# Prayers needed for a pet...



## jinglesharks (Jun 15, 2010)

My mother's dog Franny, a 9 year old dachshund, is very sick. She's been a sickly dog her whole life- she went blind at 2 years old, has low thyroid, a skin problem that they've yet to diagnose but causes extremely dry and itchy skin and fur loss, among various allergies and intestinal issues. She suddenly got very sick a couple days ago- liquid diarrhea, not eating or drinking, and passing a lot of blood. She is on crate rest and being forced liquids every 20 minutes at the moment. If she hasn't improved by morning, she'll be put on IV at the vet. What makes me kind of mad is she had a bowel infection a few weeks back and her stool never quite went back to normal, which my mother kept calling the vet about, but the vet said it was fine... so Franny's probably been sick all along and they just wouldn't listen. My parent's aren't that well off, but they're going to do whatever it takes. This dog is really my mum's whole life- definitely the favorite child over me!- so I know she'll be devastated if the dog doesn't make it.

So if you guys could send up some prayers or whatever you do during hard times... it'd really be appreciated. She's a good girl and she doesn't deserve to go through this. Neither does my mother, who isn't that healthy herself.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

I'm so sorry for you, your mom and Franny! I'll pray for her. She's an adorable girl!


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## Hedgie_Magic (Apr 6, 2010)

Ill keep her in my prayers. I hope that she will improve and that she can continue life with such a dedicated family. Keep your hope up!


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

My prayers and good vibes are coming your way.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

Phinneus and I are sending your dog healing vibes~~~
My own little doxie ( a minature chocolate long haired dapple) went through the same thing last spring and it was really rough. I hope your little one makes it and comes out on top! Shame on the vet for not taking her symptoms seriously. 

P.S. She is a BEAUTIFUL dog!


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## hercsmom (Jul 6, 2010)

I'm sorry to hear about Franny, she really is a beautiful girl. Prayers for her and hugs for you


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

I will definitely pray for her, we had a Dasch we lost too. Some of the symptoms ours had were the same and came about really fast. The vet determined that it was a spontaneous case of pancreatis (sp?) and that there was no way to tell what caused it. They said in a lot of dogs its brought about by eating large quantities of rich food but that sometimes it will happen with no known cause. He was with me 24/7 and never left my side so he definitely did not get into anything. It made me think of the story when I heard this so if they haven't run blood yet you could always check to see if this is the case, if they catch it soon it can have a lot better results. I hope she gets to feeling better.


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## jinglesharks (Jun 15, 2010)

Hedgieonboard said:


> I will definitely pray for her, we had a Dasch we lost too. Some of the symptoms ours had were the same and came about really fast. The vet determined that it was a spontaneous case of pancreatis (sp?) and that there was no way to tell what caused it. They said in a lot of dogs its brought about by eating large quantities of rich food but that sometimes it will happen with no known cause. He was with me 24/7 and never left my side so he definitely did not get into anything. It made me think of the story when I heard this so if they haven't run blood yet you could always check to see if this is the case, if they catch it soon it can have a lot better results. I hope she gets to feeling better.


Strangely enough, she's has already been tested, because my mother has pancreatitis so she thought of that pretty much immediately. There's always been a bigger risk for that with Franny since she's got such a fragile system.
I haven't gotten a call from my mother yet so I assume she at least made it through the night. I'm probably going to stay over at my mother's tonight and we'll take turns watching her. 
Thank you, all of you. The support really means a lot. Though I haven't lived with the dog for quite some time and it was always very much my mother's dog when I was growing up, I still feel awful for her and my mother, and I can only imagine how I'd feel if it was one of my animals.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Poor girl...she's such a pretty dog, too. <3 We have a dachschund ourself, although she's pretty stupid and REALLY whiny.

I won't 'pray' for her, as I'm an atheist (shocking, I know.) but I'll be thinking of her and hoping she feels better.


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## jinglesharks (Jun 15, 2010)

Sela said:


> Poor girl...she's such a pretty dog, too. <3 We have a dachschund ourself, although she's pretty stupid and REALLY whiny.
> 
> I won't 'pray' for her, as I'm an atheist (shocking, I know.) but I'll be thinking of her and hoping she feels better.


Thanks, Sela. I won't be praying for her either, but I figure those who do can, and those who don't will do what they do, and it'll all help <3 I appreciate it.

