Senior Dog survived gunshot wound not eating

[caras304]

Our 11 yr. old Dalmation, Lucky, was shot 3 weeks ago along top of his back. We've treated his wounds, fought off bad infection & the wound is getting better but he will not eat! He used to eat a lot & was overweight but has now lost 13 lbs. (which wouldn't hurt him), he will not eat anything. We've tried babyfoods, gravies, broths, canned dog foods, scrambled eggs, cheese, peanut butter , deer meat, which he loves, & lunchmeats. He still won't eat!! We've even force feed him with syringe but he throws it back up with stomach acids. He's so weak now from not eating. I hate the thoughts of having him "put down"; it breaks our hearts to think of it. We've already got $500 in treatment & surgery from the gunshot wound. I had to help him get up our 3 front steps today by picking him up a step at a time. Lucky & I are both disabled with bad legs so it was quite a feat.  He's still responsive with tail wagging & such but is just so  weak!  Vet said to take Lucky back next week if he wasn't eating & he'd do blood work to check for organ failure but he's urinating & has diahreah from no food.
   He just got weak today. He'd even been jumping into van for vet appts which he hadn't been able to do in years!!  Took that as a good sign. Should I go to expense of having blood work to check organ failure when his kidneys still work?  He's not dehydrated, vet said so. I can't afford much more; really can't afford any more,... but we love him so much!!  What should I do??   Someone, please help!?!  Can't take much more loss right now with other family situations!!  

[ginger899]

I am so sorry your Lucky didn't make it. This is sad news, and my heart goes out to you and all your family who loved him.

It's good that you were with him at the end to comfort him. No doubt he did know you were there right beside him. He would have felt your love.

I had a dog who died a few years ago. I made his grave in my garden really pretty with masses of spring bulbs (which come up without fail every year) little evergreen plants,blue flowering plants,beautiful crystals, and even semi-precious stones. Every time anyone gave me anything I would go straight out and put it on his grave. Rose Quartz, silver, amethysts, everything. They were giving me the stones and jewelry to help me feel better and show their love, but  I didn't want those beautiful things, the only way I wanted them was to give them to my dog's grave.

I worked on that grave nearly every day, taking up weeds, planting new things, kept making it pretty. It was the only time I didn't feel like crying.

I know how it feels, so send you blessings and prayers.

[caras304]

  First, I want to thank everyone for their concern, advice & comments. There was something more wrong with Lucky,... he'd gone into kidney failure & his BUN #'s were off the chart!!  The normal range is between 7 & 27. Lucky's BUN # was 140 or above - that's as high as their machine would go. We took him to another Vet to get a 2nd oppionion to see if there was anything that could be done. The 2nd Vet said they could flush his kidneys to get as much of the toxins out as they could & put him on IV's. If they could've gotten his toxicity level down close to a normal range, we could've put him on a special diet & kept close monitoring but it didn't work. I had to make the decision to put him "to rest".  A close friend who loved Lucky as much as we did took me to say good-bye - I'm disabled from RSD & can't drive. I let her go in first to say good-bye so that I could be with him as he passed.
   It was so hard to do but I know that's what was best for Lucky! He wasn't strong enough to fight that high a toxicity & he was miserable!  I don't even know for sure if he knew we were there but I was with him when he got the shot so he wasn't alone. I got right in the little "room" with him & layed my head on his head .... my tears were falling onto his nose. We weren't able to get him buried until the next day, but he has a nice grave with flowers on it. I hope to plant some real flowers on it late when I can afford to buy some black & white hybrid lilies; appropriate for our Dalmation with color & because my late Granny used to buy me lilies all the time & she had origionally picked Lucky out & named him as a pup.
     Our other Dalmation, Dottie, is lost without Lucky  &  wouldn't go near his grave to say good-bye in her own way, but our little Chihuahua/Terrior Daisy licked him on his top lip 2 times, looked at him for a moment then walked away.  Just thinking about it makes me tear up still yet.  Dottie's having some anxiety & won't go outside alone now since Lucky got shot right in our yard. We still don't know who shot Lucky. I don't know if we'll ever know.
    Both vets told us that wounds wouldn't heal on an animal in kidney failure, but Lucky's back where he was shot with a high powered rifle was almost healed! Neither vet understood it but I know why.  My Mom & I had laid our hands on Lucky & prayed for God to heal his wound. We didn't know to pray for his kidneys & that came on him so suddenly.
    Thanks again to everyone for your concern & advice. I really appreciate it!!  This was my first experience on this website & it proved that there are others out there who have enough love in their hearts to care about me & my animals!!!  All of you mean a lot to me because of the love you showed me & Lucky.
    God's blessings to each & every one of you!!
                                  Sara

[caras304]

