condemn anyone for deciding to put a dog to sleep rather than rack up 5K in vet bills only to lose the dog anyway. Know that I am writing from the heart here and trying my best to put into words a very difficult opinion. I know you were probably very upset when you posted yesterday and I just can't sit here and see only one answer to your request for help and opinion. My pets are family too, but I also have three kids and very limited income and was sitting here imagining myself in your shoes too if some jerk shot my dog. I am lucky to have a vet that will give me the bottom line and tell me what is real ..rather than what I want to hear. On an odd note, my vet on occasion takes on charity cases and will heal the animal in spite of the owners ability to pay. She has charitable donors that sponsor an occasional hard luck case. There are also schools of vet medicine such as Penn that will treat cases for free because they are unusual and will teach the students. I had a horse once that they tried to save because he was such an unusual case. Anyway... I am out of ideas, sitting here hoping to be giving you some comfort and opinion and hoping for a comforting decision for you. Your Bear is beautiful and he has a great mom that cares. No matter what you decide or decided, you did the best you could. hugs


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## Merogsrha (Mar 3, 2013)

I want to thank you two ladies from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to reply to my post. It means a lot to me. I was going to wait until I heard from the Vet's office this morning, just to make sure nothing has changed, to reply, but I don't want to keep you in suspence. As of yesterday morning, Bear was on the uphill mend. I am still awaiting this morning's call to see how he is doing.

When the Vet called me yesterday morning, hearing her voice made my stomach drop... she said she'd only call if he was worse. She started by saying she honestly thought he would not pull through the night. His gums had been a very pale, muddy white; he had not been apparently responding to the medicines; No urine/poo/vomit,, just nothing. When she came in Saturday morning, she first noticed he was sitting up watching her, and had had some diarreha over night (I can only imagine how horrible he had felt when he did it- this a dog who REFUSES to poo or even pee in the lawn, much less in his little 'den'). His gum color has returned to a more normal color, he had ate and drank, and so far had kept it down. She told me she wanted to keep him one more day/night, and acknowledged that I was at the end of what I could spend, and promised not to do anything more without consulting me. He had a bag of fluids/meds to finish, and she wanted to make sure he kept the food down and stayed alert. SO, that is the last I knew. I am waiting for a phone call this morning, and am hoping I will be able to pick him up even though it is a weekend.

I promise to come and update you when I get that call - I am praying my little guy has remained strong, and is continuing to get better. ...

Rather than erase a write; Call just came though- I'm heading out the door to get him! Will finish my reply to your posts as soon as I get back


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## crisco41 (Mar 3, 2013)

hoping that your lil guy gets well and that you all have many years together.


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## KanoasDestiny (Mar 3, 2013)

I just read this thread because I had no idea what Peritonitis meant when I saw it in the title yesterday. I know it's a bit late now, but I just wanted to let you know that I'm so glad that you have gotten good news and can go bring your fur-baby home.





Years ago, I had an outdoor cat who was sitting with her face down in the dirt. I went outside and picked her up. When I set her back down on her feet, she tipped over face first. We rushed her to the emergency clinic thirty minutes away because this happened on a Sunday and our local vet was closed. By the time we reached there, she was pretty much lifeless, without the strength to sit up. They had no idea what was wrong with her. They ran every test imaginable, and thought that she may have gotten into some kind of poison, although she had none of the signs of that. Her body temp was deathly low, so they kept her overnight inbetween two heating pads, and did everything they could for her without having any idea what was wrong. They warned me that she wouldn't make it through the night.

The next morning however, she was the same. We had to drive back early the next morning and pick her up, to take her to our regular vet since the emergency clinic was closing during normal business hours. It was 100 degrees outside, but we drove thirty miles with our heater blasting because they warned us that her body temp couldn't get any lower then what it was. She was so weak, she couldn't even meow or lift her head as she laid on her side. When we got to our own vet, they read over her chart and were at a lose of how they could treat her. They gave me the option of putting her down, but I just couldn't do it. I was expecting a call from them at anytime, to tell me that she was gone. The next morning my heart stopped when their call finally came. The vet himself called to tell me that she was sitting up in a back corner of her cage hissing at anyone who walked by. He told me that he was surprised because when he turned the corner, he expected her to be dead. As he put it, he had never seen an animal so close to death make a complete comeback. They kept her an extra day, just to monitor her, but she was absolutely fine besides the attitude problem. It is now seven years later, and she has never had any other problems. She is a very spoiled indoor cat, and as sweet as can be.

My point to all of this is that animals can surprise you. They may be so bad off that you think the only humane thing to do is to put them to sleep, only to have them make a complete recovery. Or they may be extremely healthy and pass in the night. Like ShortHorse said, you have to do what's best for you, your family, and your furpet. But it sounds like you might be given a happy ending in this case with your guy. I can't wait to hear an update.


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## Merogsrha (Mar 3, 2013)

Just got home from picking my boy Bear up



He is a completely different dog than when I dropped him off Thursday night! The vet's words were than he is an extremely lucky and tough little guy. She didn't think he'd pull through Friday night, and he made a complete turnaround. He won the hearts of everyone in the clinic while he was there, and everyone was pulling for him. The vet suspects some form of food poisoning to be the cause. Xrays and a Borium additive showed no other wound/punctures anywhere, and his bullet wounds are healing nicely. He was truely very lucky the bullet completely missed all of the bones, tendons, nerves, and blood vessels in his legs. He is on two antibiotics and some stomach soother for the next week. The vet told me to call with any questions or concerns and she'd help me the best she can over the phone since she knows my financial situation. Thank goodness they didnt mind taking about 6 post dated checks to cover his total bill! It won't ease the financial strain, instead it will spread it out into 6 loooooooong weeks- but the feeling I got when I picked him up, and he was his bouncy, springy self and the look on my daughters face when she comes home from grandma's house will be SO worth it.

Bear is very much a Shiba Inu in attitude and personality; though he tends to be very stoic when it comes to showing any form of pain. He showed no direct pain responces when he was felt over and poked and prodded. He is a very indepent, aloof, strong minded dog.


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## shorthorsemom (Mar 3, 2013)

Fantastic! So glad you posted. I know about those vet bills.. glad they take post dated checks and plastic..I havedone that many times. I am lucky becsuse i used to be a vet tech and my vet trusts me to take my animals home for observation and treatment rather than rack up costly boarding and treatments. Right now my vet is trying to get me to xray my collie's head. Diagnostic and wont change outcome. Part of me wants to know if we can see anything in her head like the tumor we suspect.. part of me says.... glad i dont know... like the garthbrooks song. They truly become part of our lives. I know what it is like to live with a strong minded dog. I can see bear in my mind in one of those Disney movies being the lead sled dog in a race. Best wishes to you.


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## Carolyn R (Mar 3, 2013)

So glad to hear the news. I hope and pray things continue to go well.


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## Boss Mare (Mar 3, 2013)

Awesome!


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## mickeymoto (Mar 4, 2013)

So happy to hear your Bear is doing well. I have a shiba inu/chihuahua mix and he is the love of my life. Very very much has the shiba personality with the high strung personalities of a chihuahua. One very weird little dog LOL. He is the little dog in my avatar. His name is Hercules. We almost lost him year before last and Bonnie played a very very important part in saving him. Give your Bear a big hug from me. They are special little dogs)


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