April 2011

Towards the middle of the month Emma started to have lose stools and not eating.. and she really likes to eat so we took her to the vet.. they said it was pancreatitis, so we got some pills and left.   After the pills were gone she still was having issues and her belly got really big and hard... so we took her in.. they did an ultrasound and said she had fluid on her belly.

It was determined that she has PLE or Protein Losing Enteropathy.  This is when the body turns on itself looking for protein sources because the stomach/intestines/liver/pancreas aren't able to use the protein from food eaten in the stomach.  So there might be a chance that she has an infection in her digestive system or possible Cancer.........PLE is a by product of an infection or cancer.  Our worst fears are realized.  Emma's a strong healthy dog, always has been.  If we can rehabilitate Jessi from an FCE, we can get Emma to fight off this disease.

The Vet drained 1 liter of fluid, said there was more in there but didn't want to send her into shock by draining too much.  She also said we needed to put her on some other pills and they called around and found that Costco was the cheapest...$114.........for pills!!!  But Emma is worth it.  We started giving her the pills and she had to go back to the doctor each week for new blood work to see if she was still losing protein.

The first couple of trips there wasn't much of a change... protein counts were still going down.  The third time her protein levels had come back up and looked like we were turning the corner.  She was drained again and by  the next day she had absorbed the rest of the fluid that the wasn't drained.  A very good sign.  But sadly, she filled back up 6 days later.  This time they took 2.5 liters off her.  When she gets drained you can really see how skinny she is and how much damage has been done to her muscles.

We are still holding out hope for Emma.  We will do what we can to get her better without sacrificing her quality of life.