[Dailydrool] zoey update

[ldferrell at msn.com]

Thanks for all the drool for Pw. Zoey! She was at the vetspital for 24 hours 
and came home Friday night. Not long after we got home and it was time for 
pills, she would not take them or even look at any disguising fat free food 
to get them down her. She had to be driven back to the clinic where they 
cheerfully gave the meds to her and she took them right away with a little 
piece of a pill pocket. :>)  Being a princess was not to be undone by 
illness.  It was a rough night for her, with pacing and the need to give her 
pain meds a little early (it wasn't easy, even with the pill pocket but she 
did finally take the pill at 1:00 AM.)  Fortunately by Saturday morning she 
was feeling much better and got us up because she was hungry. She has 
continued to improve, so we are grateful for the drool and thank everyone 
who was thinking of her.
Just for the record, it is highly unlikely that she ate something that made 
her sick. She has been for years on a very low fat prescription diet and low 
fat treats. We are careful and everyone who knows her is careful.  At this 
point she has had this nasty disease four times. She is 11 years old. The 
vet internist at the specialty clinic says she has chronic pancreatitis (I 
think the acute type is more often caused by dietary indiscretion) and it 
may flare up from time to time no matter what we do. He said the best guess 
about cause may be genetics. Her ultrasound this time did not look any 
different from the last one.  He said it is possible that the inflammation 
last time - just two months ago- did not entirely go away and came back, 
even though her enzyme levels went down nicely.  Since there is no cure for 
this condition and no fool-proof prevention, taking our usual precautions 
and treating the symptoms is what we are left with. We are, however, now 
armed with a supply of all the necessary meds to try to early-on head off an 
attack when there is even a hint of belly pain. Zoey's first symptom is 
usually long stretching and lowered front half of body (they call it a 
praying position). She did this 48 and 24 hours before any vomiting or 
diarrhea but quit after some gas-x so we thought she was OK.  We will act 
sooner next time to give her pain relief and cut off food for 12 hours, to 
see if a serious attack can be averted. We wish no houndies had to suffer 
with this ever; it is truly frustrating and draining to all, including the 
bank account. In the past her bouts of pancreatitis have been years or at 
least many months apart. Sorry this was long, but if it helps even one 
houndie out there, Zoey will be pleased.
Thanks again,
Zoey and her people