" Death by Vet " ? - Page 1

I was told by a friend that our Mali, has all to familiar problem in dogs call drug induced liver failure. This is caused when a dog has had a serious trauma ( in our case she lost her left lung lobe, she came to us that way ). We since then had her under the knife twice and were told that she is no longer a surgical candidate to save her life unless we want to pay top dollar for a liver transplant? Really?  Her condition will only worsen slowley in time. I am all too familiar with this when we lost our retired terrier and when Tess had to be put down. We spent 6 grand in the time we bought her until we put her down a few days shy of 3 years young. Now I get to watch while we slowly lose our soon to be 5 year old Mal to this newest problem what I would like to call " Death by Vet". I hate that vet's like to play "God" and try to save a dog that should have been put down all in the name of "practicing medicine". Where and when do we draw the line of being the "superior humane beings" on this earth and know when to put an animal out of it's misery? Now I get to see the joy of watching her throw up, watch her weight going up & down by 3-5 pounds, change in bowl movements and the allergy or itching problems, watch her ALT go up with her blood work as well as her red & white cell counts go crazy from time to time, see her sleep a lot and possibly know when she is in pain when I see her stand there with her head hanging low. I guess all I am waiting for is see her go jaundice on us. That is the time we decided to put her down. We tried holistic ways of treatment, it did not work. The only thing she can eat that helps her is Precise dog food & raw. Until then we let her do a lot of her fav things like rid the neighborhood of evil squirrels, feral cats, go with us 24-7 and let her chew on her Daddy's shoe's with him in them  :)  and sleep on our bed. I alwasy try to keep a ostive look on life & look at the good in things, I am a bit "numb" on this one so post carefully, this is my "fur baby" and a part of our family. My dogs are not just working animals they are more to us then just pets. Any opinions on this one?        Has anybody g

Sorry for your having to deal with such devastating news. If you are certain you have the correct expectations for your dog's future, I personally would not wait as long as the first time to ease the suffering.

I'm sorry to hear you are going through this heartache with your Mal.  I am going through nearly the same thing with my 12 year old.  Spent the night at the ER only to find out she has elevated liver and biliary enzymes but no diagnosis.  My girl is definitely not feeling well, but she seems to be fighting.  And since our best guess is this is an acute disease process, there is a good chance she will recover and go back to a her old great quality of life.

I think maybe you are angry at the Vet for not being able to fix your dog?  Most vets should explain to you why you should do certain diagnostic or treatment procedures.  The vast majority do love animals and have you're dog's best interest in mind.  If you feel your vet is unnecessarily recommending you keep your dog alive, you are you're dog's best advocate.  I wouldn't wait until she is suffering, though it doesnt sound like her quality of life is very good right now.  If she is terminally ill, some may find it best to have your dog PTS on a "good" day.

Crappy situation followed by a crappy situation. 

Where and when do we draw the line of being the "superior humane beings" on this earth and know when to put an animal out of it's misery?

That right there is as hard as get's. For me, on this question, forget everyone & everything else, including yourself and your family, look into your dogs eyes often, and listen. She will tell you when its time. 

Sorry for your families situation.

Oregon,
Sorry to hear that your dog is sick. Few things don't make sense though in your post. Liver transplant is not offered in veterinary medicine, so I think that there has been some miscommunication with your vet. Liver failure can occur with drug therapy, but that should not be an issue with your new dog that sounds like it is having the same signs. The question becomes...what is the actual diagnosis??? Has your dog had an ultrasound or any further liver testing...ie liver biopsy, bile acid stimulation test? The liver is an organ that can respond to any particular illness, as it acts like a filter, so this could be something infectious or even toxic. Have you requested a referral to an Internal Medicine specialist? If you live in Oregon, can you go to Wash States veterinary school? I know that you are frustrated, and I would be too if no one gave me an answer. Even if there is nothing you could do, a diagnosis will at least give you peace of mind that you did what you could.
If you are interested in finding a local internist you can find one close to you by going to www.acvim.org
Best of luck.

Oregontnt,
If you love them you must make those hard choices thinking only of them.
I know it's never easy.

Best wishes,
Moons.

Most vets will continue to do the work until you tell them to stop.. and let it go.. unless the dog is old and there is no hope.  A young dog like this they will try but most will give you the prognosis first. 

The owner, (reading the dog), is the one who makes the decision on how to proceed, not the vet. 

It is never easy and I am sorry for your pain. 

I only blame the Vet that had removed her left lung lobe. We did "not" own her at that time and only have her medical records. This girl should have been put down due to the high activity of the breed ( she even ripped her chest tube out during recovery ). The vet's that worked on her ( I am sure of this ) have "bragging rights" to say, " I saved this dog". Now my comment to this is, they never really saved her, they just bought her more time. Time in which I loved her so much, that now her liver is starting to fail and we have to take her in for regular blood test to see where she sits so we can make that last & final call to put her down. I was told she would only make it 2-4 years before we would see any problems. It has been 2 years now, the best 2 years of her & our lives. We did tell the vet "no more please, stop". We are just making her comfortable. She enjoys going to the VA Center & the Army Strong Center every Tues/Thrus until the end of this semester. There believe it or not, she comforts Veteran's and now the table has turned and they comfort her. She has developed an unusual behavior of placing her full mouth on a wadded up fleece baby blanket and sucking on it. Charlie  "woobie" of choice is Carter's fleece baby blankets. She pick's them out every time. Charlie is a seasoned Veteran in the Vet's office. She hop's on the scaling knowing what is coming next, as she scream's in her little mind, "EXIT ONLY!" she would rather hop on a scale, then get her temp taken! Her next vet appt is in June for more blood work. This is what we do to know where she is sitting other then watching her every day. So when I look at her & see how she is feeling or how she reacts to her physical state or emotional state of mind, I have to ask myself...was this a hero? In my book, no. Practicing medicine has no more life saving surgeries in our lives. I see in her with her body language she is done with it all, yet she still comes up with the energy to rid the place of any feral cats or squirrels that come in our yard, followed by a nap.
We had spent 

..."they just bought her more time".

That's all any of us can say when faced with a serious health issue. 

Ultimately, you weren't in the picture when the lobe surgery was done, so it doesn't do any good to speculate. You are in control of the situation, now, and the vet will, I am sure, honor your wishes on what, if any treatment you subscribe to for your dog.

@ B...so true


I sent an e mail to Gina Bel with a few pic's of Charlie hoping she has a fax I can send her some of the vet reports so she can see what this poor girl has already been thru with he left lung lobe, all the medical work already done and current blood work.

Charlie is doing great today & will make her way to the VA & Army Strong center.

B if you would help me? I would love to send you a few pic's of charlie so you can post them for me?

I have not yet mastered that & with all that is going on it is not important to ad 1 more thing in to the pot


This girl so so beautiful, smart loving and I have tons of people that have lined up to babysit for us if needed!

Charlie is still very "alert" when on Campus or going from place to place, but when in rest mode she is really what I call "crashed" she is not yet 5 & sleeps more then 50% of the day.
I feel bad since she wants to go everywhere with us, so I sometimes stay home so she wont wipe herself out.


thank you all with your kind words & support  :)

Charlie is has heart, she wants to bring you the woobie & play tug, we feel when that "spark is gone" is when it could be her time. I think we have to look at th whole picture & nobody can tell us more then her.