My little Beta is a tri basenji. She is about 4 and is a rescue from a puppy mill. I have had her for about 3 years now. We have been at the vet all week and her symptoms are:
depression
1/2 appetite
doesnt want to pee or poop
shaking (as if she were cold after a bath) in her chest
loud gassy sounds coming from her belly
the shaking and gas will last about 15 minutes
does not want to move
tender belly
doesnt want to walk
will growl at my other basenji
diarhea when pooping, quantity is normal
obviously she is displaying extreme pain and discomfort.
her fecal came back clean- suspected giardia at first
both my basenjis get giardia easily
her bloodwork and urine came back normal
her protein levels were a bit high but the doc said not enough to consider it as anything critical
we compared her urinalysis to a urinalysis she had 3 months ago
3 months ago, both basenjis had giardia and beta displayed the shaking behavior which is unsual and i had them do the urinalysis becuase i couldnt believe the giardia was causing her that much pain…the tests came back normal-doctors said no fanconi
now my other b is normal
and beta is bad
the xray showed an undefined area around the pancreas which concerned the doctors
they did an ultrasound and said the pancreas/ liver seemed larger than they like to see and that the gall bladder was smooth but appeared thick and the duct area appeared thick as well
now beta is coughing and sounds like she has liquid in her lung
she is having trouble keeping her eyes open and looks a bit swolen in her face
she was on an iv yesterday for fluids and antibiotics and nausea which seemed to help while she was hooked up
this morning the symptoms are back and she has the new cough and trouble keeping her eyes open
i am having her xrays from a few months ago sent in today for the doctors to compare and will take her back in to be readmitted for the day
i did research last night and came up with two diseases in basenjis that might be possible explanations
IPSID Immnoproliferative small intestinal disease, malabsorption, immunoproliferative enteropathy of basenjis
and
cholangio hepatitis
the doctor will be looking into these today and getting back with me.
does anyone have any experience with these symptoms in their b's? or know about the two diseases? or have other suggestions?
she has a catheter in and was ripping it out in the true basenji fashion so they had an ecollar on her. they dont observe over night, so i brought her home. i am home from work today to monitor her without the collar so she can be comfortable. we will head back in around lunch time
she is currently at oakhurst vet which has a staff of doctors that review all cases together. i am comfortable with the vet and agree with everything they have done so far.
although they are vet teachers and have a great practice i am expecting that they dont know basenjis behaviors like we do. any input you guys have would be great. i am looking for possible ideas for the doctors to consider instead of masking the symptoms with antibiotics.
betsey