My puppy is in the hospital...(long)

[Lokie's Mom]

Update on Lokie

Hi everyone -

Thank you all so much for your responses. I am glad to know I am not crazy for wanting to visit!

So last night after work, I went to the vet's office. They showed me her chest x-rays and her lab work. They seemed a little bewildered, but offered a preliminary diagnosis of congestive heart failure and a mass on the liver. She also has a lot of fluid in her lungs. Something about the diagnosis just didn't seem right to me. They had no explanation on how a 5 month old puppy could go into heart failure in a matter of days. They offered to send her x-rays to a specialist who would review and confirm within 7-10 days. They said they would put her on the heart medicine (a diuretic) and send us home, or they offered to keep her another night for more fluids.

I took the third option, which was not offered, and took the x-rays, labs and my puppy to an emergency acute care hospital. I met with a wonderful doctor there who advised me to switch vets immediately because the diagnosis was just wrong. He said, based on his cursory review of her x-rays and general condition, that it looks like a pneumonia. He says that there is no indication of enlarged heart or other cardiac problems and he is not sure how the other vet came up with a congestive heart failure diagnosis. The nurses who work in the office gave me a recommendation for the vets that they take their own animals to, which I am so grateful for.

Lokie stayed there overnight. They told me to call as much as I want. She is going to be seen by an internal medicine specialist this morning and they are going to do a tracheal wash to find out what kind of bacteria or virus might be in her lungs.

She is still a very sick puppy, so continued healing vibes are definitely needed. But I do feel so much more comfortable with where she is at. At least I know everyone at this new hospital loves her and will do everything possible to take care of her. It is going to be $$$ to try to get an accurate diagnosis, but oh well! They offered me a CareCredit credit card, which will have no interest for one year if the charges are over $1000 (they will be).

I'll post another update after I talk to the specialists later this morning.

Thank you again for all of your support!

Natalie (and Lokie)

 

[Mya's_Mom]

Thanks for updating us! I'm so glad to hear it isn't anything too severe, like heart problems! I'm glad she is with people who will take such good care of her every need! We wish we a speedy recovery!

 

[lafsalot]

Glad you trusted your maternal instincts and brought your pup to another vet for an accurate diagnosis. Hope he has a speedy recovery now that he is receiving the proper treatment ~ Cathy

 

[Doja's Mommy]

Many healing vibes to your precious baby.....

I know how you must be feeling, not knowing what is exactly wrong with your baby.... I took my baby to get spayed on friday and received the dreaded call from the vet.... She couldn't have surgery because her liver enzymes were way too high.... She couldn't offer a real explanation as to why or what was going on.... She put her on a prescription liver diet and some vitamins.... They took some blood for one of those 26 panel tests to see if she has anything congenital.... Vet was supposed to call me back the next day, and never did. I even caller her, no response... needless to say immediately, I called another vet and explained the situation, they called my vet and asked for them to fax over the labs... which they did. I went to see them the following day..... where they wondered, why my vet had not put her on some antibiotics or anything to help the infection.....

The new vet put her on some liver meds and some antibiotics...... which I give her faithfully.....

In the beginning, all weekend actually, I wondered what was wrong with her, was it going to be something I can fix..... At this point, I know anyone in our situation would be willing to spend any amount.....

I will deal with my old vet once we are all past this........ Apparantly, when the new vet called to have the labs faxed, they laughed at her.....

No one laughs at my baby, especially if shes sick.......they didn't take my feelings into regard, nor did they take my babys health into regard

Needless to say, the trip to the old vet, for Dojas medical records, is gonna be fun. I'm gonna let them know exactly what I think of both of them. I don't care if they call me nasty after that or not, you can call me what you want, but when it pertains to my baby, you'd better think again.

I will post more later about what the upcoming actions for my Doja will be.... We still don't know at this point what is actually wrong. We are hoping that in two weeks we will take another blood sample, and pray that the levels have gone down. Otherwise, sonogram, here we come.....

So, Doja and I are sending many many healing vibes for your baby...... give her lots of sloppy kisses for all of us here at BW

 

[Austin's Mom]

Sending lots of healing vibes to your baby. And some ((hugs)) to you!

 

[craZ4HERKIE]

I hope Lokie is feeling much better soon. I'm glad that you decided to take her X-rays, etc and get a 2nd opinion. Sending lots of healing vibes your way! Please keep us posted.

 

[Marybeth18]

Keep us informed - (((hugs to you))) and healing vibes for your baby. I'm glad you went with your own option and changed vets!

 

[sinbad'smom]

sending healing vibes to lokie hope she is better soon...i think it is good that you switched vets..at my vets if they have to take sinbad to the back to draw blood or anything they will have me go back there with them because they know he is such a mama's boy he will throw a fit unless i am with him because he thinks if they take him back there i am going to leave without him. hugs to you both. keep us updated on her condition...dora

 

[Albie]

Natalie -- I'm so sorry for what you're going through with Lokie. I experienced a similar terrifying illness with our 4 month old puppy, Belle, and I can relate to what you are feeling. Unfortunately, Belle's diagnosis was not good (she has dilated cardiomyopathy), but I do know that she is getting the best medical care that I can give her and I totally trust her vets. You definitely have to trust your vet and it sounds like you found a good place for her treatment. When Belle was hospitalized at the ER clinic, they encouraged us to call as much as we wanted (if the vet couldn't speak with us, the tech who was in charge of her care would), and also had visiting hours so we could be with her. This is the way it should be. Our babies are a part of our family, and we have a right to know how they are doing and what treatment is being pursued. We are sending healing vibes to Lokie, and hope that you hear some good news in the next few hours!

 

[Mama_Zookeeper]

I am so sorry it had to go that far for you to get an accurate diagnosis...hopefully now instead of worrying & second guessing your vet your energy will be put to better use...making Miss Lokie well. Sending out hugs, kisses & healing vibes your way!

Dora