Hey folks. Just wanted to give everyone a quick update of whats been going on... Like FV said, Cocoa isnt doing so well, and its not exactly a happy time at home.
Starting Saturday morning, we kept finding that one of the dogs was getting sick around the house. At first we thought it was Charli, because she likes to graze like a sheep in the back yard. Then Sunday afternoon, Mrs E saw that its was Cocoa. She gave her all day Monday to see if it would clear itself out, and Monday evening, the the vet told her to boil some rice and add a touch of chicken broth to see if it would stay down. It didnt. Then we started noticing Cocoa was having a hard time standing up and sitting/laying down. Tuesday, when she got sick yet again, Mrs E called the vet and made an appt at took her that afternoon. After giving her an IV of fluids to combat dehydration, they did some blood work. Last year, her liver enzymes were higher than the "normal" range. This time, they were well below. Meaning that last year, her liver was starting to fail, and now, it seems like it is finally failing. The next step was to get an ultrasound of her liver, but since we cant afford it, and there is nothing that can be done if it is liver failure, we declined it. The vet gave us a special kind of canned food, and about 4 different meds that she has to take a couple times a day, mixed in with the food. Tuesday afternoon, she did ok with the food and the pills mixed in. Yesterday morning, Mrs E gave her the food/meds, but Cocoa figured out that there were pills in it. She ate the food, going as far to lick the pills clean and leave them on the plate. Yesterday afteroon, Mrs E tried breaking them up into a powder and sprinkling it on the food and mixing it in, but Cocoa didnt even touch it then. As of now, though she seems to be drinking enough water, she hasnt eaten anything since yesterday morning. After another call to the vet, Mrs E is boiling some chicken and will try shredding it up with the meds sprinkled on/in it. If we dont see any improvement in her appitite, she's going to starve herself to death. If she eats, but the meds dont work, she's going to die from liver failure and dehydration from the constant vomiting. But the vet has already told us that if, by the beginning of next week, she isnt better, we need to start thinking about having her put to sleep.
***Edit***
Mrs E just called and said Cocoa ate the chicken, but she didnt put any meds in it.