Quote: Janice Jarman

Thanks again for the info!

Mary Strauss (DogAware, and of course the nutrition researcher/writer for Whole Dog Journal) is a font of knowledge.

In dogs with severe liver disease such as cirrhosis, "protein poisoning" can occur if the dog eats more protein than the liver can handle. The dog has neurological problems (hepatic encephalopathy) such as staggering, circling, temporary blindness etc. after eating - this caused by a build up in the blood of ammonia that the liver would normally convert to urea. So for some dogs with reduced liver function, restricting protein intake becomes necessary. (Been there, unfortunately....) But I don't think this is what the OP was referring to?

 Quote: Sarah Ward

...So for some dogs with reduced liver function, restricting protein intake becomes necessary .... But I don't think this is what the OP was referring to?

I don't think so, either, but we don't really know. Maybe there was a chronic organ disorder first.....

Sarah, you had a dog with cirrhosis?

Was he a senior when he became ill?

Hi Connie,

It's a sad story. This was my previous dog Sam, who was diagnosed with hepatic lymphoma at the age of 6. He suddenly became very ill, having previously always been a healthy guy. A needle biopsy of his liver revealed that he had also had chronic hepatitis for some time - as often happens, there were no symptoms of this until much of his liver was already scar tissue. The veterinary oncologist thought his liver was too damaged to handle the chemo drugs necessary to treat the lymphoma, but I did a lot of research on canine liver disease and decided to try, with careful attention to diet and lots of supplements for liver support. Following chemotherapy the lymphoma went into complete remission for almost a year, and we were able to keep what was left of his liver functioning very well right up to the end, which suprised the veterinary specialists treating him. He had a good active final year and was almost 8 when he died. During all this I learned a lot about liver disease in dogs, much of it from a really great online support group. Learned a lot about canine cancer too.

A year of remission sounds amazing to me from what I have read (not as much as you, I am positive).

A good year.... what a gift.

Connie,
I don't know about "gift" - the vet bills were huge. While it was good to have him for one more year, it was an emotional roller coaster. Lymphoma in dogs often responds spectacularly well to chemotherapy - Sam was Stage IV when diagnosed, almost as bad as it gets. Within 4 weeks of starting treatment his lymphoma was undetectable, but it was still only in remission and we knew it would come back eventually. It's tough to have a much-loved dog that looks and acts well while knowing you are just buying extra time. When he did become sick again and we knew we had no more treatment options it was devastating. I honestly don't know if I would go through it again - hopefully it's not a decision I will have to make more than once in a dog-owning lifetime.

 Quote: sarah ward

Connie,
I don't know about "gift" - the vet bills were huge. While it was good to have him for one more year, it was an emotional roller coaster. Lymphoma in dogs often responds spectacularly well to chemotherapy - Sam was Stage IV when diagnosed, almost as bad as it gets. Within 4 weeks of starting treatment his lymphoma was undetectable, but it was still only in remission and we knew it would come back eventually. It's tough to have a much-loved dog that looks and acts well while knowing you are just buying extra time. When he did become sick again and we knew we had no more treatment options it was devastating. I honestly don't know if I would go through it again - hopefully it's not a decision I will have to make more than once in a dog-owning lifetime.

Yes, I understand completely that the "gift" was hard-won and fought for..... that was a comment that I made too glibly.

I certainly hope you do *not* ever have that decision again. One of my own dog-owner rules is that I present a calm and upbeat face to the dog who is in medical trouble or afraid. I have grave doubts about my ability to do that for a year of, as you so rightly name it, an emotional roller coaster.