About a month ago I got some really scary news from a blood test that I do annually on my doggy friend, Nadi. The liver results were so high that the system merely said it was very very high and didn't even display a number.
This brought out some alarms in the people that work at the vet and I have since changed to a different veterinarian because the one that broke the "news" to me has a terrible delivery system where she presents the worst case scenario as the only scenario before she is even sure about that. I only met Dr. Cynthia because of the fact that she was the most qualified ultrasound technician on staff and when I started speaking with her, I had decided after just one trip that she was going to be my primary vet from that point forward. I was cautious about it because even though I think the other vet is very unprofessional and needs to work on her "people skills" I have no desire to make someone unnecessarily upset especially since this other doctor at one point saved Nadi's life when she had ingested chicken bones.
Anyway, we went back today and as usual I was extremely nervous about what the results would be because even though the 2nd vet had a much more positive prognosis, it was still something to be very concerned about.
The morning was kind of stressful for both me and Nadi because as is often the case when doctors need to look inside of a living creature to check out their organs without cutting them open, it is extremely important that the stomach be empty.
Nadi is a creature of habit and expects prompt delivery of food as soon as we get out of bed. Even though she has been getting the same kibbles for damn near a decade, she is really excited about them and we spend the 2 hours or so of being awake with her following me around the house and whining a little bit like “hey buddy, you forgot the most important part of your morning and I am not happy about it!”
We went to the vet office with her strapped to the front of me on my bicycle (this always get us some attention) and were only waiting for about 5 minutes before the ultrasound.
I am very happy to report that the crystallization of her gall bladder and liver are down 40% from 1 month ago. I can't really say what was causing it in the first place but it could have been a wide variety of things such as me giving her table scraps, maybe not getting enough exercise for her, and also the main factor, that she is 84 years old in "dog years."
Neither me nor Dr. Cynthia expected her to make a full recovery but I asked her to always be honest with me about anything we are looking at in her office and she told me that while it is unlikely the the crystallization will disappear entirely, the medication is working on keeping it at bay and we are going to give it another month of daily meds and see where we stand from that point.
She also recommended that I have Nadi's back teeth removed as soon as we possibly can and that depends on how things are 30 days from now because according to the good doctor, the liver needs to be in quite good shape in order for anesthesiology (making a doggy go nite nite for surgery) to work properly without potentially killing Nadi.
We celebrated by going to get a grilled chicken burger afterwards and she sat, as she does, calmly and watched me eat while I gave her just tiny pieces of chicken breast and yes, this is one of the things that dogs are allowed to have.
There is one thing I have learned from this experience that maybe you could apply to your own dog's lives as well that I had no idea about until just now. A lot of the commercially available dog treats are actually really high in fat and this can be, over time, quite bad for a dog. When Dr. Cynthia told me this I was surprised because it is always surprising to me when a product that you presumed was ok, turns out to be pretty bad for a dog.
Nadi, and I think most dogs, really likes chicken and as it turns out boiled or grilled (not fried) chicken breast is one of the best treats you can possibly give a dog. So if you are handing out store-bought treats to your do like I have been doing for the past 10 years, you might actually be accidentally hurting your little furry friend.
All in all you could say that I am very happy about these results. 40 days or so ago I was planning for the worst but not it looks like Nadi is going to be just fine. I do know that she is just delighted that she finally got to eat today, just a mere 4 hours later than normal.