Zoya

Well, I finally found a reason to post to my blog. Zoya's trials and tribulations.

In January, Zoya was diagnosed with slightly elevated kidney values. We started her on Science Diet K/D and we were hoping to regulate her values with diet alone. All was good for awhile or so we thought.

At the end of April, I had to rush Zoya to the emergency clinic as she was bleeding from her rectum. This was a real shock but I should have known something was wrong as she had lost 2 pounds in the 3 months before this incident. She ended up staying overnight with a diagnosis of Pancreatitis, dehydration, and anemia. They put her on fluids for the night and I had to take her to her regular vet, Heartland Animal Hospital, the next morning.

At her vet the next day, the doctors disagreed with the Pancreatitis diagnosis and wanted to send her to a specialized clinic for further testing. Her kidney values at this point had spiked--Creatinine 3.91 and BUN 86. She was in full Chronic Renal Failure. Technically this is Chronic Renal Disease in dogs but I refer to it as failure. She was also diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.

The staff at Midwest Vet was great. They took her in and ran some preliminary tests and came back with a plan of action. Zoya had a rough couple of days. She underwent a colonoscopy and endoscopy which included biopsies of her stomach and intestines. Zoya was finally able to come home but then for the next 2 days she had to spend time at Heartland to undergo Sub-Q fluid therapy. Midwest had shown me how to do the therapy so once Zoya was home for good, I was responsible for making sure she stayed hydrated.

For the first month, Zoya had to go back to Heartland a couple of times to recheck her kidney values but now we are at 4 months. Depending on how she does, the doctors are hoping to make those visits twice a year. Her last values were Creatinine 1.81 and BUN 36. I have to do the Sub-Q therapy 2 of every 3 days and if she is smooshy, I play it by ear. She also gets half a Pepcid twice a day for the Colitis and I even use it as a treat after the Sub-Q therapy--she likes Pepcid that much. Crazy girl!!!