My baby boxer, TJ, has not been "right' since we got him 4 weeks ago. He has had issues with house training, coordination, lethargy, and just not been the bouncy, hyper active boxer puppy we expected him to be. I really hoped it was just because he was a rare calm puppy.
Last weekend, he had a few episodes of diarrhea & vomiting, and more lethargy then was "normal" for him. We took him to the vet last Tuesday, expecting them to say he had a tummy bug, update his shots, etc. They said he had worms (was 3 wks overdue for his dewormer) & was slightly dehydrated, so gave him sub-cu fluids, an antibiotic & a dewormer. They said within a day or 2, he should be showing big improvements. By Friday, he hadn't eaten in 2 hours, wasn't drinking, was only getting off the couch to go outside to pee, and wouldn't even do that without a bit of help.
We took him to the vet Friday evening, who gave him sub-cu again, and did a full blood panel. He also had a heart murmur they didn't notice on Tuesday. They said he was in serious kidney failure, and transferred him to the emergency clinic. There, they tested his urine, and the specific gravity was 1.010. His BUN was >130, Creat >6.1, Phos >16. I don't remember the other levels off the top of my head. They suspected kidney disease, but said it could also be severe dehydration caused by the worms, and a good 24-48 hours on fluids would be a good indication of what we were dealing with.
By Saturday evening, he was acting much better (alert, semi-playful, eating well, etc), but his Creat was still 5.8. We took him home (with more antibiotics & pepcid), and took him in to the vet Sunday morning for more sub-cu.
At this point, they are saying that he most likely has kidney disease. They said that the 24 hrs of fluids should have improved his numbers much more then they did, and this is a very strong indication it isn't secondary to the worms, an infection, etc. Everything I've read said that his numbers mean he is stage 4 failure, and that his prognosis is not good at all. At home since Saturday evening, he is eating well (various organic canned food), is playful (although he gets very tired fast), is drinking, and peeing LOTS. (I know this is not a good sign.) He seems to have no control over it. I'm also concerned because his eyes have become very bloodshot since last night. We'll be redoing his bloodwork within a few days to see what his levels are after being off fluids for more then 24 hrs. My thoughts are if he's still playful, eating, drinking, then maybe he has a shot.
Can I bring him back from this? My heart is broken right now. I asked the vet about phosphorus blockers, special diet, etc, and he agreed to discuss those things after the blood work, but doesn't seem to hold much hope. All i read about special diets, etc says they are beneficial in the early stages to prolong his life, but would they be just as beneficial this late in the progression? I don't want him to suffer at all. I can't afford more thousands of dollars in tests, and want to put what I can afford into treatment, if I can help him. I'm just afraid it's too late, and his little kidneys just won't make it much longer. Our children love him very much, and he is my baby. It's just not fair. He is such a sweet puppy...so loving, and snuggly. I want to keep fighting for him.