The Shallow End

More With the Dog Poo

Oops, he's got it again! Smokey has once again come down with a case of the stinkiest, runniest poo EVER (nearly exploding out with every breath he takes)! I won't pretend to know now what it's like to work in a nursing home, but I'm thinking it may be similarly unrewarding work, at best. Fortunately, this time, we caught the problem before it hit the carpet and we have managed to confine Smokey to the great outdoors (thankfully, the weather has been pleasant) and the tile floors. We went to the vet again yesterday and they ran more tests to see if his liver has anything to do with this. And while it's not the cause of the immediate (bacterial) infection, it does appear that he has some sort of systemic infection going on that is weakening his system (possibly a condition known as "hepatic lipidosis" which can also cause muscle wasting, so that may also be the underlying cause of his weakened hind quarters). He also has lots of "gunk" (the doctor's term) in his gall bladder. All told, he is now taking 6 assorted medicines and supplements. What is interesting to me about this is that his brother, Cocoa, diagnosed the systemic infection/condition several months ago and the doctors are only now getting around to addressing it. Cocoa is our house doctor. His constant sniffing of the small cyst that has been on Smokey's eyelid for a couple years recently expanded to sniffing of Smokey's entire abdomen area. We've heard of dogs diagnosing cancer in humans, so I've no doubt that Cocoa is capable of diagnosing his canine siblings.

We're hopeful that the recent round of meds will quickly bring the immediate problem of exploding diarrhea under control as well as clean out the excess gunk in his system. Poor boy. He's very embarrassed about all the problems he's causing.

Labels: The Animals

posted by Gwynne @ 9:04 AM