Millie’s Struggle
I would like to thank the following people for their donations: Tim Platt, Sara Haddon, Mike Rodriguez, Maxine Feimer, Keith Jonak, Marlene Lynch, and Kathleen Herrin. I would also like to thank All Pets Considered for their care, concern, and food donations for Millie.
Millie is a very sick little girl (was Kita... now named Millie) who I pulled on Sunday, 8/4, from the Anderson, SC shelter. She had been
pregnant and wasn't eating well. She wasn't able to sustain herself or her puppies after she gave birth. The puppies died. If you look at her pics below you can see that she is extremely thin...literally skin
and bones. You can also see that she had several places where her hair was very thin. This was due to her low immune system.
I was told that when they spayed her the Thursday before I picked her up that she had about 1 gal. of fluid
in her abdomen and that the vet said the liver was very small. He suspected a liver problem.
On Monday, 8/5, my vet did blood work and checked her out. She is HW positive; weighed 35 lb.; had elevated liver function levels (liver damage is possible ); very low protein level; white blood cell count of 2300.
We have been fighting since then to get her to eat in order to get her protein level up. We have had her on an antibiotic because of her white blood cell count.
On Monday, 8/12, poor baby weighed only 32.8 lb.. Her white blood cell count was down to 1600; protein level was still low; she was now also anemic; her liver function was closer to normal.
My vet had been trying for about a week to get some ProCalamine (sp?) to help bring up her protein level quickly. He said that if that was up she would probably eat without the force feeding. Yes, we have been squirting Science Diet a/d into her along with scrambled eggs and anything else we could get into her.
Tuesday and Wednesday were very difficult. She wouldn't eat anything without it going through a syringe. She fought us the whole way.
We weighed her again on Thursday, 8/15, and she had gained a little. She was at 33.1 lb.. At least we were finally headed in the right direction; however, she wouldn't eat anything on her own. She started her ProCal (IV) Thursday night and willingly consumed treats through the night. Today , 8/16, she wouldn't eat scrambled eggs with turkey, but she did eat almost one large can of dogfood in the am. She also drank her Enfamil which we have been giving her since Wednesday. She prefers that to water. She is going back to the vets at 4pm to start another bottle of ProCal tonight and then another tomorrow during the day. She is going to get another Sunday night after spending the day back with me.
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Millie was reweighed on Sunday, 8/18, and had gained 0.7 lb.. She now weighs 33.8 lb.. Her protein level has increased slightly and she was less anemic.
I know I told you that she wouldn't eat anything unless we forced it into her mouth through a syringe. Well, that has changed. She devoured Bil Jac puppy food from last night until this morning when she had finished all that I had taken to the vet. My husband had measured out what we thought she would eat within about 2 days. She is also drinking water like crazy. That may be due to the fact that she was also put on prednizone. The pred may also be what is stimulating the eating.
She ate 2 cups of Bil Jac tonight (8/19)...and some crackers later. The vet said not to give the prednizone as planned since she is eating tonight. She will get some in the morning. She is still on the Winstrol & antibiotics. She is also still getting the ProCalamine (protein supplement) IV. She has received 3 1/4 bottles so far. She may be given the last one tomorrow sometime.
We are all very excited and are hopeful for a full recovery. Don't know yet what the entire bill is going to be with the vet with all of the extra meds and nights in the hospital. It was well worth it though. She wasn't/isn't ready to leave this world yet.
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This is another update on Millie. She was weighed today, 8/21, and she has gained 0.8 lb.. She now weighs 34.6 lb..
Another 0.4 lb. and she will be where she started when pulled. It looks like our persistence is paying off. Blood was drawn today and we should know soon how her blood levels are doing.
Millie is still getting the ProCalamine... in addition to the Winstrol, Prednizone, and Zantac. We may not need to give any more antibiotics. It appears that the prednizone has helped stimulate her appetite. The Zantac is settling her stomach also so that she wants to eat more.
She ate 3 cups of Bil Jac so far today. I am hoping that she will consume some more after the meds take affect.
Thanks for all of your prayers. Keep them going.
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The latest update on Millie indicated that she has lost a little over 2 lb., 8/26. This doesn't make sense since she has been eating, but as I understand it... liver problems are at fault. Her white blood cell count has gone up. We had worked on feeding through the weekend and then had liver enzyme tests done. This meant that she had to fast; have blood drawn; eat and then have it drawn again. Liver problems were definitely pinpointed then. She is now scheduled for a liver biopsy on 8/28.
As you can imagine the vet bills are mounting.
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I dropped Millie off at the vet this morning (8/28)for her biopsy (which turned into biopsies). Of course, the first concern was to look at the liver, but Dr. Jim Lofgren also checked everything that he felt was necessary so that we have a good idea of what is going on with her. He found that her liver was very small and had bb-sized nodules through it. In addition her small intestine was thick. Also, her abdominal lymph nodes were enlarged. All three were biopsied.
