Beck and Call

 Never thought about any of our girls getting pancreatitis or the life they would be dealing with. I made things as comfortable for her as I possibly could. As with everything, Addie handled it in stride with me by her side. I answered every potty call needed with a little help from my husband. Day or night, regardless of frequency. 

When Addie came back from the ER back in May 2, 2021, she was on flagyl and a probiotic. Her stools just kept getting worse and worse in consistency and frequency. She was also moved to Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Gastrointestinal Low Fat Dry Dog Food by the can. With help from my regular vet her food was changed to dry only and her med was changed to Tylan Soluble Powder and Endosorb was added to help firm her stools. She slowly improved but her stools would never be the same. They were manageable.

Fast forward to a year later, her lower back was getting worse making having a poo more uncomfortable in one spot so she took to kind of a walking poo with a little here and a little there. For me, quality of life is at the front of my mind. Upon advice from her acupuncturist I tried Diggin' Your Dog Firm UP! Pumpkin Super Supplement for Dogs and Cats, Digestive and Stool Consistency Support. Well, that went south real quick with her after only a few small doses. It took a good week before she bounced back and her stools were back to where they were. 

Then Addie started losing weight, quickly. Because of her pancreatitis Addie could only eat a certain amount of food total or she would throw up and/or have horrible diarrhea. But I needed her to gain weight because she was losing muscle mass. I tried adding rice, just a table spoon, no good, made her sick. I added Fruitables Pumpkin Digestive Supplement canned. It didn't help with her stools at larger amount but she enjoyed it so she got a little teaspoon with her meds which she loved. Bloodwork was done and our Vet consulted with an internist. They concluded that something was not right in her digestive system. The discussion of where do we go from here was had. Addie's health was not good enough to with stand any type of surgery if there was cancer. She was also on Proin ER for a minor urinary issue and Thyro-Tabs for a thyroid issue. No sense putting her through extensive testing if we couldn't fix the problem. Making her as comfortable as possible was the only option. We could try a hydrolyzed diet which we did and it immediately made her sick. They also recommended B12 shots weekly which we started immediately with the first injection at our vet and the rest administered at home.

To Addie, B12 shots were magic! She would perk up and her overall well being improved. She also gained back a little weight from being on them. Near the end of the week a day or two before she was due for her shot, you could see her going down. Over the last two weeks, she was becoming picky about breakfast. It didn't seem like the things that were helping Addie with her lower back pain were working any more. I used a Loop on Addie and we have an Vet who does in home acupuncture with laser therapy for her. She was on Galliprant. We tried Gabapentin but it reacted poorly for her. 

In the end, Addie's pain was just too great for anyone to help. Pain was making her extra crabby which really was not like her. She was the mother of our little pack. Always watching over Lucie and Hailey. On Friday, August 5th our acupuncture Vet came to our home to help relieve Addie's pain. When she arrived, Addie trotted to the door, barked and all four legs fell out from under her. She couldn't get up. I tried but call my husband to lovingly lifted her up. It was clear it was time. Since Addie has been on a bland diet since May 2021, she had a banquet of cheese burgers, mini donuts, her favorite bones and ice cream. I cuddled her tightly in my arms the whole time, feeling her heart beat slower and slower until her light was gone. She was free of pain. My life will never be the same without my velcro girl by my side. I'll be doing some more posts to celebrate Addie. There is simply too much to share in one post. Love you my girl. Love you with my whole heart.