Over 300 Rescued!

Post Secret

I don't know if anyone else looks at Post Secret but it is my favorite website. Here are a few of the secrets that have dogs in them that I thought were cute.

Izzy and Domino are getitng so big!

RIP little Kangaroo

Gracie went to meet Niles today on the Rainbow Bridge. After all of our efforts and prayers she let us know it was her time to go. As hard as it was to make this decision we know she was suffering and could not go on any longer. Gracie was lucky to have lived with Jenny and Tim for 17 weeks and got the chance to feel true love. If it wasn't for them she would never had made it as long as she did. Gracie got the chance to snuggle in bed with her "people", play with her friends (especially Sadie), go to the dog park, chew up all the Hanky Panky's she could find and so much more. Most dogs will never get to experience any of those things. Gracie was an amazing puppy whose life was cut short due to a devastating disease. She will always remind us why it is that we do what we do. It is the little ones like her that we fight so hard for. If only her mom Freya was fed good quality food and taken care of we would not be in this situation and Gracie would be happy and healthy. Thank you Gracie for coming into our lives and making such a difference.

My mom said tonight, all a dog really wants in life is to someone who loves them so much that they would cry when they die. Someone who loves them so much it just breaks their hearts when they pass. Gracie was lucky enough to have people like that in her life.

If it should be that I grow frail and weak,
and pain should keep me from my sleep,
then you must do what must be done,
for we know this last battle can't be won.

You will be sad, I understand,
but don't let grief then stay your hand,
for this day, more than the rest,
your love and friendship must stand the test.

We've had so many happy years,
what is to come can hold no fears.
Would you want me to suffer? So,
when the time comes, please let me go.

Take me where my needs they'll tend,
only stay with me until the end,
and hold me firm and speak to me,
until my eyes no longer see.

It is a kindness that you do to me,
although my tail it's last has waved,
from pain and suffering I have been saved.

Do not grieve, it should be you,
who must decide this thing to do.
We've been so close, we two these years,
Don't let your heart hold any tears.

Arlo

Turns out Arlo also has multiple shunts. The doctors give him about a year to live and Gracie has about 6 months. We are trying to contact Dr. Tobias in Tennessee who is a specialist and hopefully we can get them down there and she will have an idea of what to do. We will do whatever we can to make sure they both live a long and healthy life.

Good day

Gracie had a good day today! She helped Jenny do her laundry.

6-7 Shunts

I am speechless, as are the doctors. Gracie has 6-7 shunts in her Liver. This hasnt been seen since the 70's. We will be taking her to Tennessee if we can raise enough money to have a specialist look at her. Arlo also has a shunt but is in much better shape. Litter mates having shunts is also very rare. We are told Gracie might only have a few months to live.


This is proof you need to feed good quality dog foods. If Freya would have been taken care of during her pregnancy Gracie would live a long healthy life.

Portosystemic Shunts

Here is what is going on with Gracie. We also are worried Arlo has the same issues. We will find out tomorrow. Hopefully Dr. B can find something and explain why Arlo is so aggressive. I will keep you posted.



Shunt anatomy and physiology

• In the fetus a shunt, called the patent ductus venosus, is present and bypasses blood away from the liver to the placenta so that the mother can cleanse the blood for the fetus.
• Once the fetus is born the shunt closes within three days after birth and the puppy's liver must clean the blood. Sometimes the shunt does not close off.
• A portosystemic shunt, therefore is an abnormal vessel that allows blood to bypass the liver. As a result the blood is not cleansed by one of the bodies filters: the liver.
• These dogs also have much less blood that flows to the liver which causes the liver to remain small.
• There are many variations of congential portosystemic shunts that are found at surgery, however there two main groups: shunts located in the liver (intrahepatic shunt) and shunts located outside of the liver tissue (extrahepatic shunt). The intrahepatic shunt is most commonly found in large breed dogs and extrahepatic shunts are seen in small breeds.
• Above is a diagram showing the blood flow from the intestines, through the shunt (labeled) , then to the heart. Most of the blood does not flow to the liver due to the resistance of the filters in the liver, thus the blood is not cleansed by the liver.

Clinical signs

• Abnormal behavior after eating
• Pacing and aimless wandering
• Pressing the head against the wall
• Episodes of apparent blindness
• Seizures
• Poor weight gain
• Stunted growth
• Excessive sleeping and lethargy
• Straining to urinate due to bladder stone formation
• Patient with a shunt may have many clinical signs and some have only a single clinical sign
• Some dogs do not show signs until they are older

Diagnosis

• A variety of blood tests can be used to help to support a diagnosis of a portosystemic shunt.
• Bile acid test are always elevated. Generally the bile acids levels (after feeding a meal) in patients having a shunt are higher than 100. Other diseases such as microvascular dysplasia, generalized liver disease, and acquired shunts due to liver cirrhosis can also cause elevated bile acids tests.
• Sometimes the shunt can be identified with ultrasound imaging.
• Nuclear scintigraphy is a fairly reliable test to ascertain whether a shunt is present, but may not be able to differentiate acquired from congenital shunts.
• In most dogs we are able to identify the portosystemic shunt at the time of surgery.
• Sometimes multiple acquired shunts, caused by end-stage liver disease are found; unfortunately no surgical therapy is useful to treat this (other than liver transplant, which is not practical in dogs).
• If the shunt cannot be found at the time of surgery, dye is injected into one of the veins going to the liver and x-rays are taken (portogram). This will show the blood supply of the liver and the offending shunt, if it is present.

