Liver Disease & When To Let Go

[Guest breezeinn]

Our almost 14 yr boy, Smokie, has been ill since mid January. He's weight is normally 66-67 lbs....he is down to 53.5 lbs. We have been to vet. Blood work doesn't show anything significant. Xray shows a very small liver. We (vet and us) have decided liver disease. We had Smokie on brown rice, chicken breasts and dry kibble, flagyl and appetitie stimulant for 6 weeks. He kept losing weight, diarreha, would sometimes eat in morning, always ate in evening. I have taken to hand feeding him (coaxing with anything/everything to get him to eat). About 2+ weeks ago we started him on Science Diet LD (hepatic), milk thistle (700 mg per day), flagyl, metamucil wafers. He eats better although morning meal is trickier than evening meal. The metamucil wafers (3 per day) are helping with the diarreha...no firm stool, still loose but not as bad....our thought is trying to keep the nutritents in longer so they may be absorbed. In one week on this new diet he gain .2 lb. Not much but atleast forward. We go to vet tomorrow for weigh in and blood work. Hoping (of course) for more forward progress.

 

We have had dogs all our lives and we spoil them rotten. They are members of the family. We have had Smokie for 9 yrs and are other grey for 8 years. We do not believe in doing anything "heroic" for our dogs. We want them to be comfortable and not suffer, but when their time comes we support euthanizing (we have been through this with several of our dogs).

 

The hearbreak we feel now is "When is it Smokie's time?" He is alert, enjoys getting his lovies (massage, talking to), still likes his Charlie Bear treats, can walk (although very shaky on the back legs & no steps anymore). He doesn't seem to be in pain (no crying out, no wincing when we touch him, etc.). He does have spells maybe twice a day where he pants very heavily. We can only assume he hurts then. We will gently pet him and he calms down.

 

Watching him slowly deteriorate is not pleasant. We have no problem letting Smokie cross Rainbow Bridge.....but our hearts just can't arbitrarily "kill" our dog when he seems ok for now. All our other dogs had a specific condition that progressed quickly and was obvious it was "time". This is the first time we have experienced this slow deterioration.

 

We know what we are saying is the dilemma we all face when it's time to be there for our beloved pet. We just would like some feedback from the group about liver disease care and of course dealing with the final decision.

 

Thank you in advance to everyone -

r&b

[Charlies_Dad]

Your Smokie sounds similar to our senior girl Shelby with the exception of the potential liver issue. To keep weight on her, we feed her pasta with a protein and mixed minced veges (home made meals). She also has a hard time walking, a hard time standing and has the similar panting issues a couple times a day. She does still love her food but it hurts to watch her backend collapse every time she eats. We have tried to make things easier on her in every way possible and she does have accidents in the house most often at night 2-3 times a week so we know her body is failing her slowly. Similar to you, we also don't know when it's time to let her go. Right now she is okay but things can change quickly and we're hoping it's not a sudden painful or fearful episode that takes her from us. While we know she hates going to the vet, we have made plans for her that will avoid that stress when her time comes. I do feel that while it's heartbreaking for us, letting them go before an emergency is best.

 

I'm sorry you're going through this as it sucks when they get old.

[TheFullHouse]

It's always such a hard decision to let our babies go. I generally watch and when I see that they are not enjoying the things they used to love like walks and playing with toys, when they stop eating and I am spending more time trying to get them to eat and trying to coax them into doing things I know they like, I usually make my decision then.

 

I know how hard this is for you because I've been through it myself. It's always hard watching our babies waste away and not knowing when to make the decision, but I've usually found that it's a look in the eyes that does it for me. There will be something missing, a blank stare or just a look of being very tired.

 

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this right now. I have a boy who is suffering from kidney disease with a very small liver also so I know where you're coming from.

 

I wish you many more days with your boy.

[Batmom]

Have just been through this, though we had a firm and unfortunate diagnosis (kidney failure). I let him go when he obviously didn't feel well and stopped wanting to eat. It felt like pounding nails into my heart but it was the only fair thing to do.

 

My heart goes out to you. Not an easy decision under your circumstances. Give your boy a scritchy from me and tell him how handsome he is, OK? And some hugs for yourself.

[tbhounds]

Just wondering how your vet has determined that your hound has liver disease. Perhaps, you have run more tests than you indicated but, have you run a bile acids test or an performed an abdominal ultrasound? "Small livers" noted on radiographs are really not all that uncommon, however, its a good indicator for further testing.

So, it would be hard for me to give advice or my opinion on how far to go medically with your hound w/o knowing more details.

Regardless---hugs and positive thoughts being sent to you and your hound.

