Hi, my name is Harout Aristakessian. I am a proud owner of my Chihuahua Papillon dog, Trixie. :)

I had a humongous financial setback a month ago when my dogs health started to deteriorate. She lost 6 pounds in a matter of 3 weeks. Was hospitalized twice. Once for two days and once for 7. She had Emergency Intestinal surgery as a segment of her intestine was heavily dilated. And the beginning and end were very thick. Her red blood cell count dropped and her white blood cell count exceeded 100,700. She was down to 5pounds. Her heart disease worsened. They thought it was endocarditis. So I had to have her be seen by a doggie cardiologist. Then by an internist for GI when they ruled out endocarditis. There were so many guessing games of what could be going on with her until they figured out its a disease called Irritable Bowl Disease.

When I took her to my vet before she was hospitalized, my amazing vet Dr. Keusis at La Cumbre Animal Hospital (highly recommend her whether you live in the sb or la area. I drive to Santa Barbra just for her but live in La). She gave me all my options which was palliative care at home until I loose her, putting her to sleep, or taking her to the hospital to figure out what’s causing this through an endoscopy to find out if it’s lymphoma cancer or IBD.

I first got Trixie when I was battling depression when I was 22 years old. She came into my life at a point where I needed someone. I rescued her from the Santa Maria animal shelter. Thus, I entered her life when she also needed someone. It was a very symbiotic relationship where we both were in each other‘s lives at a time when we both needed one another.

I would take her to school with me, I would take her to go teach my dance classes with me and she would sit and watch in her bed. She was a huge part of helping me heal from my depression on top of medicine, therapy and all other types of help I was getting. So I couldn’t just put her to sleep. I knew that she was worth everything I had to be able to keep her going if she wanted to keep going.

When I looked into her eyes I could tell she wasn’t ready. She was saying, “daddy please help me.“. So I took her to True care hospital in Studio City. Before I gave her off to True Care, I had a conversation with her in my car.

I told her: “ Trixie, before I hand you off to the hospital, I want you to know that if this is your time, I understand. I don’t want you to be in pain and I don’t want you to suffer. However, once you’re in there help me figure out if I should continue with the suggested treatments they tell me by giving me a sign. If you want to keep going I will do everything and anything I can to keep you going. But please don’t stay here and be in pain for me. I’m going to be ok. And you don’t have to take care of me anymore. I’m going to be ok.” Then I handed her to the hospital.

They started her off with IV fluids, maintenance fluids, and anabiotic‘s. She was so scrawny, little and only 5 pounds. Thus, they had to stabilize her before they could even do anything. After the first day of getting fluids she hadn’t eaten anything. Thus, they put a feeding tube in her that went through her nose and connected to her stomach. They called me and they said that she’s doing very well on the feeding tube. Meaning usually they do a residual recheck to see if all the food that’s in the tube has been absorbed through the G.I. tract before they put more food in the tube to make sure that it’s working. And they said that her organs were absorbing the food and nutrients very well. There was no residential foods in the tube. So that to me was a sign that she’s fighting. So I continue the care.

The next morning they called me and told me that her White blood cell count has skyrocketed to 95,000. They said this is not an infection in the gastrointestinal track anymore this is most probably a heart infection. They came to this tentative conclusion because when she was there two weekends prior she had some kind of foreign body in her intestine that wasn’t moving the first night she was hospitalized. However, it started moving the second day she was hospitalized and she pooped it out. And since her heart disease has gotten worse and her white blood cell count kept going up they presumed it would be endocarditis. They didn’t have a doggy cardiologist on stats so I had to call around to make an appointment at different doggy cardiologist that would take her in. However, before I did that they also ended that same call with something positive and said that she had half a can of dog food. This to me was another sign from Trixie telling me, “keep fighting for me daddy.”

