From Maverick's Owner:
In June our puppy was hospitalized at the local emergency vet with a suspected foreign body. He had started to improve so he was sent home on medications and a bland diet. After about a week he started presenting with the same symptoms again so we took him to a different animal clinic to have him re-evaluated. X-rays revealed that he needed emergency surgery for an intestinal intussusception, which is a condition where a part of the intestine folds into itself, like a telescope, causing a blockage.
The veterinarian wanted to do more diagnostic testing to try to determine the cause, so blood work, a thyroid panel, a test for Addison’s disease and an in depth fecal test were done. Everything came back normal so we were unable to find a specific cause. Maverick was sent home to recover and he was put on a prescription diet.
On July 4th Maverick started presenting with the same symptoms as before. We took him back to the vet and his x-rays showed some gas in the colon but nothing in his intestines or stomach. He was given some medications and fluids, but he continued to have stomach issues after returning home. He has recently begun to lose more hair and started being picky about eating, which prompted the vet to prescribe a long dose of steroids along with probiotics daily. You can see in the last photo how thin he has become even with the steroids which he cannot stay on for much longer, so we need to figure out what is causing his symptoms.
At this point we are suspecting IBD or an autoimmune condition, but he needs to be evaluated by an internal medicine specialist. His visit will include an ultrasound and other testing as called for by the internist. We have already spent close to $5,000 on Maverick and our Care Credit is maxed out. We hate that our boy has already been suffering for about a third of his life. Hopefully a specialist will be able to pinpoint what is causing his problems and find a treatment for them.
Veterinary Hospital - Grady Veterinary Hospital,
Cincinnati, OH
Owner - Ashley Moreno
