She threw up quite a bit of it, and they got her to her veterinarian right way. At first they thought they had gotten to her in time, but Marley’s abdomen started swelling. She wasn’t growing the way she should. Her veterinarian began to suspect that something more was going on and maybe she had congenital liver shunts. This family had spent quite a bit of money getting her to this point and was depressed with her ups and downs. They flat ran out of money and decided that they needed either to put her down or to rehome her. These owners were not able even to afford the additional tests needed to determine the extent of the problem and to see if she could be saved. This is when her veterinarian, who has been very good to Airedale Rescue in the past, contacted Airedale Rescue in Louisiana.
The first
set of test results were inconclusive, but led us to believe that she might
have liver shunts. Unfortunately the
costs of additional tests were estimated to be as much as $4000 which was
totally out of the question for these owners.
We discussed this situation with the NAR board and determined that we
could not set a precedent by helping owners with such expenses as that could
open the flood gates. These owners would
have to surrender Marley to rescue in order for us to get Marley the tests that
she needed. At this point they decided
that it was best for Marley to surrender her to rescue. She was approximately 6 months old and
weighed 19 pounds.
We finally
got her and took her to a specialist at Riverlands Veterinary Hospital for an
ultrasound of her liver. The ultrasound
was inconclusive, so they called in another specialist who had to open her up
to do a portogram to determine if there were liver shunts (intra hepatic, or
extra hepatic) which were causing her lack of growth and whether they could be repaired. The portogram determined that there were
multiple extra hepatic shunts which could not be repaired. They did a liver biopsy to determine if there
was enough good liver for her to survive.
Fortunately the liver is one organ which can regenerate some of itself if
there is enough good liver left. While
we were waiting for the biopsy results, we went ahead and treated her to reduce
the pressure in the liver in hopes that the liver could regenerate and recover. After what seemed like an eternity, it was
determined that there was some regeneration going on in the liver, but there
was also some ongoing necrosis (but I did not hear cirrhosis). The Sago Palm had done major damage to Marley’s
liver. Later I found out that the
specialist did not expect Marley to live through this, but Marley is a very
determined Airedale.At this point I got the local homeopathic vet at Natural Pet Care involved. With the help from the specialist and the homeopathic vet, the fluid in Marley’s abdomen (sietes) began to decrease, and she started acting more like a normal puppy. Her liver tests are repeated quarterly. She is not out of the woods yet, but she does appear to be improving by baby steps.
Today, a year later, she weighs 47 pounds, she
has grown to a normal Airedale size, and the color is coming back into her coat. All but one of her liver tests is borderline
normal and the other one is approaching normal.
She is and has been on 14 medications a day and may be on most of these
for the rest of her life. In April, 2013
the specialist determined that her liver was stable enough for her to be spayed
which we had done at that time.
Unfortunately for Marley, we have just discovered that her hip joints
are not good, and she will probably have hip dysplasia.
She could be up for adoption by summers end if
anyone is willing to take this girl on.
I don’t expect her ever to be totally normal.
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| Marley |
How cute she is! Our paws are crossed for the very best for Marley ♥
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