Hi,

Im new here so forgive me if im placing this in the wrong section.

I would really appreciate any opinion on what i am about to share as im in a bit of confusion over the vet not being able to tell me what is up with the dog i petsit for, and love so much.

Pepper is a 10 month old staffordshire bull terrier crossed with a rhodesian ridgeback. she is a beautiful little girl with such a happy go luck personality.

Sadly, her owners informed me that she is not doing so well. I am devastated. Since last thursday she has been kept in the vets due to not being well enough to return home. They have run tests on her, xrays, etc, etc, and they have come up with nothing at all.

They thought it may be a hormonal problem so placed her on steriods, but since 1 dose, her eye has developed 3 ulcers, in which they are unable to operate on because she is too weak.

The vet has informed us that if the ulcer ruptures, that she could die...but the ulcers are not the cause of her illness.

her symptoms are: not being able to urinate properly (she goes to go, but nothing comes out, tries again and again, with no result) she is completely off her food and water (is now on a drip) she is listless and not the dog i know her to be at all (depressed and hardly able to lift her head) and lastly, she has runny poops.

The tests have ruled out any broken bones, internal injuries, viral infections, etc, etc...and from there suggested it could be something to do with her nervous system - involuntary nervous system (The vet mentioned)....but, they can't pin point what is causing it. so im left (along with her owners) to question if it could be a DNA defect causing the suffering she is going thru.

As you can imagine, peppers owners, and myself are so lost and worried. one minute this beautiful little dog was jumping around, full of happiness and playful games, and now..it looks like she could die at any second - the vet has taken her home with her tonight as she needs 24 hour vet care.

as i mentioned above, myself and her owners would appreciate any info you may have when it comes to these kind of very sad out of the blue illnesses, have any of you had this type of thing happen with your dogs, and if so, what was the outcome?

of course, we'd also appreciate any good wishes for pepper to pull thru!


with thanks,

Moo

Unfortunately if a trained vet that has seen the dog and the test results can't tell what is wrong, nobody here can either. There are just too many things that can cause those symptoms. All we can do is offer sympathy and hope for the best.

update on pepper.


all night and day i was worrying. i didnt want to contact her owners as i didnt want them to get more upset than they already are by me constantly checking up on her via phonecalls and text.

by 5pm...the wait for them to let me know how she was was unbearable tho, so i text her owners and soon as he did, they rang back to let us know the vet let pepper come home!....AHHHHHHH....i got upset with tears coz i felt so happy.

i have just got back from seeing pepper this very mo. i told her i would only stay for 5 mins to see pepper and then go, but i ended up being there for 3 hours. hehe. pepper is a poorly dog. she so isnt the same...but she did perk up when she seen me. she jumped about a little and wagged her tail (something her owners said they havent seen since she fell poorly) she began crying and whimpering tho and i did get concerned...but it was as tho she was letting us know how ill she was coz soon after...we tried her with some chicken to eat...and after 2 days, she ate the lot. AND..she wanted more so we nipped to the shop to get her more cooked chicken...and...she ate the whole lot up again! (SURELY her eating is a good sign! Yeah???) i HOPE so.

we also took her out for 2 wee's whilst we were there..and instead of not being able to pee...she did her pee's just fine. she even perked up when she spotted another dog...whereas these past few days she hasnt been able to lift her head at all.

the vet is still not sure what is wrong with her, but they are flying in some new drugs from holland which should be here friday and they are gonna try pepper on them. her eye is still bad, infact...she looks as tho it might have to be removed. ...she is having cream put in them every 15 mins tho, to help heal it the best it can.


im so relieved that she is pulling thru. she does have to go to the vet tomorrow tho as she needs to be put on a drip all day. im not sure if the vet will say for her to stay in again...or if she will allow her back home after her treatment of the drip. either way..things are looking up.

um...i mean, this is a good sign, isnt it? eating, going for a wee..and being able to stand, make a fuss of us, tail wagging...when before, she couldnt even move an inch.


{{{{{peppppper}}}}}}
keep strong and pull thru fully!

Always good to have a report showing improvement. I hope it continues.

it has been one heck of a roller coaster ride waiting for diagnoses of pepper...and im not even her owner. i feel badly for her owners, they, like myself are breaking their hearts.


The vet now thinks it could be : Dysautonomia

which is such a rare disease in dogs, so rare only 68 cases have been reported world wide. its fatal. with only 3 dogs known to survive, and those that do live for just over 6 months. one of them making full recovery (which took 3 months) and even then, they were never quite the same dog.

it affects the brain in the same way as mad cow disease affects cattle and humans.

there is no treatment that can cure this..but if meds are administrated its symptomatic and the dog with Dysautonomia needs 24 hr intensive care.


the vet has told her owners that if she has not improved in 3 days from today, she will have to be put to sleep.

heartbroken doesnt even come near to how i feel for pepper and her owners.
i know its life n all..and things like this happen...but its so cruel.

we are all holding onto hope that it isnt what the vet thinks it is...and being that it is a very rare illness (which has vets baffled) i am trying to think positive as in, if its rare, theres a great chance it isnt Dysautonomia.



