Question:
I have a ten-year-old male beagle, Fletch. Until recently, Fletch has
lived a pretty healthy life, except for seizures which caused him to
be on phenaborbital for four or five years.
About two months ago Fletch drastically lost his appetite and started
vomiting. Several trips to his regular vet and a specialist later and
the diagnosis was that he had a mass on the left side of his liver.
The specialist said the mass could be a tumor (benign or malignant) or
regenerated liver tissue originally damaged by the phenobarbital, but
she could not tell which without surgery. Unfortunately, I cannot
afford the surgery ($1500 - $2000) so I opted to let him be for a
while and give him milk thistle and vitamin E supplements. He seemed
fine for several weeks except his appetitie remained low. Beyond that
his behavior was normal and his energy level was about what you'd
expect from a ten-year-old beagle.
But, over the last two days he's eaten next to nothing and has vomited
several times. Today he's been very lethargic, to the point that I've
had to pick him up and carry him inside after he goes out to the
backyard.
Now, the reason I ask about gum disease is he hasn't had his teeth
cleaned in a few years and they look pretty bad. I've done some
preliminary reading that said gum disease could spread to the liver
and kidneys. And, while I can't afford $2000 surgery to have the liver
mass removed I can afford $200 to have his teeth cleaned if this could
indeed be his problem.
Answer:
If a dog has liver disease, in my not so humble opinion, I would NOT subject
him to a General Anesthetic to have his teeth cleaned.
If you can find a Hygenist who will do it with no anesthetic, your dog will
be better off.
Some GA drugs are hard of the liver and your dog's liver can not be stressed
at this time.
I understand. As a child I had always wanted a pet dog but I
was raised by a single parent and in poverty.
Fletch meant the world to me. I'm 32
years old and he was my very first pet ever. My Dad's allergic to
animals so we never had any while I was growing up. I always loved
Snoopy so I jumped at the chance to adopt Fletch eight years ago when
his previous owner abandoned him.
As for Fletch "moving on" and your sadness, I think that
Laura Nyro had it right: "nothing cures like time and love."
