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Do not open this if my asking for prayers for my sister & her dog makes you mad.


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Tonight, my mom said that Frosty is being treated for his pancreas and his liver (his liver enzymes are elevated). He ate this morning, but my sister hid a pill in his food, and after he smelled it, he wouldn't eat any more. This is the weekend, so she has 2 days to tempt him to eat. I tried calling my sister, but there was no answer. That means she is busy taking care of Frosty.

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I am very impressed by your sister's dedication to Frosty. She must be so worried and exhausted. Cat

 

She is. I wish I could be there for her IRL, instead of just via telephone and email. I cannot leave four teenagers at home for a week or more. The inmates would be running the asylum, since DH is always at work.

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She is. I wish I could be there for her IRL, instead of just via telephone and email. I cannot leave four teenagers at home for a week or more. The inmates would be running the asylum, since DH is always at work.

 

Well, realistically, it could be a lot more than a week, anyway. I never thought this would continue for so long. I thought that Frosty would have either died or recovered by now. It never dawned on me that a month could pass without any real resolution.

 

Cat

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It never dawned on me that a month could pass without any real resolution. Cat

 

Me either.

 

But there is good news today. Frosty spent time at a playground with my sister, and while he was there, he urinated on a bush. By himself!

 

He won't eat the chicken my sister cooked, and who can blame him? It is canned chicken which she rinses to get the sodium off it. She is cooking real chicken now, and hopefully Frosty will eat that. Meanwhile, she took him to Arby's and he did eat roast beef there. Far be it from me to expound upon the quality of Arby's meat, compared to how it was back in my day.

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Me either.

 

But there is good news today. Frosty spent time at a playground with my sister, and while he was there, he urinated on a bush. By himself!

 

He won't eat the chicken my sister cooked, and who can blame him? It is canned chicken which she rinses to get the sodium off it. She is cooking real chicken now, and hopefully Frosty will eat that. Meanwhile, she took him to Arby's and he did eat roast beef there. Far be it from me to expound upon the quality of Arby's meat, compared to how it was back in my day.

 

Go Frosty!!!

 

I was afraid when I began reading that you were going to say Frosty had passed on.

 

Thank goodness she took him to Arbys instead of Taco Bell. ;)

 

I think your sister is amazing and so is Frosty.

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I was afraid when I began reading that you were going to say Frosty had passed on.

 

I know how you feel. I am leery about talking to my mom and sister, or reading emails from them, for the same reason.

 

I'm going to start a new thread if Frosty dies, entitled something like Bad News about Frosty. That way, you all can read this thread without worrying that Frosty has died.

 

My sister really appreciates everyone's prayers and warm thoughts. She specifically mentions this group's prayers to my mom whenever Frosty has a problem. I think she is relying on us to continue to pray and that it comforts her to know that you all care. She is so thankful for all of you!

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I'm going to start a new thread if Frosty dies, entitled something like Bad News about Frosty. That way, you all can read this thread without worrying that Frosty has died.

 

I'm so glad your sister was able to get Frosty out of the house today -- every time I think it's curtains for him, he pulls himself back out of it again. I am convinced it's because he doesn't want to leave your sister.

 

Don't worry about starting a new thread if something bad happens -- I think most of us keep checking this one for updates, and we might miss a new thread.

 

Cat

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Email from my sister:

 

Frosty has been going in to the vet during the day since Wednesday to get IV fluids.

 

He is on meds now for pancreatic enzyme insufficiency (1st day) and liver problems (lactolase and clavamox), plus Sam-E and milk thistle.

 

Hopefully these will stop the cycle of his eating well for a couple days and then refusing to eat for 2 to 4 more days.

 

We quit the Tramadol because of his liver problems.

 

His blood test today showed improvement (again) but this has been typical for it to look great one day and bad two days later.

 

He was allowed to eat Arby's today because he refused all other food. I'm cooking another chicken hoping that the smell will stimulate his appetite. Tomorrow I will try your idea of the 97% fat free ground beef.

 

He is on low-fat due to the pancreas but not too much diet restriction with the liver yet due to the need to get calories in him.

 

He insisted on going to the park since last night, so I took him around 7am and around 4pm. It was too crowded at 4 to take him out of the car, so I opened the door and one of my walking friends came over and petted him. First day at the park since Christmas. I was hoping to see his girlfriend, Reba, but she was not there.

