Hi Everyone,
I've been lurking, and posting very little for the past two years - but I'm ready to join in. Our household has Wally (2 yr old Frenchie), Eve (8 weeks, she moved in yesterday), and Patrick (12 year old Chihuahua). Below is a very long story, spanning two years - there was a time we thought Wally wouldn't survive.
Wally is a Frenchie that we got from a breeder in SoCal. From the very first day we got him, he had very loose, watery stool laced with blood. We visited the vet the first day and went through many tests and treatments for the normal things. Puppy Stress, Parasites, various itises, etc. We changed his food, eliminated everything, we tried home cooked (we did not try raw) - nothing worked and he kept deteriorating. He's tried probiotics, pumpkin, fiber one, metamucil, goats milk - anything anyone has ever thought to try - we tried (under veterinarian supervision and recommendation). At this point feces or blood (or both) would literally just leak out, we constantly had to wipe his bum. We couldn't take him for walks, to anywhere fun or interesting as any activity would cause him to "leak". He was going to bathroom about 15 times a day. Despite all of this he remained happy, loving, energetic and funny!
At about 12 months our local vet had exhausted all of her ideas and options and had a hunch that he had Granulomatous Colitis. She sent us to see a specialist who performed a colonoscopy to biopsy his bowels which confirmed that diagnosis. From there - most dogs can be cured using Baytril (enrofloxacin). Wally proved to be unresponsive to this treatment. We tried another oral antibiotic that didn't work and then shifted to injections of meropenem. We mixed the medicine at home and injected him twice a day (he was an angel!). We saw immediate improvement and finally saw a glimmer of hope. However, after about 4 weeks the improvement stalled - and while he was BETTER, he still had bloody stool, still required butt wipes, and still leaked. The vet advised us to up to the dose to 3x daily and for the first time EVER he was almost normal dog. He was going to the bathroom twice a day, they were solid, and there was little to no blood. Again, we were hopeful that would live a long, happy, healthy life.
That was not to be so. Suddenly, with no change in treatment he completely reverted back. Only worse. Our specialist was stumped. We ran some blood tests and nothing seemed abnormal. She suggested a second colonoscopy - and so we went ahead and did that. Once again - he tested positive for Granulomatous Colitis - only this time it showed to be more susceptible to antibiotics. So, once again we tried Baytril - and once again it didn't work. We were then prescribed Prednisone- which also didn't work. At this point our specialist was stumped, and referred us to a more special-specialist at UC Davis. We were able to get an appointment with in the week (rare!!) and made 12 hour round trip trek to go see that Dr.
At UC Davis we had a 2 hour consult. The Dr. and Med Student were very thorough going over all of our records from the previous two vets. We went over Wally's history in detail. He sent us home with an increased dose of Prednisone - which helped a little - but not much. However, Wally became very irritable, food aggressive and actually LOST 5 lbs (we took him to the local vet to check - he was scary skinny) Cue to the prolapsing anus! As Wally had been going to the bathroom so frequently, and straining intensely to pass sometimes just a few drops of blood he began to prolapse his anus. At first it was just once in a while, and then it became every single time he went to the bathroom - 12 times a day. The poor boy - he was such a good boy allowing us to put him back together and clean him up every time. Obviously, we were very upset and concerned and called the specialist at UC Davis who advised us to come in for more testing. Once again - we made the 12 hour trip. This time Wally had a colonoscopy, endoscopy, esophagoscopy, and a duodenoscopy, plus multiple blood tests, Ultrasounds, etc. The tests came back saying the same thing - still Granulomatous Colitis, but now he was also not absorbing protein. However, this strain was also showing differently in terms of being susceptible to antibiotics. We stopped the prednisone and he went on the Baytril again and changed to a super hydrolyzed protein diet and IT WORKED.
Today is Wally's 2nd Birthday! He is a totally normal dog. He goes to the bathroom twice a day, he's had no blood, no prolapsing, good consistency and texture - we haven't had to wipe his bum in months. He goes to the park, and on walks, and the beach. He's a happy healthy puppy! All of our vets went above and beyond in terms of communication, being reachable and helpful. I'm thankful for each one of them. Wally is an anomaly and UC Davis actually took a DNA sample, blood work etc, to study him further as it was such an unusual case.
Now that we know Wally will be around for the long haul, we got him a buddy to play with. Eve is 8 weeks old, and they get along like they've always been together. I'm so impressed with how gentle he is with her, and she's a little spit fire! Patrick is 12, and has no time for Wally's energy, so wer'e excited he has a play buddy! Attached are pictures of the crew.
Props to you if you read this far!