The fact that she was able to get up on her own and eat food through her mouth while she had a tube through her nose, to me means she’s trying to be a good patient and is saying, “I haven’t given up yet, Daddy.” So therefore, I said continue with the care overnight, and so they did. Thursday morning I got a call that her white blood cell count had skyrocketed past 100,700. They now presume that this is not endocarditis because she wouldn’t have this many white blood cells if it was endocarditis. So they did another ultrasound of her G.I. tract and found that her intestines were very thick and heavily dilated and that’s when they told me that she needs emergency gastrointestinal surgery by a board-certified surgeon.

They didn’t have that type of surgeon at their office so I had to pick her up and transfer her to another hospital, Metropolitan Animal Specialty Hospital in Hollywood, where the surgery was performed. One of the reasons I went through with the surgery was because the doctors kept telling me that for a dog to have over 100,000 white blood cells, fighting an infection, on a feeding tube with bad heart disease and to look so comfortable and cute and not be in pain to the point where they’re eating food on their own is unheard of. That to me was Trixie sending me a sign. After we got her situated in the new hospital they called me and gave me all the possible options that it could be (lymphoma cancer, a mass that’s obstructing her G.I. tract, a tumor, irritable bowel disease).

They also happened to have a doggy cardiologist at this new hospital who did heart tests on her and they found out that she doesn’t have endocarditis. And they said that even though her heart disease has gotten worse, it is still supplying a significantly good amount of blood to her organs. They said that even though she’s a senior dog they think she would do well with the surgery. But of course they warned me about anesthesia, heart disease at her age. But the fact that they said her blood is still getting pumped to her organs and if we want t to operate we need to do it now and not wait to me again was another sign from my baby, Trixie.

At that point each time I was getting negative news it was always sprinkled with something positive. I believe the positive news was her giving me a sign to continue fighting for her. So I went through with the surgery. The surgery was a success. Her blood pressure dropped during surgery. So they had to put her on blood pressure medicine until it stabilized and until she was able to monitor it on her own which she was, yay! They took biopsies of different parts of the intestine to send to the lab to see if it’s cancer or IBD.

They also flush cleaned and wiped her entire intestinal tract which was heavily inflamed. She was being a very good patient for about four days after the surgery and I would go visit her every day. Her white blood cell count dropped to 100,700 down to 80,000 after the surgery, which was a good sign. and by the time she was discharged which was last Sunday (February 27) it had dropped to 60,000.

She is a fighter! This is some thing all the surgeons and doctors have been telling me throughout this whole experience is their unbelievable assessment of how a dog can go through this and be comfortable and fine and look content. I was totally open to having her leave earth if she wanted to leave. But something in me was telling me that she wasn’t ready yet. Until she told me she was ready I knew I had to do everything I could in my power. She was on supportive care at home with me after she got discharged until this past Sunday, March 6.

For a week straight; I gave her seven different types of medicines at home at different hours of the day. I’d be getting up at 2am to give her one medicine then at 6 for the other. I would smash, slurry, mix medicines that I would have to give her while she was recovering from home. When she went in for her one week check up this past Sunday they said her blood count went down to 40,000!! They also said that the incision site from her chest to her abdomen had healed nicely and they were able to remove the staples.

They gave me a steroid to give her for the next month to treat her IBD before she goes back in for a check up. And an injectable supplement of B12 that I need to inject into her once a week. She’s eating now a few times a day she’s drinking water. And she’s so happy to be alive. One of my cousins, Lily told me to do a Go Fund Me. And my aunt, Jatila encouraged me. So here I am.

I truly believe Trixie takes care of me. Right now I’m in the middle of an intense show season with my students for our annual studio production that happens in June every year. Even though I told Trixie if this is your time please go and that I’m gonna be ok, she knew deep down I wouldn’t be. Because if I didn’t get good news following all the negative news I was getting each time the doctors would call then I would’ve stop the treatments because I wouldn’t want her to be in pain. And if I had done that there’s no way I’d be able to continue to be there for my students and continue to go through with this production because I would need to give myself time to grieve and feel what I need to feel. Trixie is worth me grieving for. She knew that’s what would happen if she didn’t fight. She knew this wasn’t the time for me. She loves me so much. She is waiting for the right time before she goes. And until that time comes I’m gonna honor her choice.