I
saw Julie for the first time in one
of the Yorkie chat groups I used to belong to in 2001. She was the smallest
puppy in a litter of three born to a couple of Yorkies owned by a girl who
bought them both from a "breeder" near
Ft. Worth,
Texas. The Yorkie mother
died in an accident at their home when the puppies were only five weeks old.
I fell in love with Julie because she looked so much like my late Joy
(1985-1992) when she was a puppy.
When Julie was eight weeks old, I flew from South Florida to pick her
up at the Austin
Airport. I drove 160 miles and took four flights
in one single day. She was even more precious in person! She was tiny and
very playful, but very picky when eating.
As I had 2 Yorkie girls by then, and they ate pretty well, I couldn’t
understand why Julie was such a poor eater. Although she was playful, her
naps would be a little bit too long
in comparison to all other Yorkies I have had.
One day, when she was 4˝ months old, I gave her a very protein-rich meal for
lunch (boiled chicken breast with hard boiled eggs!). She ate very well
which made me happy since she was such a picky eater. After lunch, she
became especially lethargic. and at the end of the day, she threw up “all”
of that meal in a white foamy liquid. That was a Sunday. On that Monday, I
took her to my vet and ordered a Liver Bile Acid Levels test to see if she
had numbers compliant with a liver problem like Liver Shunt or MVD.
Indeed her numbers came out too high indicating a possible Liver Shunt (or
shunts). We decided right there we wanted the best for our little girl, so
we set an appointment with Dr. Karen Tobias at the University of Tennessee
Veterinary School. Dr. Tobias was already known
for her extensive research on Liver Shunt, MVD, etc., for the numerous
Yorkies and other breeds she had operated on with a high success rate! We
felt that if somebody could save our special girl, that someone was Dr.
Karen Tobias. Julie was put on a low protein diet (l/d by Hills), Lactulose
and an antibiotic.
We then drove from South Florida to Tennessee with the 3 Yorkie girls we had
then, Jackie, Brenda & Julie. On September 11, 2001 Julie had a scintigraphy
(nuclear scan) done by Dr. Tobias and her team. They called us in the
afternoon to let us know Julie indeed had a shunt, but the good news was
that it was a portosystemic shunt (outside the liver), one of the operable
shunts! On the following day Dr. Tobias operated on her placing a
constrictor ring on her shunt, and also spayed her at our request. We went
to visit Julie on the following day and brought her back the day after that.
She slept on my lap the whole trip and the most special bond I have ever had
with a dog began.
She was on Lactulose for a couple of weeks more and stayed on the low
protein diet (l/d by Hills) for 2 more months until she had a new Bile Acid
Levels Test which had a normal result. Dr. Tobias said then she could eat
regular dog food. We were thrilled!
And she has been well ever since as far as the liver shunt is concerned.
Julie, however, due to her bad breeding, also had two other genetic diseases
– PRA (Progressive Retina Atrophy, which eventually will make her blind and
there is no cure), and Periodontal Disease, which has caused her to lose
many teeth prematurely.
In 2007 I had her Bile Acid Levels tested again just to be on the safe side.
Unfortunately, the numbers were slightly high indicating a possible MVD. Since then, Julie is back on a low protein
diet (L/D by Hills and Royal Canin Hepatic kibbles). She has no symptoms and
is doing great!
She is one of the biggest loves of my life!
Bia
