Help save our wizard pup Merlin
Donation protected
Hello! My name is Merlin. I am almost two years old, and I am a German shepherd wizard. I need your help to get healthy again and stay with my family. Back in May, while my mom was getting ready to move, I began to lose weight and all the food I consumed passed right through me. I was treated for worms, for a few possible food allergies, and they even believed it might be related to stress due to the move. Once we settled in our new home, I did not get better.
I got a blood test done specifically for my pancreas due to the possibility of a rare genetic disorder, and it turned out I had it. It’s called EPI, which stands for Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency-a condition in which the body does not have the right amount of pancreatic enzymes to properly break down food. It explained a few strange behaviours I had since I was a puppy. For instance, I was always searching for food and always seemed hungry, even when my mom increased my food portion. I obsessively licked the mouth of female dogs I encountered. My family thought it was a sign of affection but I was really asking them to feed me because I was starving. My mom cried for days when she realized I had never known what it was like to be full.
The solution to EPI is to add enzymes to all the food I consume but just adding enzymes didn't work for me. They discovered I also had a small intestinal bacterial growth called (SIBO) that I am still on antibiotics for. Even with antibiotics, dry food did not work. I was still losing weight. I went from 75lbs to 49lbs. I had no energy, and I could barely sit up for more than a few seconds. They became worried that my organs would fail if I couldn't retain any nutrients soon.
Desperate, my mom put me on a raw food diet, which I meant a steep increase in cost, but by some miracle, it worked! I slowly gained 10lbs, and I got some of my puppy energy back. That was until I developed a poultry allergy. My ears got infected, and my skin got irritated to the point of infection. Unfortunately, the turkey raw meal was one of the only ones that worked entirely for my EPI and SIBO.
My family is still searching for the right food for me, and they are far from giving up, however, the cost of my food, enzymes, antibiotics and the regular vet visits has been very hard on my family. I want to stay with them, grow old with them because I love them very much and they love me, but they won’t be able to keep caring for me without a bit of help.
I might be a wizard, but even a wizard needs a bit of help sometimes so if you can, please donate to help them pay for the cost of my treatment so far and help them find the magic potion that will get me back to my weight so I can live a long and happy life with the family I love.
Lots of wet dog kisses,
Merlin, the wizard shepherd
I got a blood test done specifically for my pancreas due to the possibility of a rare genetic disorder, and it turned out I had it. It’s called EPI, which stands for Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency-a condition in which the body does not have the right amount of pancreatic enzymes to properly break down food. It explained a few strange behaviours I had since I was a puppy. For instance, I was always searching for food and always seemed hungry, even when my mom increased my food portion. I obsessively licked the mouth of female dogs I encountered. My family thought it was a sign of affection but I was really asking them to feed me because I was starving. My mom cried for days when she realized I had never known what it was like to be full.
The solution to EPI is to add enzymes to all the food I consume but just adding enzymes didn't work for me. They discovered I also had a small intestinal bacterial growth called (SIBO) that I am still on antibiotics for. Even with antibiotics, dry food did not work. I was still losing weight. I went from 75lbs to 49lbs. I had no energy, and I could barely sit up for more than a few seconds. They became worried that my organs would fail if I couldn't retain any nutrients soon.
Desperate, my mom put me on a raw food diet, which I meant a steep increase in cost, but by some miracle, it worked! I slowly gained 10lbs, and I got some of my puppy energy back. That was until I developed a poultry allergy. My ears got infected, and my skin got irritated to the point of infection. Unfortunately, the turkey raw meal was one of the only ones that worked entirely for my EPI and SIBO.
My family is still searching for the right food for me, and they are far from giving up, however, the cost of my food, enzymes, antibiotics and the regular vet visits has been very hard on my family. I want to stay with them, grow old with them because I love them very much and they love me, but they won’t be able to keep caring for me without a bit of help.
I might be a wizard, but even a wizard needs a bit of help sometimes so if you can, please donate to help them pay for the cost of my treatment so far and help them find the magic potion that will get me back to my weight so I can live a long and happy life with the family I love.
Lots of wet dog kisses,
Merlin, the wizard shepherd
Organizer
Léa Berry
Organizer
Châteauguay, QC
