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Aww, I am so sorry! I think if it were me, I would wnat to do anything I could, but I know cost factors into it (which hubs made sure to remind me).
I have no advice, except maybe to get a cost estimate and see if its something doable. ((HUGS))
I am so sorry you are going through this. I know how much our animals mean to us and would be devestated. I would see if anything can be done and if not keep her as comfotable as possible and give her lots of love.
My heart breaks for you... I know how much I love my little dog and how hard this must be. Sending positive energy your way. xx
I'm so so sorry :(. That's horrible news from the vet. It really sucks that animals can't tell us. Its really heartbreaking & unfair... but it sounds like the best thing to do is what you feel would be the right thing. Sometimes its best to go ahead with treatment, other times its best to let them just be & depending on if your pup is in pain, to put them down.
& you can't think of the "what ifs" because you didn't know & that won't change anything, except to make you feel worse about the situation. If your dog was displaying signs of something severe, I'm sure they would've done more. My cats got sick, but the tests showed nothing & my cats "acted fine" so the vet wouldn't give them medicine... for weeks, so I ended up using natural antibiotics. I know its not the same, but that's the downfall of pet ownership, you sometimes can't tell that something's wrong. Its so frustrating.
For now, you may want to cook your dog's food, this is a website that says this diet makes it easier on your dogs liver:http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/liver_diet.htm
& here is a site with natural things & info:
http://www.holisticpetinfo.com/conditions/liver.htm
Here is some info from the above website:
Silybum marianum (milk thistle) is one of the most important herbal liver tonics and restoratives for your pet. Scientific analysis shows that milk thistle contains silymarin - a powerful antioxidant which can block the entry of toxins into the liver and remove them at cellular level, resulting in regeneration of liver cells and improved liver function.
In addition to milk thistle (silymarin), there are several other nutrients which are beneficial to the liver:
Thanks ladies. DH & I have talked about it a lot tonight, and we're first going to let the vet do an ultrasound on the liver. He said that if he looks at it he can tell if it's still fairly healthy & then we'd know if it will be worth continuing further with the biopsy and more treatment, or if it's already too badly damaged then we'll know it's best to just try to keep her comfortable for as long as possible. One good thing is that we know she's not in pain right now. She's acting normal, still eating & doesn't appear to be in any pain. If it got to the point of her just being in a lot of pain, we'd then have to make the decision whether it would just be better to put her down.
I'm still very sad tonight. Right now she's all snuggled up by me & resting. Love my sweet pup!
I'm sorry! I hope everything comes back better than you'd ever hoped. Keep us updated :)
I'm so sorry. I hope they can find a way for her to make a full recovery.
Sorry to hear about your doggie.
I'm a veterinarian myself, so here are my thoughts:
Westies are prone to a copper storage disease which can only be diagnosed by a liver biopsy, so I strongly encourage you to follow your vet's advice if he recommends a biopsy; an ultrasound can only show so much.
There are medications that can be used to slow the progression of liver disease but what medications are appropriate will depend on what type of disease your dog has (which the biopsy can help show). The silybin suggested in the previous post is something you can start now without worry about side effects. I would not recommend home cooking until you have a diagnosis as well as a discussion about how to balance diets with your veterinarian or preferably, a veterinary nutritionist.
Here's a link on copper storage disease
http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/endocrine/c_multi_copper_storage_hepatopathy#.TweuvoFkW7V
Good luck with your dog
@soon2bS: You and your pup will be in my thoughts and prayers. I hope it is something that can be helped.
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I'm so upset right now. My dog is a Westie-mix dog, she's going to be 7 next month. Over the past few months we've noticed that she's having stomach issues (lots of poop), and also some gradual weight loss & hair thinning. Took her to the vet late in October, they put her on a round of antibiotics & some fiber pills, and she seemed to be doing much better.
Last week we took her for a haircut. When my husband picked her up & brought her home we were both in shock at how thin she was. She looks like a walking skeleton. She went from 15 lbs back in July to 9.8 lbs yesterday. So, I got her an appointment as quick as I could & took her in yesterday.
The vet did some bloodwork, but told me that based on the fact that she hasn't had any vomiting, loss of apetite, lethargy, or excessive water drinking or urinating, that he felt sure that this was something gastrointestinal, that we could treat & get her back to gaining weight.
Today, he calls me and tells me that he's in shock, but that her bloodwork came back showing liver dysfunction. He says that she really doesn't exhibit most of the symptoms you'd expect to see in a dog with liver dysfunction. He said he really felt sure this was a much less severe issue, but surprise....
Anyway, I'm pretty heartbroken. We need to decide in the next few days if we want to proceed with an ultrasound, and possibly a biopsy. But, the vet said that based on the significant weight loss he feels sure that she's nearing end-stage dysfunction, that it's most likely too far advanced to do much beyond keep her comfortable for a while.
I'm so sad. I'm also upset that we weren't told back in October that we really needed to consider bloodwork (saw the other Dr. in the practice that time). I feel like we'd have a better shot at fixing this if we'd been 3 months sooner.
I'm not sure what to do next.....