A little more Leeland

The recovery

The rest of the summer was spent recovering. Leeland was back to his old ways before no time, and we were happier than ever before. About a month after the surgery Leeland had blood work done again to see how he was progressing. One test in particular called the "bile acids test" would be most telling. Before the surgery Leeland had tested in the 300s both before and after eating. The new test would reveal a 4 before eating and a 19 after!

Our Vet was shocked, he said he's never seen such a quick and complete turn around. It was at this point we took Leeland off the antibiotics to see how he would do. After a month of success with no antibiotics we started taking Leeland off the laxative. That was also a success.

We left him on the prescription food until just recently. Now we are experimenting with the right food for Leeland. Our first attempt at a "normal" food was designed for dogs with "sensitive stomachs." We thought this might make the transition easier, but it turns out that Leeland is way past that, and needs to be on something even more average! I've never been so happy to have an average dog.

I'm thankful everyday now for Leeland's strong recovery. He's an amazing dog and I'm so glad he's still around.

Of course none of this story would have been possible if it weren't for the Care Credit Company, that approved me for a line of credit to pay for some of the expenses, and my dad who offered the use of his credit card for the remainder of the costs. Without him there wouldn't have been a choice to make, because surgery would not have been an option, fiscally speaking. My sister also lent some money to the cause. I was overwhelmed by my family's generosity.

Thanks to everyone who supported and loved Leeland throughout his battle! Hopefully there won't be any news to report regarding the liver shunt, we hope that chapter in his life is over. But this blog will stay put, and updates will be added about the fully recovered Leeland for anyone who's a sucker for schnauzer face!

The hardest decision

On July 16, 2008. Leeland had his liver shunt ligation surgery. After ultrasounds, and x-rays we were sure that's what it was. The surgeon said he wouldn't know exactly what he was dealing with until he actually opened Leeland up.

There were concerns that what looked like one big shunt on ultrasound was actually dozens of tiny inoperable shunts. Other concerns were that even squeezing the blood vessel would send Leeland into shock, making the ligation impossible.

I dropped Leeland off that morning and I cried like a baby. I have always been a "dog person" but I've never felt anything like my bond with Leeland. As crazy as it seems to some people, he really is like a baby to me. He is such a huge part of my life and I was terrified of losing him so soon.

I went to work and was a nervous wreck, finally around 3pm that afternoon I got the call from the surgeon. Leeland had done well in surgery and now only time would tell. He spent the night in the hospital and came home the next night. I made a bed on the floor and laid next to him all night (he was not strong enough to jump on the bed like he normally does, and we couldn't risk him jumping down and opening up his incision). He was so tired the whole next day, all he could do was whimper in pain. The second night home we went to sleep on the floor just like before, but this time he woke me up at 5am, seizing.

We hopped in the car and rushed to the emergency vet (which happens to have the office below our surgeons office). We saw the same night-shift doctor that we had in May. He put Leeland on Valium and told us that he would observe him for more seizures. We went home and waited to hear back. We called often and didn't get much news, after a few encounters with snobby receptionists and incompetent vet techs, we were thoroughly frustrated. Come to find out later that the office forgot to prescribe us a pain reliever for Leeland the day of surgery, keeping him in an extreme amount of unnecessary pain those few days.

We took him home that night and prayed there would be no more seizures. Luckily, there weren't. Slowly Leeland regained his energy and started acting like himself again.

Making the right choice

We spent the rest of June learning everything we could about liver shunts. I read every article, blog, and discussion board I could find online, and quickly realized that not many people were sharing a happy ending.

After lots of research and talks with our vet, and a veterinary surgeon we understood Leeland's problem. Rather than pumping through the liver and being cleansed, Leeland's blood was being routed around the liver by the shunt. The liver is especially important in breaking down proteins and keeping the blood "clean". With his blood completely bypassing his liver, toxins had been building up in his blood stream. He was essentially poinsoning himself with his own blood.

We of course didn't know this when we were choosing a high quality, high protein food for his "senstive stomach." All along we were contributing to the problem.