I've been lurking, and posting very little for the past two years - but I'm ready to join in. Our household has Wally (2 yr old Frenchie), Eve (8 weeks, she moved in yesterday), and Patrick (12 year old Chihuahua). Below is a very long story, spanning two years - there was a time we thought Wally wouldn't survive.
Wally is a Frenchie that we got from a breeder in SoCal. From the very first day we got him, he had very loose, watery stool laced with blood. We visited the vet the first day and went through many tests and treatments for the normal things. Puppy Stress, Parasites, various itises, etc. We changed his food, eliminated everything, we tried home cooked (we did not try raw) - nothing worked and he kept deteriorating. He's tried probiotics, pumpkin, fiber one, metamucil, goats milk - anything anyone has ever thought to try - we tried (under veterinarian supervision and recommendation). At this point feces or blood (or both) would literally just leak out, we constantly had to wipe his bum. We couldn't take him for walks, to anywhere fun or interesting as any activity would cause him to "leak". He was going to bathroom about 15 times a day. Despite all of this he remained happy, loving, energetic and funny!
At about 12 months our local vet had exhausted all of her ideas and options and had a hunch that he had Granulomatous Colitis. She sent us to see a specialist who performed a colonoscopy to biopsy his bowels which confirmed that diagnosis. From there - most dogs can be cured using Baytril (enrofloxacin). Wally proved to be unresponsive to this treatment. We tried another oral antibiotic that didn't work and then shifted to injections of meropenem. We mixed the medicine at home and injected him twice a day (he was an angel!). We saw immediate improvement and finally saw a glimmer of hope. However, after about 4 weeks the improvement stalled - and while he was BETTER, he still had bloody stool, still required butt wipes, and still leaked. The vet advised us to up to the dose to 3x daily and for the first time EVER he was almost normal dog. He was going to the bathroom twice a day, they were solid, and there was little to no blood. Again, we were hopeful that would live a long, happy, healthy life.
That was not to be so. Suddenly, with no change in treatment he completely reverted back. Only worse. Our specialist was stumped. We ran some blood tests and nothing seemed abnormal. She suggested a second colonoscopy - and so we went ahead and did that. Once again - he tested positive for Granulomatous Colitis - only this time it showed to be more susceptible to antibiotics. So, once again we tried Baytril - and once again it didn't work. We were then prescribed Prednisone- which also didn't work. At this point our specialist was stumped, and referred us to a more special-specialist at UC Davis. We were able to get an appointment with in the week (rare!!) and made 12 hour round trip trek to go see that Dr.
At UC Davis we had a 2 hour consult. The Dr. and Med Student were very thorough going over all of our records from the previous two vets. We went over Wally's history in detail. He sent us home with an increased dose of Prednisone - which helped a little - but not much. However, Wally became very irritable, food aggressive and actually LOST 5 lbs (we took him to the local vet to check - he was scary skinny) Cue to the prolapsing anus! As Wally had been going to the bathroom so frequently, and straining intensely to pass sometimes just a few drops of blood he began to prolapse his anus. At first it was just once in a while, and then it became every single time he went to the bathroom - 12 times a day. The poor boy - he was such a good boy allowing us to put him back together and clean him up every time. Obviously, we were very upset and concerned and called the specialist at UC Davis who advised us to come in for more testing. Once again - we made the 12 hour trip. This time Wally had a colonoscopy, endoscopy, esophagoscopy, and a duodenoscopy, plus multiple blood tests, Ultrasounds, etc. The tests came back saying the same thing - still Granulomatous Colitis, but now he was also not absorbing protein. However, this strain was also showing differently in terms of being susceptible to antibiotics. We stopped the prednisone and he went on the Baytril again and changed to a super hydrolyzed protein diet and IT WORKED.
Today is Wally's 2nd Birthday! He is a totally normal dog. He goes to the bathroom twice a day, he's had no blood, no prolapsing, good consistency and texture - we haven't had to wipe his bum in months. He goes to the park, and on walks, and the beach. He's a happy healthy puppy! All of our vets went above and beyond in terms of communication, being reachable and helpful. I'm thankful for each one of them. Wally is an anomaly and UC Davis actually took a DNA sample, blood work etc, to study him further as it was such an unusual case.
Now that we know Wally will be around for the long haul, we got him a buddy to play with. Eve is 8 weeks old, and they get along like they've always been together. I'm so impressed with how gentle he is with her, and she's a little spit fire! Patrick is 12, and has no time for Wally's energy, so wer'e excited he has a play buddy! Attached are pictures of the crew.
Props to you if you read this far!
