Bella is the best dog. She has the best personality and has her own routine each day. She is however HIGH MAINTENANCE! It all started in December 2007 when Bella became very sick. I did not know what was wrong with her... all she did each day for about three days was sleep, she did not eat at all. So I finally decided that a trip to the vet was in order. Little did I know that it would be a very emotional week. I remember this week like it was yesterday. Bella and I went to the vet on Monday and they thought that maybe she just ate something that upset her belly so they put her on some medicine and gave me precription dog food. Well that did not work and Bella and I went back to the vet the next day to get some blood work. A few hours later they called to let me know that Bella's kidneys were failing. During the few days Bella lost 15 pounds... it was unbelieve that she could lose this much weight in such a short period of time. WOW is all I could think! Why was this happening? The doctor's were not sure why Bella's kidneys would fail at such a young age. Bella at the time was only one. Bella was immediately put on dialysis to help improve her situation and more testing. Bella ended up staying at the All Pets Animal Hospital for three days before they determined that she has Addison's Disease. I also forgot to mention that Chad was out of town during this whole ordeal. I was on my own making decisions that I thought that I would never have to make. Each day I went twice a day to the vet and spent a few hours with Bella crying as it was horrible seeing her that way. But once she was able to eat and drink on her own she got to come home and that day finally arrived on Friday afternoon. She had a bandage on her front paw and we spent the next few days getting her back to normal and ready for the holidays. BTW Addison's Disease is a serious illness involving the adrenal glands. Bella's adrenal glands do not produce enough Cortisol to regulate the conversion of protein and fat into glucose and Cortisol to tell her body how to react to stress. Bella now takes a shot every 30 days called Percorten-V and she takes a Prednisone each day. Not only do we have issues with Addison's disease Bella just recently has lost some of her hair on her back side. As a result we have had a skin graph completed in Oklahoma where we have since learned that she has seasonal allergies. She now is taking Melatonin twice a day to help with this issue and for now it is working... YEAH! As I look back over the past two years of Bella's life it amazes me what we have gone through... lots of money and heart ache, but at the end of the day our lifes would not be the same without Bella. Here are a few pictures of Bella from a puppy until now. So to all the dog lovers out there I know how you feel when your dog gets sick. Take care of your dogs as it is always great coming home and they are always happy to see you! I will continue to share our journey with Bella to all my New Blog Friends.
1 comment:
What a Sweetie!! I love that top photo...makes ya want to just pick her up and snuggle her!
Blessings- LillySue
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