Leeland was immediately put on a low-protein prescription food, antibiotics to help with some of the bad bacteria building up in his intestine, and a laxative to keep everything moving so that no toxins were left in his system for too long.

He immediately improved! Within 24 hours his energy was back to about 80% and he was interested in playing again. We were told though that medical management was only a temporary solution, and that Leeland could still die at a very young age. His only chance at a long and "normal" life was to have a shunt ligation surgery. In which the surgeon would place an ameroid constrictor ring around the shunt, and it would slowly close the vessel off. This would force the blood back through the liver to be cleansed properly. The problem with the surgery is that a dog's liver might be too weak and underdeveloped to handle the new blood flow. The blood could back up and cause organ failure. It was hard to get any reliable statistics on the success rate of the surgery.

We now had a decision to make: medically manage for as long as possible and risk loosing him before his time OR have the surgery and risk losing him on the spot for a chance at a normal life.

Searching for answers

In early June 2008 we returned home from work one evening to find Leeland acting very strangely. When we called his name he didn't respond at all, just continued staring blankly at the floor. He drooled excessively, something very unusual for a dog who never drools. There was no comfortable position for him to get into. He tried to sit and almost fell over, then tried lay down but popped back up immediately. It was heartbreaking to see him so confused and uncomfortable.

We took him to the emergency animal hospital. They gave him fluids, ran numerous tests. We were told again that there was nothing wrong with him. We were told it was safe to take him home, so we did. When we got back, his behavior worsened. He started walking in circles, completely disoriented. We got right back in the car and admitted him again. We asked that more tests be done, but the doctor said he had examined Leeland and he seemed to be in no physical pain. They didn't even know where to start.

Our regular vet had mentioned a lot of schnauzers with bladder stones recently. I asked that they explore that possibility. The doctor hesitated, saying that if he hadn't had trouble urinating then it seemed unnecessary. I requested it anyway and they took an x-ray of his bladder. They found some very small stones. The stones were tested and turned out to be Ammonium urate calculi stones. This indicated a liver condition.

When the Vet delivered these results to us, he had a grim tone and look on his face. He told us that he now suspected a portosystemic liver shunt. At the time we had no idea what to think. We were glad to have a possible diagnosis but discouraged by what the Vet was saying. A liver shunt may be medically managed, but the only possible cure is a risky surgery.

A change in attitude

At the end of May 2008 it became clear that there was something seriously wrong with Leeland.

He stopped wanting to play his favorite games, he lost interest in training, and his energy went from 100 to zero in no time. On walks he would stay the full length of the leash behind us with his head down. He only wagged his tail, or showed any excitement briefly when we returned home from work.

He was still eating/drinking/digesting normally. So we decided to give it some time. We thought he might be lonely. On weekends we would visit my parents and he would play with their Westie endlessly. We considered the fact that coming back to the empty apartment, while we were at work all day might be depressing for him.

We went to the Vet for his yearly checkup/rabies shot and we were told that there was nothing physically wrong with him. We spent the next few weeks trying to decide what to do.

From The Beginning

At the beginning of May 2007 my boyfriend and I became the proud parents to Leeland, a three month old Miniature Schnauzer.

We found a Vet and had him checked out that week, he seemed to be in good shape. He had a few hurdles in the first couple months: kennel cough, puppy strangles, and an ear infection. When those issues were all put to rest he was happy and seemingly healthy.

Soon though he started showing symptoms of a sensitive stomach. He'd throw up on at least a weekly basis. He could never get his fill of water. We were constantly filling his bowl--and if we weren't he was in the bathtub licking the faucet.

All tests were inconclusive, and changes in diet didn't seem to do much. We accepted his "sensitive stomach" and moved on. He was full of energy and well behaved, we thought he was fine overall.

Things stayed that way for over a year. We became familiar with the pre-vomit symptoms and skilled at getting him off of the carpet just in time. But soon Leeland started showing us that there was something much more serious going on than just digestive issues.