Treatment

• If possible, we prefer to have the patient as stable as possible prior to surgery. This involves having your pet on a low protein diet and administering prescribed medication.
  • Antibiotics are used as bacteria, which are normally removed by the liver, by pass the liver and result in bacteria circulating in the blood.
  • Lactulose is a medication which traps toxins such as ammonia in the stool. It also decreases the transit time of the stool so that toxins are expelled quicker (thus the pet will defecate more often).
  • Low protein diet should be fed in order to decrease poisons that affect the brain.
  
  
• Surgery is the best treatment for a shunt. Usually at the time of surgery the shunt can be identified (arrow showing large vessel) as is seen in photo below.

• For pets that have a shunt that is located outside of the liver, an ameroid constrictor ring is placed around the vessel (in photo below see metal ring). This device slowly closes the shunt over a period of 6 weeks.

• If the shunt is located in the liver the surgery is much more complex. Because these shunts are usually found in large breed dogs, the shunt likewise is frequently very large. We have successfully used large ameroid constrictors for this purpose, but in some cases two surgeries are needed.

Potential complications

• Complications can include high blood pressure (portal hypertension) of the vessels going to the liver, which results in fluid accumulation in the belly. If a high level of portal hypertension is present after the shunt is tied off, the pet will die.
• About 15 % of the dogs having surgery will develop small-acquired shunts that basically function like the congenital shunt and thus the pet may need medical treatment for life.
• Infection is an uncommon but possible complication.
• Seizures may occur in the first 3 to 5 days after surgery.
  • Seizures can be caused by low blood sugar levels, which is easily treated
  • Seizures can be caused by the imbalances of the chemicals within the brain as the blood is being cleansed. These patients may die if they are not responsive to medication.

Postop care

• After surgery your pet will still need to eat a low protein diet. Once bile acid levels (blood test) normalize a regular diet can be fed.
• Lactulose and antibiotics are continued for about 10 days after surgery.

Prognosis

• The overall success rate is about 85%. Usually the pet will start to feel better with 10 to 14 days after surgery.

*http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/pss.htm*

Buddy Happy Tail

Buddy now lives with Jenny's mom

Scout Happy Tail

Scout has a forever home, she loves to go boating and play in the lake.

Blue Happy Tail

Blue now lives in Indiana

Scruffy Happy Tail

Scruffy found his new forever home

Freckles Happy Tail

Oscar

Oscar was my first foster dog ever. He is still doing well in his forever home.

Oliver and Buddy Happy Tail

Brothers, Oliver and Buddy found their forever homes.

Penny's Happy Tail

Penny was adopted by a great family on Valentines day.

Brady Happy Tail

Brady got his new home today!

Gracie Update

Gracie will be having an ultrasound this week to see where her shunt it. She will have to have a very risky and expensive surgery. We are hoping our BlackFinn even will help us to cover her medical bills that are going to be well over $2,000. Here is a little info on what is going on with her.

A portosystemic shunt is a blood vessel that bypasses liver tissue, carrying blood from the intestines, stomach, spleen, and pancreas to the heart before it can be filtered and cleansed of proteins, sugars, bacteria, and toxins. Shunts are present in all fetal mammals and usually close down shortly before or after birth so that the baby's liver takes over the functions of filtration, storage, and production. In some individuals the shunt doesn't close down or develops in an abnormal place, and the animal's liver doesn't get enough blood supply to grow or function properly.

Leon

Leon is growing up so fast. He is the Mastiff and he is going to be a monster.

Too Funny

My cousin Chris sends me the funniest videos. I was crying b/c I was laughing so hard when I saw this one. He is sleeping until the very end... so funny

Obama's new dog

Rumor has it they Obama's are getting their new dog in April. They said they are going to be getting a Portuguese Water Dog. After looking at them I am pretty sure Sadie could pass as one. I wonder if Jenny would let the Obama's adopt her.... Dont worry Jenny I am only kidding. The first picture is a Portuguese Water Dog and the second is Sadie.

Gracie

Gracie went to the vet today and we found out she has the same thing Bean did. Her body is not absorbing any proteins. Her belly always looks full because of all of the fluids in it. This is a very serious condition so she will need a lot of thoughts and prayers.