 

I then drove him to the school and walked him to his favorite bush where he tinkled by himself!!! For the past few days he has been regaining some bladder function. At the vet's he starts peeing the minute they take him out the back door to their yard - even if someone is carrying him, LOL! Sometimes he can't hold it all the way there, but he tries and usually can. It's on a concrete patio, but I'm thrilled he's getting some control back. I had to change PJ's three times last night when I took him out. It takes me too long to wake up and he can't hold it that long and was asking to go out about every hour. The IV's were in until late, running at 500.

 

Thank everyone for their prayers again. The vets keep being amazed at Frosty's good outcomes when it looks so bleak. I think they are finally figuring out the problem situations with the pancreas and liver. He really, really needs to gain weight, to eat well every day and not throw it up and the goal of the meds is for him to be able to do that.

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I believe that rabbit meat is very low fat. That might be something to try feeding him. When I was cooking for a dog with skin problems to try to resolve them, the crockpot was my friend. It also spreads an appealing smell throughout the house. If Frosty can chew well, your sistermight try homemade jerky in a dehydrator. Everytime my dh makes it the dogs line up staring at the counter where the dehydrator is looking very hopeful.

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Thanks for the update -- I hope Frosty knows how lucky he is to have your sister as his mom! :)

 

Personally, I think he is amazing -- he never gives up!

 

Cat

 

I agree! Everytime I think it's near the end for Frosty, he rallies! He has a strong will to live, and I believe that all these prayers and positive thoughts are helping too.

 

Veronica

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Update from my sister this morning:

 

I did cook the chicken in the crock pot one night and he ate a lot of it. The next one I cooked on the stove and it didn't smell nearly as good because the pot lit was so tight. However, he won't eat the chicken or the rice anymore. I gave him some tuna yesterday and he was eating it well, so I gave him a bite of tuna over rice. He refused it and then wouldn't touch the tuna!

 

That worried me a lot, because he ate very little yesterday morning and afternoon. Since he didn't eat all last week, that was not a good sign.

 

Luckily, his appetite improved later. Last night I made him 96% lean hamburger, which I rinsed to get more fat off, and whole wheat spaghetti. He loved it, but I was worried about the affect on his liver and pancreas. He is on pancreatic enzymes now, though. I waited 3 hours for the next meal and had an idea. I thoroughly soaked his dry dog food (which is relatively low fat) which he never loved, but he ate and when it was nice and puffy I warmed it up and put a little meat and spaghetti in it. Most importantly, perhaps, I put it in his metal dog dish, which I hadn't been using since it doesn't go in the microwave. He ate it all up! He's been so picky that I was worried that it would put him off the meat and spaghetti, but apparently it didn't!

 

I am also going to give the lactulose after meals because I think it might make him feel full or nauseous. It gives him gas and very loose stools, but it takes ammonia out of the bloodstream that the liver is taking out. This is the vet's theory on why he doesn't eat for days after he eats really well a couple days.

 

I didn't know about rabbit meat, but it gave me an idea about venison, which is easy to get around here. If it comes to that, I will buy some (as much as I hate to - ugh!).

 

She must not like the idea of eating those pretty deer! :-)

 

Carrie, I emailed her about the green coconuts this morning. Thanks for the idea.

Edited by RoughCollie
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I was reading a magazine in my vet's office yesterday and there was this article on using hyperbaric treatments for dogs with panceatisis and I thought of frosty. It was in Dog Fancy if you want to have your sister look out for it. They were having very good success with it.

 

Here is an article i found

 

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Medicine/Use-of-hyperbaric-oxygen-therapy-in-small-animal-m/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/446489

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I received this email from my sister this morning. It is good to hear directly from her about Frosty.

 

He is eating well since the weekend, though not as much today. This is the longest he's gone without getting sick or stopping food.

 

He is not walking as well as he was on Monday and not peeing as much by himself. I don't know why. It could be due to the cold weather and not having as many outings, but maybe not.

 

Overall, things are looking a lot better since he got on the meds last Friday.

 

I think he is putting on weight and getting stronger (or I'm getting weaker, LOL). We have a contest when I try to pick him up off his bed so I can take him outside. He wants to stay in bed!

 

Please thank everyone for their prayers!

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