Hillary needs your good, healing thoughts

[susanne]

She's been losing weight, so I took her to the vet and discovered that she has problems with her liver, gall bladder and pancreas (from a bit of internet research, it appears that these latter two tend to go with the first). It could be anything from an infection to something much worse...the vet wants to see first how she responds to her special diet and meds, but I think we're going to have to get an ultrasound to see what's really going on.

She is now on aHill's l/d and a couple of meds. She won't eat more than just a bite or two on her own, but she has to eat and gain some weiht, so I've been pureéing her food in the blender and syringing it into her -- she just loves that! (I get growled at and covered in slimy food in the process!) She is interested in good stuff like chicken and popcorn, whichis promising, and the vet said these are fine as long as the chicken has skin removed and the popcorn is unbuttered.

She did gain a half pound the last couple of days, but she's just not my old girl.

Picture a West Highland White Terrier with floppy ears, and you have Hillary. She is quite the character -- our "boss dog" who rules the house with an iron claw, sleeps wrapped around my head, and waits until we're asleep to give us very thorough face washes. We got her on election day, 1992, hence her name, and she picked me out by holding onto me when I held her. She's also my horse feeding companion; even though she is afraid of them (ever since Mingus goosed her), she has never let me go out to them without her until now. Hillary started out as our only dog, and we always say that when we adopted Shadow, our toy poodle, Hillary turned to us and said, "Hey guys, I really don't think we need a dog!"

Hillary and Mingus starred on Keith's and my last CD cover...a bit of Photoshop work got her to do something she never really would do!

If you can spare a moment, please send some positive energy her way. She's a very special girl.

 

[minisaremighty]

Awww, Susanne!!! You are very good with your words, but your worry still shines through. I'll be keeping little Hilary in my thoughts and hope she has a speedy recovery. I know from my own experience, after they reach a certain age, I worry about them daily.

HUGS!!!!!

 

[nootka]

I will definitely hold her in my thoughts and hope for a swift recovery. I know she is a sweet little girl and cute, also!

Please know my thoughts are with you, also. It isn't easy when one you love is in precarious health!

Liz M.

 

[Jill]

Susanne --

Hillary and you are in my prayers!!! There's not much (H maybe?!) I love more than my dog Winston and I'll never forget how scared I was when he was sick a couple months ago! He is also on Hills Science Diet prescription food. His is the u/d version (to prevent bladder / kidney stones). Winston loves the food. I wish Hillary did, too! When Winston first had his surgery, I had to syring food into him as well and got growled at, bit and as much in his beard and on me as into his stomach.

Can Hillary have baby food? It may have too much fat in it, but if she can have it, it is "easy" to syringe.

What about NutraCal? That is a high calorie supposedly tasty paste for animals that are convelesing (sp) or need to gain weight. IF she can have that, it could be the answer to her gaining weight because it has an unbelievable amount of calories in just a teaspoon. You syringe it so you can get it into her and one squirt will pack in the calories. It was a God send w/ Winston when he was recovering.

If you can use Nutra Cal (and there are other names for the same kind of stuff, we used the PetCo brand), you need a big non-needle syringe. You pull the plunger out and line it up to the mouth of the tube of Nutra Cal (comes in a tooth paste sort of tube) and squeaze it into that end of the tube. At first, I tried to "suck it up" with the syringe which was a big sticky mess.

I hope your baby is feeling better soon! I know how much you love her and that she is very special.

Jill

 

[lvponies]

Sending my thoughts and prayers to you and Hillary. Hope you can find something she will eat and enjoy and that she starts to feel better soon!!

 

[ChrystalPaths]

Sending warm healing waves to your Hillary.

 

[Miniv]

Definitely warm thoughts for your little girl.....

MA

 

[Shari]

Am Sorry Susanne she is ill. Will send warm healing thoughts out to her. <<Hugs>>

 

[Sterling]

The world is just not right when one of your little kids is ailing.