  Thanks to each & every one of you for your advice of what to do with Lucky!! I appreciate it so much!!  As far as how he got shot, he went outside to use the bathroom & when he came back in, my brother noticed a big hole in Lucky's back. The skin was burnt black & gapped open, exposing his back muscles which aslo had a chunk missing.
   We called the vet that Saturday evening & he agreed to meet us at his office. After looking at Lucky he decided to do emergency surgery.  At first, the vet said he'd been shot with both a high powered rifle, which made the large wound on his back. He also had several other smaller holes in one of his arthritic hips & legs from also being shot with a shotgun loaded with buckshot. But when we picked Lucky up 2 days later, the vet said that a large animal or several animals did that to him. WE KNOW BETTER!!  He said he changed his mind because of the muscle bruising he saw while operating, but I think he didn't want to get involved in a possible court hearing. My parents have had animals longer than I've been alive & I've seen gunshot animals & dog fight wounds. The high powered rifle burnt he skin on top of Lucky's back, not a dog with hot teeth!! I'm blonde but I'm not that blonde!!
    He drinks plenty of water & isn't dehydrated which is great! When he urinates now, he doesn't hike a leg up, he just stands there & pee's. He's been very responsive, except after meds which we've cut back on.
    We called in to a vet on a News show today on TV & got more information from him than we have from the local vet! This guy seemed more concerned,too!!  He named a medicine to get that's an appetite stimulant, Cyclohepadreen (not sure about the spelling) & said 5mg  valium would do the same thing.  It just so happens that we have 5mg valium for my insomnia & my husbands muscle spasms, so we can spare some of those for our loving Lucky dog!!  He also said to give him yogurt which would help coat his stomach & has good bacteria in it that would help stomach irritation of several causes that might prevent his eating & if vomiting continues, to give him Pepto Bismal.
   I really don't have much confidence in our local vet anymore so I think we need to take Lucky & his records someplace else.  The vet we talked today on the TVNews show is over 2 hrs. away!!  I thought about calling him at his office to see if he'd be willing to make a housecall this weekend. Lucky is an excellent patient!!
   He didn't fight us, bark, growl, try to run away or anything while my home health worker , Mom & I took care of his wounds - pouring peroxide into the large wound, removing dead/rotted skin where the sutures busted open & using syringes to put peroxide into the holes where the drain tubes were in him. I don't know of any other dog that would've let us  do all that!!  It was quite extensive wound cleaning!  My husband said that he wouldn't have let us do all that to him!!
    The local vet said he could tell that we'd taken very good care of Lucky & that the skin at the large wound on his back is now pretty & pink, not infected & dead meat. The vet said if he didn't start eating, he wants to check for organ failure. Lucky's kidneys are working fine! I hate to pay for blood work that Lucky doesn't need!  If he can do different blood work to check for other things then we'd feel better about having it done, ya know?
    He's still taking 2 antibiotics a day, amoxicillian, which is a mild antibiotic; & Gastrocalm to help the nausea w/o suppressing his appetite. My gr8 friend & home health worker bought him some vitamins that make her dogs hungry. We only give him a pain pill when he really seems to need it. I don't want to keep him so medicated that he doesn't know what world he's in, but he REALLY needs to eat!!
   We did manage to get him to keep down 2 syringes, 12 mL, of yogurt today & so far, he hasn't thrown it up.  I'm going to look for  that other medicine.
   I want to thank everyone for their concern about Lucky & for the advice!  I'll keep everyone informed about what happens with Lucky. Thanks to all & God's blessings!!
    

[Ghilly]

If the vet that is currently treating him doesn't see any immediate danger, I would get a second opinion.  Why keep going back to the same vet if he's under the impression that everything is normal, when it clearly is not?

Ghilly

[ginger899]

Take him, yes. ASAP. Do it on your credit card/sell something, anything to pay the bill. Whatever springs to mind to raise the extra cash.
Peekawho might be right. It could be some coincidental thing going on, which would have happened anyway, but just happened to come up now.
Or I wonder if it could be a stomach irritation, perhaps caused by pain meds or antibiotics, etc, he was, or might still be, on? Or if there is any nerve damage, and he still has pain of some kind? Dogs will rarely eat if they're in pain.

[peekawho]

There is something else going on here, like infection or sepsis.  Possibly some other, unrelated condition that is coincidentally getting worse right now?  

I agree; do not wait until next week.  He needs to be seen right away.   The Nutrical is a good idea, but its not a cure-all for an animal that is clearly in quite a bit of danger.  The reason behind his not eating and vomiting syringed foods needs to be figured out right now.   Its been 3 weeks.  He should be doing well.

Let us know what happens, please?

[Jaybay]

The vet said to wait until next week for a followup?  In my opinion, he needs help NOW.  Honestly, I don't think he'll be alive in another week, so get on the phone to that vet today.  Poor Lucky.  :-(

[Ghilly]

I would start getting some NutriCal into him ASAP.  NutriCal is a very high calorie vitamin supplement paste that comes in a tube and it's perfect for situations like yours.  It is designed for animals that are not eating normally or even not eating at all, to keep their caloric intake high until they start to eat again so that they still have energy and don't lost buckets of weight.

I am so sorry to hear what you are going through with Lucky.  Your desperation is coming through loud and clear in your words, and I know that you are fighting for him with everything you've got.  Does the vet have any idea at all what might be behind him not eating?  Is he still on antibiotics?  Sometimes antibiotics make them very nauseous and that might be a part of it.  It's a bit too long past the surgery for it to still be after-effects of the anesthesia, but I suppose it might still be possible.

What were the circumstances surrounding him being shot?

Ghilly