Pipsqueak the Dog

“She wasn't our dog... really. But, she was such a sweet dog who left quite an impact on our lives in a very short time. She deserves to have her story told so she can be celebrated by anyone who cares to read this...

Bella came into our lives about six weeks ago. She belonged to a family member who found herself in a position to no longer be able to have a dog. So, NC and I agreed to "temporarily" foster her until something could be figured out. She was only a year old and 30 pounds of pure sweetness. She was a cuddly and loving pooch but was also a hard-core player; she held her own w/ our puppy, Asolo, who is more than twice her size! NC took to calling her Pipsqueak cause she was so little (in comparison to our 70lb puppy) and so it became her new name. And, she knew her new name very quickly. She was well-mannered and friendly. She learned the house rules right away. She could go out off-leash w/out a single worry. She had one ear that was often perked up while the other one dropped down. She was an adorable mutt. She was just so darn sweet that I wanted to hug her all the time!

Right away, when we got her home, we could tell something wasn't right. After X-rays, blood tests, more tests and lots of frustration and time... we finally found out from our local vet that she had a Liver Shunt. Not good. (Not uncommon for the disease to really begin to show itself at approx one year of age) Basically, the blood vessels of the liver are supposed to travel through the liver. Instead, hers were "re-routed" outside the liver and any food (primarily meat) that is high in protein cannot properly be processed. Therefore, the proteins would turn into ammonia and the ammonia would enter her bloodstream and eventually poison her brain. The neurological disorder is called Hepatic Encephalopothy. The symptoms include pacing, confusion, drooling, disorientation and, as it turns out... seizures. After the diagnosis, we changed her diet (I started making homemade food every few days and she had to eat four small meals a day) and put her on a couple different meds to help her properly absorb the proteins she was getting. That's when the real Bella came out and she was the happy-go-lucky, playful and loving dog I described above...for three straight weeks.

Then, last week, she had a really intense seizure in the middle of the night. Again, the next morning. Three more that day, the last two were clustered, so the vet recommended we bring her in. Multiple seizures or seizures that last more than five minutes are a concern for many reasons; one reason is the dog's risk for hyperthermia since their core temperature begins to evelate as the seizure progresses. One more seizure while at the vet's clinic that afternoon. We took her home w/ some seizure meds and valium in case she had another long one or clusters. The problem w/ the seizure med is that the med that dogs are typically given for seizures (because of its success rate) is one she can't take because it is processed in the liver. So, she was put on the next best thing. We took her home overnight. She had two more the next morning so I administered the valium. She spent that day at the vet for monitoring. No seizures all day! She went two whole days w/out seizures but was nearly totally sedated because of the meds. Earlier in the day yesterday, she had started twichting a bit in her face. Then, her left leg started to give out a little. It was getting progressively worse as the day went on. Then, last night, with a house full of guests for a St. Paddy's Day dinner, she started to have another seizure. This one didn't give. Not even after the valium was administered. She was going on 45 minutes for this seizure (it was up and down in intensity) so we called the "on-call" vet and met him at the clinic.

The final decision was euthanasia. There were many factors to that decision. A primary factor was that the surgery that was required to fix her liver shunt woudn't be done by any vet until she was seizure free for at least a month. However, it was the liver shunt that causes the seizures. Seemed like a viscious circle. She was uncomfortable and unhappy and was no longer living the life of a puppy. Also, after the family member found out about the illness and cost of surgery, she determined she wouldn't be able to take Bella back. So, we made arrangements to surrender Bella on the family member's behalf to a shelter with a "No Kill, No Time Limit" policy. They could raise the necessary funds, make her adoptable and find her a great home. The "disclaimer" to their policy is that if their vet recommends euthanasia for health and quality of life purposes, they would do it. Turns out... our vet is their vet. And, he said, last night, that based on her background, the seriousness of her health issues (there was more than the liver shunt) and the severity of her seizures... he would most likely recommend euthanasia when that shelter brought her in. That pretty much sealed the deal. She was about 75 minutes into a seizure when she passed. I know she's much more comfortable now...

Despite knowing that she's better off, we're still heartbroken. It is quite amazing how much you can fall in love w/ a dog in such a short amount of time! I will miss Bella (Pipsqueak) very much and will never forget her.

Asolo and Pipsqueak”

“that is so sad, but Bella was lucky to have you...”

“That's too bad.

The people who live two doors down from me had 2 rotts. Now they have 9! I was never a rott fan, but playing with those dogs and their puppies has brought me around.

I still don't know if I could handle 9. the pups are starting to grow now, and it's more than I could handle. I think they desperately want to give them away, but they're not willing to give them to just anyone.”

“So sorry TB -----”

“Sorry for your loss NC and Tara. You two have really had a rough go of it lately. =(”

“I can certainly relate. Sorry to hear it.”

“I am so sorry .....we finally adopted Amadeus (the big dog we had sent to an adoptive home and he misbehaved)

When we got him back he had been gone less than a month and was down 6 lbs (he was already thin).....

He has turned out to be a loving sweet big boy.

On the positive I am glad you were able to show so much love to this pup before the last days.”

“Sorry to hear that, tarabull. Merlin passed away almost a year and a half ago. Mrs. skiracer and I think about him every day that goes by. There are many times that we think something like, "You know who would have loved all this snow?" Merlin used to love to play and romp in the snow. He'd lie down in it and rub himself in it...he loved it. He would have had a great winter this year.”

“Poor little Pipsqueak. She was a sweetie and sure didn't deserve the rough stuff she endured.”

“"You know who would have loved all this snow?" - skiracer

Yup... the snow makes me think of Sadie, my dog that passed away in January. I was so happy she was able to enjoy a few really good snowfalls before the cancer claimed her. I think about her all the time.

Doggies are something else, eh?”

“Poor lil one :(.

You at least gave her happiness while she was with you. Thanks for sharing her with us.”

“I'm a sucker for rotties. So sorry, tarabull.”

“Sorry tarabull. :(”

“Oh man, Tara & Non. Sorry to hear about that.
Cute photo to remember her by, though!”

“So sorry guys.”