Trudis Reporting

The Secretary allowed us to blog all days now so here I am, Trudis, with some good and bad news.

Good news:
My sister Benji has recovered from her illness, yay!

Thanks to friends who sent positive vibes, Benji's creatinine and B-U-N have normalized! What a great reward for all of us at the clinic too. The Animal Doctor had been working real hard on Benji's case, while me and the Secretary had our heads glued to the 'puter for several days, asking Mr.Google about Benji's health problem. The Secretary gave some papers for the Animal Doctor to read- there were no pictures, but I knew those were the work of animal doctors in other parts of the world. Our Animal Doctor found some new stuff and thought it won't harm to try on Benji. Here's a summary of Benji's treatment.

1. continous slow IV drip with potassium chloride infusion
2. diuresis
3. omegal 3 fatty acid supplementation(new, based on research)
4. ferrous sulfate
5. ranitidine to protect the stomach from excessive acid produced during renal failure
6. prescription diet for renal failure( Benji was on this diet and nothing else during her confinement)

Current maintenance medication/diet:
1. Nefrotec
2. Multivitamins
3. Diet of boiled chicken, egg, or tuna, rice( Benji can not stay on prescription diet for long)

I'm whining in this photo because the Secretary made me stay in jail with Benji. She wanted to document that I'm now a lot bigger than my sister- and to think that I was the runt of our litter! Benji stays in our house right now and needs to be fattened up and cured of her pica before she can be returned to her adoptive hooman ( shhh, but the Secretary thinks she might just keep Benji).

Now,

Bad News

After returning from her vacation, the Secretary noticed a firm bump along Scarlet's back. Once again, Scarlet stopped making bowel movements and lost control of her bladder. Her hind legs were swollen and her breathing was so fast, I think she was in lot of pain.

The Secretary got desperate. A months ago, she took Scarlet home because it was a better alternative than letting Scarlet go home to his real parents( they couldn't take care of a special needs dog). She was committed to take care of Scarlet but just wasn't financially prepared to deal with Scarlet's current condition. Finally, she managed to fork money for xray. When the result came out, the Animal Doctor saw that Scarlet's spinal cord had become deformed in the middle and there is a sort of mass ( or fluid filled cavity??) just underneath the arc. The Animal Doctor is not a specialist in this field and wants a bone expert to see Scarlet's xray plates. In the meanwhile, he gave Scarlet a medicine to make her poop and she did! The swelling on her hind legs disappeared almost around the time she got her poop out. And she began breathing normally too.

Shelly's( of the Fleasgang) pop was so kind to teach the Secretary how to exercise Scarlet's legs. This is the same exercise they did on Simon( of the Fleasgang) who was able to walk again after his hind legs became paralyzed. The Secretary is hoping to see some light out of the tunnel. Its been very difficult not even knowing what ails Scarlet.

Oh, I could cry with all the sadness and suffering I see around me :(

Update on Scarlet

Post-operative treatment: day 2

So far, no signs of the much dreaded post op complications. Scarlet ate for the first time since her surgery on Monday, although her usual appetite has yet to kick in. And guess what, she made semi-formed poopies!

Post-operative treatment: day 3

Today, Scarlet had a hearty appetite even on a bland diet. She drank lots of water and made a bowel movement once. We are constantly changing her position to prevent "bed sores"

Cross our fingers and paws that Scarlet will fully recover from her surgery because we still have a lot of work to do to get her hind legs moving again.

What is wrong with puppy Scarlet?

" I want to run, I want to go chase my ball-ball, but I can't"(Sniffles)

"I got an ouchie," ( More sniffles)

Scarlet, the labrador puppy ( who could be Koy-Koy's girlfriend) tearfully complained to the Animal Doctor when she was brought by her mom and dad to Greenwoods Pet Clinic. A month before that, Scarlet's toe was caught in the slats of her cage which caused her to go limping. Scarlet was not seen by a veterinarian until she lost control of her two hind legs and her muscles shrunk. Poor Scarlet could not do anything but lie on her tummy. She also started having fewer and fewer bowel movements until she had none at all and her tummy became so distended.

The Animal Doctor ordered an abdominal x-ray but he did not see any foreign object that might have caused a blockage and prevented the passage of stool. He also performed a lavage on the colon but no stool came out. Next, he ordered for Scarlet's CBC (complete blood count) and platelet count and check for the pup's liver and kidney function too, but results came back normal.


We waited and waited for Scarlet to make a bowel movement. Even the Animal Doctor was seeing a pile of golden poop in his dreams at night. He decided he will worry about the puppy's paralysis later because he was far more concerned that Scarlet may die from the toxins her body is unable t0 excrete.

The week ended without Scarlet making a bowel movement; the Animal Doctor needed to open Scarlet's tummy. The additional bad news, however, was that Scarlet's parents could not spend for her operation and they opted to just bring her home.

The Animal Doctor felt so sorry for Scarlet. When her parents were about to sign the waiver (to the discharge of patient against the veterinarian's recommendation) the Animal Doctor decided to perform the surgery even if Scarlet's parents did not pay him. The Secretary thought he had gone crazy and boy, was she totally pleased about it.

So last night, after nearly two weeks without any bowel movement and against Sweepy's advice ( because it was on a full moon) Scarlet underwent exploratory laparotomy.

Scarlet still feeling woozy after surgery

Like the xray suggested, the Animal Doctor did not find any foreign object or tumor inside Scarlet's tummy. He did, however, find Scarlet's colon filled with feces and took a plateful out!

Having done with surgery, the Animal Doctor is convinced that Scarlet's lack of bowel movement is due to a loss of neuro-muscular reflex in her colon that could be associated with the paralysis of her hind legs.

This morning, Scarlet defecated on her own, but it remains to be seen if this apparent improvement will continue in the days to come and we will no longer have to worry about Scarlet dying from toxemia.

But we have not solved the mystery of Scarlet's paralysis. It will take more confirmatory test before the Animal Doctor could determine its cause and make a prognosis.

In the meantine, the Secretary is wracking her brains how to make a home made wheely.

Secretary's Note: Scarlet's surgery (estimated at PhP 8,000)was made possible through our Indigent Animal Patient's Fund to which my dear friend Noreen and husband Lito have made a substantial donation this year. Thank you so much Nors and Tolitz, from the bottom of my heart!