[NeylasMom]

Barbara, not much advice from me, just sorry that you're going through this.

 

I do wonder about the liver diagnosis with no elevated liver values on his blood work? I don't know much about liver disease really so you should take this with a grain of salt, but what about an entirely different issue where he's no longer able to absorb nutrients like PLE?

 

One thing I do remember my vet telling me - as dogs age they don't digest food/absorb nutrients as well so you might want to consider a probiotic before meals and a digestive enzyme on his food. I would also try feeding him at other times of day to see if he eats better maybe mid-day or before bed.

[MP_the4pack]

I'm so sorry. I lost a 5 yr old to liver disease. I went to U of Penn for a second opinion and when they told me she wasn't going to make it through the weekend I sent her to the Bridge there.

 

Bile Acid tests confirmed liver disease, but they told me it was very small.

 

However, she really wasn't feeling well, had bad ascites. Her appetite had diminished. While she didn't have "that look", there was no hope.

Most of my other hounds were ready to cross to the Bridge. You could see it in their face.

[Guest breezeinn]

Smokie is at peace today. Our boy, our first greyhound, our smarty-pants OCD
houndie (a good combination of Einstein & Monk), crossed over peacefully laying
in my lap with his favorite soft blankie while I massaged him and talked to him
gently. Smokie was a greyt ambassadog. He (along with his "brother" Tanner),
attended numerous open houses, events, and home visits. He loved meeting people
and other greyhounds. He could be a bit snarky when a non-greyhound got too
much in his face, but other than that, he was a gentle-soul. Along with his
brother, Smoke was a good traveler. He took lots of local trips. He went to
Virginia Beach many times and enjoyed his walks on the boardwalk as well as in
the beach sand. If he could be off lead, he would have ripped through the sand
with reckless abandon. He also traveled to New England many times to visit
friends and for the Greyhound Adoption Expo 2007 in Massachusetts. The Expo was
held at the race track Smokie had his career (Wonderland) and also at the race
track his brother had his career (Raynham). At Raynham, Smokie and his brother
got to do the fun run....full out running on the track's first straight away.
Smokie was elegant in his racing style, hugging the rail and focused on the
finish line. Smokie also was smart...doing a perfect square sit from day one.
He also knew "paw", "twirl", "down", and of course "COOKIES!". He understood
everything we said to him. We had many good conversations over the years
(haha). Smokie's biggest vice was destroying stuffies to get the squeaker. We
started taking the squeaker out of the stuffies. One evening we watched Smokie
pull all the stuffing out of the toy, pile the stuffing off to the side, root in
the toy for the squeaker and then root in the pile of stuffing for the squeaker.
When he found no squeaker, he walked away in disgust. (Smile!) Despite his
smarts, Smokie never got the memo that greyhounds don't bark. Whenever the door
bell rang, Smokie barked like a Hound of the Baskervilles! And much to our
embarrassment, even when the door bell rang on a TV show, Smokie barked. And of
course Smokie taught his brother to bark too. Thanks Smokie!

We are happy that Smokie was in our lives. He made it to his 9th Gotcha Day on
March 10th. We made a gallant effort to give Smokie the best during his decline
and we did succeed. Today was his day to join all our houndies at Rainbow
Bridge. We love you Smokie.

barbara and rick

[Batmom]

Barbara and Rick, I'm so sorry that Smokie had to leave. I am sure that in the land over the bridge, he is telling everybody what loving, compassionate people he had in his life.

 

Godspeed.

[TheFullHouse]

I'm so sorry for your loss. He sounds like a wonderfulboy. Godspeed Smokie.

[gracegirl]

Godspeed, Smokie.

Edited March 16, 2013 by gracegirl

[Guest undergreysspell]

I'm very sorry for your loss. Godspeed Smokie.

[tbhounds]

I'm very sorry to read this. Rip Smokie :-(

[Guest dmt]

I am so sorry for your loss.

[NeylasMom]

I'm so sorry Barbara.

[greytpups]

I'm so sorry for your loss. You gave him a wonderful life full of love.

[MP_the4pack]

Barbara and Rick, Smokie sounds like he was a wonderful boy, a delightful companion. I'm so very sorry he lost his fight to liver disease.

 

Above I spoke of Topaz's liver disease. While she wasn't my first adopted, she was my first loss.

 

God speed, Smokey.

[Charlies_Dad]

Barbara and Rick, I am sorry for your loss of your sweet boy. He sounds like he was a great pup and lived many happy years with you both. It still hurts when the leave no matter the time you have.

 

Run free Smokie, run free sweetie...

[Neighsayer]

Hugs!