Bella was surrendered to Michigan Yorkshire Terrier/RetroDoggy Rescue on Jan. 19, 2007 by a breeder. Bella had been sick since about 8 weeks of age (BD: 10-09-06) and had been treated for hypoglycemia, without much success. Her symptoms included tremors, difficulty walking, vomiting, inability to eat and lethargy. Finally, on Jan.8, a second vet suspected a liver shunt and she was given a bile acid test. This test came back elevated, despite the fact that Bella hadn't eaten anything in almost two days. The vet prescribed a low protein diet (Hill's L/D), but the breeder couldn't get Bella Rose to eat. The cost of the surgery, combined with the difficulty of taking care of the puppy, resulted in the breeder surrendering her to rescue.
Connie Kramer, who runs the rescue, decided that since I had been fostering an adult Yorkie (Clara) with liver shunt, for more than 4 months, I would also foster Bella. Bella spent one night with another foster, then I picked her up in the morning. Initially, Bella had difficulty eating, and desperately needed to gain some weight since she was very thin at two pounds, two ounces and almost 4 months of age. I had plenty of tricks up my sleeve for getting nauseous dogs to eat, and these worked great with Bella most of the time. I used everything from L/D, to a combination of dry food (all with 18% or less protein), pasta, rice, watermelon, apple, and even goat cheese. She especially liked the low sodium goat cheese with honey, and I combined this with her other food. There were a few days when she wouldn't eat much, but NutriCal had been suggested by the LiverShunt Support group, and her vet OK'd this for her. Another group suggestion was NuxVomica, homeopathic beads which decreased nausea. Bella was playful and energetic most of the time, and had practically doubled in size in the two months that I fostered her. My bichon, Louie, was happy to "puppy-sit" her, and she never cried in the crate when he was there.
Connie raised funds for Bella online, and funds were also raised at the Detroit Skating Club,(thank you, Cindy Silk) and through candy sales at Sterling Heights High School (thanks to Brian Silk and his teenage assistants). We were able to raise the full amount need for the bloodwork, ultrasound and surgery!
Bella had a consult at Oakland Veterinary Referral Service and Dr. J. Clooten determined with ultrasound that she did have an operable shunt. The plan was to get Bella to at least 3 pounds for surgery and if she tolerated the liver shunt surgery well, then to also perform a spay. Finally, by mid-March she had met her target weight, and was actually three pounds and four and a half ounces on the day of surgery. Dr. S. Hewitt seemed extremely caring and efficient, and the surgery was successful-with no post-surgery symptoms. It was hard to believe that Bella was out of the hospital about 48 hours after surgery! She had diarrhea and lack of appetite for about three days, but then she improved dramatically.
The rescue had lots of applicants, but the best qualified was Terry Sookhai, who had already adopted a dog with liver shunt the year before. Bella was adopted by Terry two weeks after her surgery. I really want to stress that liver shunt can be managed medically for some time, with the right diet, supplements and medication and that The Liver Shunt Support Group on Yahoo is very helpful with day-to-day issues that come up.