{{{{{{Pepppper Pull Thru}}}}}}

I am very sorry to hear that. It takes a very special person to care so much for somebody else's dog.

Yes, moochoo. I ditto labman's sentiments. You have a big heart. I am so sorry that Pepper is going through this. It is hearbreaking to read this posting.

hi,

thank you so much for your supportive words...at time likes this, replies and such things are always needed.

More News on Pepper:

The day after we were told she will have to be put to sleep if she does not improve, the vet allowed her home as her well being had improved greatly! this is GOOD NEWS! as today i thought we would be saying goodbye to her.

She is such a strong dog!


I sat with her for 4 hours last night, smoothing her, talking to her, even singing to her...lol. she is an ill dog...very weak...and seems so lifeless compared to her usual self. she is not in pain tho...and even her eye ulcer has cleared up. Last night i prepared her some boiled chicken and rice, i didnt think she would eat it but she ate the whole lot! - another GOOD SIGN!

Myself and her owners are confused over the rollercoaster ride we seem to be on...this illness is very temperemental and it can go either way. we have now been told altho this disease usually ends with sadness, that a few dogs have managed to pull thru. it is a long recovery process tho, and even when they have pulled thru, the dog isnt how they used to be - they tend to not be so active, and have similiar symptoms to chronic fatigue syndrome.

i know i can be there for pepper to pull thru, 24/7...but i am not sure if doing so would be cruel...as in, would it be cruel and inhumane to allow her to go thru that journey and then at the end of it yes, have her alive...but not alive in the sense to how she used to be.

the last thing any of us want is for our furry friends to be put to sleep...but surely if the dog that used to fully enjoy life is no longer enjoying her time here, it would be the most kindest, selfless thing to do.

at the moment, pepper is very depressed, is thin to the extent i well up with tears when i look at her, and is motionless. she does however, waggle her tail when i sing to her, massage her legs, and is alert whenever i or her owners arrive home, or go out the front door. as i mentioned above, she is also eating too.

i must apoligise for my posts being so depressing..and even scatty at times when it comes to pepper pulling thru. it has been very theraputic for me tho, to be able to come here and express all of the above and know that someone out there is listening and completely understands.

on a brighter note...here is the pretty little dog i have been talking of...
i hope that one day, i get to see pepper looking like this again....


http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yofPepper1.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...yofPepper2.jpg


a video of my partner taking pepper out for her afternoon play - i called the vid chariots of fiery pepper because i edited it with some music from the film :p

click to view ~ Chariots of Fiery Pepper vid


{{{{{{{{{{{{Pepppppppppper}}}}}}}}}}}}


Once again, thanks for your supportive words, they mean a lot.


Moo.

Hi Moo. She is a very cute girl. Except for her ears, I don't see any staffie in her whatsoever. She really looks like a rhodie pup. Very, very cute. :)

I know what you are saying about this kind of illness. Sometimes putting a dog down is the kindest thing to do rather than see her suffer and, even if she pulls through, may not have quality of life. I think the important thing here is that she isn't in pain. Also, it is really up to her owners. Is getting her the best quality medical care an expense they are willing to continue? Can they afford to? It is such a very difficult call.

Your caring so much must be a great comfort to them and to Pepper. You are an exceptionally kind and giving person. Keep up the good work. Pepper knows you love her.

I wish Pepper a full and complete recovery. Keep your chin up.

Pepper is asleep forever now.

Her owner messaged me this morning to say she had died. I am not sure what happened yet, but last time i spoke with them was last night. I was told the vet give her the all clear again to come home, even tho the ulcer on her eye had burst...and that she was due in for surgery on her eye (it was going to be removed) this morning.

im full of questions right now...but i know this isnt the appropiate time to ask them, plus, i can't help but burst into tears every 5 minutes.


sleep well prettiest pepper,
our little dog star, thats what you are now.

((((((((((Pepppppppppper)))))))))))

What a roller coaster. Everybody here will be sad to hear it.

I hope my day comes to more. Last night about 11, we got a call that one of the puppies in the dog guide program was having convulsions. I agreed to drive it to the school's clinic today, less than 600 milers round trip. All the medical work will be free, but my gas wasn't. Now that I am back, my wife is decontaminating the car. Since we don't know the cause, we can't assume the car is safe for our dogs.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by labman

I hope my day comes to more. Last night about 11, we got a call that one of the puppies in the dog guide program was having convulsions. I agreed to drive it to the school's clinic today, less than 600 milers round trip. all the medical work will be free, but my gas wasn't. Now that I am back, my wife is decontaminating the car. Since we don't know the cause, we can't assume the car is safe for our dogs.

---

Your night sounds a hard one labman, I do hope the puppy pulled through OK.

600 miles is such a long way to travel - shows how dedicated you are to dogs.


Did they find out what caused the dogs convulsions?

My online friends dog died due to fits. He was a healthy dog until he reached 5 years old, then out of the blue, he started to fit badly. He managed to live up to 11 yrs with life long medication... but he died on christmas day. So sad. :(

I do hope the pups convulsion was just a one off.


Moo x