I am so sorry to hear that Hillary is not herself these days and will keep her in my good thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

 

[Magic]

Sending healing thoughts to your Hillary!

Reading that brought back memories of my girl, Hayley (Great Dane) when she was so sick-- she wouldn't eat ANYTHING, or drink either, so she needed IV fluids daily, and I syringed food into her several times a day (takes a lot of food for a big dog!) This went on for at least two weeks. I refused to let her give up. She lost a lot of weight (a LOT of weight) but my vets were super, they did every test possible on her, and finally figured out what was wrong. It was an immune deficiency. Hayley bounced right back on the right meds.

Sorry this was so long, but I wanted to let you know that good things can happen, and I know how scary it is when your best friend is ailing. Good luck!!

 

[Kim]

Aww, sorry to hear that Hillary is not feeling like herself - sending good thoughts her way for a speedy recovery!

 

[lyn_j]

[SIZE=14pt]Hoping Hillary is her old self soon![/SIZE]

Lyn

 

[nootka]

susanne, how's Hillary and how are things going, right now...?

Just hoping that you've gotten some relief from all the craziness that has been going on and that Hillary is on the mend.

Liz M.

 

[susanne]

Thank you, everyone, for your positive thoughts and well wishes! I really helps to hear from all of you whom I know consider the animals in your lives as family.

Thanks for checking, Liz...knock on wood, but things seem to have settled down just a bit as far as the string of bad luck, although we're very, very busy...good thing horse show season is over and our music schedule has slowed down a bit!

Hillary seems to have more energy; she went outside awhile ago to soak up the sunshine. She still doesn't have much of an appetite. Jill, thanks for the suggestion of the NutraCal -- I'll have to check with the vet on that one. I gave her baby food before she saw the vet, and I'll have to check the label to see what the fat content is.

I've been reading up on liver treatment for dogs, and it appears that the medication prescribed -- Denosyl (S-Adenosylmethionine) -- improves hepatic glutathione levels to help maintain and protect liver function. The vet also prescribed Zeniquin, a canine antibiotic to work on any infection.

We're keeping her well-fed despite her lack of appetite, seeing the vet regularly, and remaining positive and determined to get her through this.

Again, thanks for all of your thoughts!

 

[Margo_C-T]

Your little girl looks like a love, Susanne-I know how it feels to worry about a dear 4 legged family member(I love my children DEARLY, but my doggies are RIGHT BEHIND them in my affection-and my doggies ARE my family, who live in my house with me, who sleep with me(except for the 130 lb. Ridgeback!),and sit in my recliner with me(my house dogs are both so little, for their safety, they DON'T go to the barn with me-but watch Roma and I from the back yard!) My thoughts and prayers are with your beloved girl! Age does bring its problems; however, nowadays, much is known about how to alleviate those problems--it's my sincere hope that will be the case with your dear little furry friend!

 

[Marty]

I'm sorry to hear that Hillary is under the weather. I hope that whatever it is will be able to be taken care of and she'll be back to her old self soon. Getting her back to eating will be a good sign. I love Jill's ideas too. The baby food idea sounds really good. She's adorable and love the picture you made of her. I'll put you both on my little prayer list.

 

[SWA]

Lifting up in prayers for Hillary.

 

[sedeh]

My prayers are with you! I hate it when our "best friends" start getting old and having health issues. I wish they lived as long as we do...

 

[Crabby-Chicken]

Ahhh Susanne,

Hope she continues to keep getting better all the time. Funny how much love you can put into these little guys.

Our problem child is Monkey, our big fat cat. She tends to go into anorexic (sp.) phases. She has come out of them so far with the help pf tuna juice. It was so bad the first time I took her home from the vet and thought I would have to turn around and go back to let her go. She stumbled and couldn't see. But as soon as she started eating again, she had no problems. In fact she is a big fat kitty again.

So I hope your Hillary comes out just fine and dandy!!