Her kidneys and spline were fine. He found that one of her ovaries was either not sutured or the suture had come out when she was spayed. When he moved a piece of fatty tissue she began gushing blood. She could have hemorrhaged at any time. He fixed that. He also said that her lymph glands were enlarged and saw some white stuff. That part I didn’t understand well... but I think we are talking either a lot of infection or possible cancer.
Currently, she is on IV antibiotics. She will receive liquid Zantac to settle her stomach and other meds tonight while at the vet’s.
I’m hoping that we are only talking infection. If so, this will mean extensive and fairly long-term antibiotics.
The pathology report is expected by Friday, 8/30.
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I picked Millie up this afternoon at Dr. Lofgren’s (Thursday, 8/29). She was looking pretty good and very excited about going home. She weighed 33.2 lb. I received two different antibiotics for her along with more Zantac and her Winstrol.
She and I went to All Pets Considered (Greensboro, NC) to get some more of her Bil Jac puppy. She browsed the store and wanted to eat almost everything in sight. The kind people there sent her home with a lot of special goodies. We came home and she followed everyone around begging for food. Well , I know that sounds natural. Right? This was the FIRST time that Millie had done this since she arrived.
She ate a good dinner, had some extra treats, and went to bed quietly. Overall, a GREAT day!!! I’m praying for a good report tomorrow afternoon...no cancer.
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Ok, it is Friday, 8/30. Millie has eaten well today and is very happy. She ate a total 3 cups of Bil Jac Puppy for breakfast and lunch. It has been raining all day and she doesn’t like being out in it. She is quite the little princess.
I’ve just spoken to Dr. Jim Lofgren. Basically, Millie has Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) so she is unable to absorb the nutrients that pass through her small intestine. She also has chronic liver degeneration with necrosis and, what has been termed, end-stage liver disease. The bottom line is she won’t live much longer...maybe a year.
We are discussing ways to help her, if possible, at this point. Prednizone is suggested for the IBD, but it is bad for the liver. Chemo-therapy was also suggested but that is bad for the liver also. From what I understand, the liver may be so bad that it won’t regenerate much. We are probably going to try SAM-e (Denosyl) anyway and, possibly, homecooked meals that may help her to process the proteins.
Tonight Millie ate 1.5 cups of Bil Jac Puppy with a scrambled egg. She loved that.
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It is now Sunday, 9/22/2002 and Millie is stable but has lost weight. I had major surgery myself on 9/9/2002 and it appears that she didn’t eat well during my recovery. I’ve been able to work with her for the last few days and she is eating better. Sometimes, however, I have to almost hand feed her or let her eat it off a spoon from me. Think she is getting spoiled???!!! She is still very loving despite not always feeling well.
She is currently on 2 200mg tablets of SAM-e per day. She doesn’t usually want to eat more than 2 times per day. Some days she won’t eat at all... especially while I have been indisposed. She shows signs of being chilled due to lack of fat in her body so I will be buying a sweater for her. I’ll add a picture of that when I get it.
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Today is Saturday, October 5, 2002. My husband and I took
Millie to the Blessing of the Animals. As you can see in the picture, she went in her jacket.
Father blessed her, petted her, and then gave her a treat. As you can see, she is rather frightened with all the people and other animals. There were two horses, a cat, and many different dogs there. She was better with the people than the animals. At one point she got fiesty and barked at the horses. She allowed several children to pet her.
When Father offered her a treat, I didn’t think that she would eat it, but she surprised me.
Millie appears to be doing pretty well. We haven’t been successful in putting weight on her, but she is eating, isn’t getting sick very often, and is a happy girl. Who knows, she may be around for another 2 years at this rate. Unless someone is interested in letting her live the rest of her life with them, she will be here with me until the end.
October 15, 2002
I went downstairs to give Millie her medication
and to feed her. My step-daughter asked me if she was usually weak in the morning. I said, “No, Why?” She said that when she tried to get Millie out to go to the bathroom this morning she didn’t want to get up or go outside. She went
under protest and was very weak.
Usually, when I open her crate she comes running out. This morning she didn’t. She just lay there looking up at me. She didn’t even raise her head. I knew that she was telling me that she was finished fighting. That it was time to go. I took the top off the crate and my step-daughter picked her up and carried her to her favorite place, her gray pillow. She just lay there staring.
I cried all morning while waiting for the vet to make it to the house. When he arrived, we sat with her for quite a while, petting, kissing, and loving her. After almost an hour of all of us loving on her, I told him I was ready to let her go. I didn’t want her to be in any pain. I sat on her gray pillow with her and they helped me put her head in my lap. I held her and petted her while he went to work. She was peaceful and let go easily.
We continued to sit for about 1/2-3/4 hour with her in my lap. The vet tech, the vet, and I continued to pet her during that time also. My sweet Millie is at the Rainbow Bridge now waiting for me to join her . I do love her. I wish that she had been here longer, but that wasn’t to be. We only had about 2.5 months together, but it was a wonderful time.
Last night my husband went to the pet store and bought her a new burgundy jacket. The picture you see was taken today of her in her jacket. I think she was waiting for this jacket. She must not have liked the gray one...she was waiting for the burgundy to finally let go.
Rest in Peace, Millie. We LOVE you!!!