I also really appreciate you guys genuinely caring about how she's doing. I know my friends don't care so much how my mother's dog is doing- when I've updated about her on Facebook, no one has said a thing- but I know you guys do.
She's slightly better. I suggested baby food, since I know it works for hedgies and I figure a sick animal is a sick animal to a degree, and the vet said go for it. She didn't like the sweet potato, but couldn't resist the lamb. (She's allergic to beef, and unfortunately the grocery store was all out of chicken and turkey. She's never had lamb before, so hopefully it won't be a problem.) First food she's tried since Monday night... so that's good. The vet said it'll probably run right through her, but it's something.
All they know from the test results so far is that she has a very high bacterial count in her bowels. It could be a lot of things. And she lost a lot of blood the other night so they don't want to try more blood work until she's a bit more stable. Poor thing, I'm at my mum's now, and she's so weak looking. She's just lying on her side on the floor, with her eyes half open. She's trying to be a good dog, though- she lifts her head every time there's a noise, and she wags her tail as hard as she can when someone comes near. It's heartbreaking, she's lost a whole pound and on a little dog (she's only around 9.5-10 pounds normally), that's a lot. I can feel all her bones. But she licked my hand when I came in, and wagged her tail nearly clean off, so she's still in there. I'm hopeful. I'll keep you guys posted and I really, really appreciate all the support. It means a lot.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Poor thing...she's trying so hard to keep you from worrying, is what it sounds like. At least you managed to get some food into her.

To firm up her stools, you could try boiling up some white rice and flavouring it with a bit of chicken broth. That's what my dad always recommended to customers who were having that kind of problem, and it almost always worked. You can use canned, unspiced pumpkin too, the same way we can do with our hogs. This would also have the added benefit of getting her to eat a little more, if she would actually touch it.


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## karidaluv (Jul 26, 2010)

poor baby. we'll keep her in our prayers.


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## shaelikestaquitos (Feb 2, 2010)

Send Franny my love <3 I hope she gets better soon!


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## jinglesharks (Jun 15, 2010)

Sela said:


> Poor thing...she's trying so hard to keep you from worrying, is what it sounds like. At least you managed to get some food into her.
> 
> To firm up her stools, you could try boiling up some white rice and flavouring it with a bit of chicken broth. That's what my dad always recommended to customers who were having that kind of problem, and it almost always worked. You can use canned, unspiced pumpkin too, the same way we can do with our hogs. This would also have the added benefit of getting her to eat a little more, if she would actually touch it.


Yeah, my mum tried the rice as soon as she noticed she was getting sick, but she won't touch solids. We got some more baby food into her, so there's that. And I mentioned the pumpkin to my mum today (all my sick pet knowledge is for hedgehogs and learned from here... haha, fortunately, it seems to pretty much work for everything) and I think she was going to try to find some tomorrow. 
She is trying really hard to keep everyone from worrying.  Poor girl. But the vet said with something that seems this serious, since she seems to be making steps towards improvement, she THINKS she'll make it. So that's something.


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

Thank you for the update, best of luck.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

She sounds like a spirited and loyal girl!


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

I'm glad she's eating, even if it is only baby food. It's still something in her stomach, and it's good to hear that the vet thinks she'll make it. <3 Let us know how she's doing tomorrow, okay?


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## Tasha (Feb 24, 2009)

Sending lots of love and hoping she's better soon. xxxxx


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## jinglesharks (Jun 15, 2010)

Well, I was supposed to go back over today to play nurse while my mother napped, but the vet decided this morning that she simply hadn't eaten enough, so my mother is taking her into the vet for IV for the day. Poor thing. It's awfully expensive, too. But she'll be in good hands there and hopefully they can figure a bit more out today, or at least strengthen her up a bit. 

I can't thank you guys enough for caring, it's such a comfort. This couldn't have happened at a worse time either- my boyfriend's gone for the week on a canoe trip, so I'm home all by myself, just sitting around feeling sad.  But all of you are making me feel much less alone, you're wonderful.


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

You're not alone, hon. <3 We're always here for you.


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## jinglesharks (Jun 15, 2010)

Hey guys, just an update- she's hanging in there and seems to be getting better. She's still not eating kibble and still having a few accidents a day and definitely still needs to get some weight back on, but she's perked up a little bit. The vet thinks it might be... I think it was hemorrhagic gastroenteritis? I know that was one of the possibilities, I can't remember what she settled on, it's late and I'm exhausted. Hopefully it'll clear up and not come back, whatever it is. Thank you all so much for your support, it's tough, but I think we're all pulling through.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

I'm glad she'd doing better!


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I'm glad to hear she's doing better. I hope she keeps improving.


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

Thank you for the update! 
I hope she continues with getting better and finally will be able to eat kibble soon!


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## Sela (Apr 10, 2010)

Glad she's doing better. Hope she continues to recover well, and get some weight back on.


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## EryBee (May 23, 2010)

That's great news! I'm so glad things are looking up for her!


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