Hi friends,

UPDATE:

The follow up liver enzyme test showed her levels are back to normal... yay!! The vet said it may have been some kind of infection and not necessary liver disease since the antibiotics worked, but she's not out of the woods just yet. She's still not back to the normal that I'm used to. I don't know if it's her older age now or a combination of that with the after effects of the health issues she's had this year. Her eating and sleeping schedule is completely off now and I haven't been able to get her back to a normal routine. However, it is consistent I guess lol

I'm continuing to monitor her behavior and will need to take her back for another follow up test in a month or so to ensure her levels are stable. I've reduced the donation goal since she won't need the ultrasound—at least for now.

I'm still unemployed and there's a growing dread simmering while I continue to try and land a new gig this job market as my savings dwindle down to its last few months. Any additional help to replenish my emergency fund and cover future tests is greatly appreciated ❤️

ORIGINAL:

My sweet dog, Pepper, has been diagnosed with liver disease.

The incident that kicked off the vet visits was when she woke me up in the middle of the night stuck between my bedroom door and the wall. When I closed the door to let her out she was very disoriented and was continually pacing and stumbling around the apartment. She finally went to sleep awkwardly under my dresser for a few hours but woke up early and was acting the same until about noon.

About a week and half prior, she had thrown up several times one day. The next day she didn't want to eat her food and the following day I made her chicken and rice. She ate a bowl of that and then wouldn't touch it again. I went to the vet and got a couple of cans of prescription GI biome food which worked when she's gotten sick before. She ate a few meals of that but then stopped again for a couple of meals before finally finishing the bowl later in the evening before the episode. At this point, I could visibly see her weight loss.

I took her to the vet and they ran bloodwork which showed that 3 of her enzymes were elevated and ALT was 9x higher than normal. Then they took x-rays which thankfully did not show any masses but did show that her liver was smaller than normal. She seemed fine again at the vet (of course!) so I took her home to see if she would eat and show signs of improvement. She did not. I took her back for a day of IV fluids and got some medications for her.

The reason why I set this donation up is because I was laid off in February. I have a modest budget that I'm working within and had some padding set aside for emergencies, but that was used up for some medical bills and other vet bills this spring when she was battling a persistent UTI for a few months.

I've spent $1,200 so far and looking at $200-300 for follow up tests in a couple weeks to see if the antibiotics and liver supplement are helping. The doctor recommended an ultrasound for $600 as the next step to more accurately determine a diagnosis and treatment.

As I write this on Monday, October 6, she has finally started eating again after 2 days of nothing more than a few nibbles here and there. She seems to ebb and flow in her energy levels and is still a bit wobbly at times. Follow her on insta @pepperd0ge to see her progress.

I appreciate your consideration to donate if you can. Thank you so much.

Sincerely,

Aaron