Unanswered Questions, Am I wrong to keep looking for answers? Options

[CharliesMom]

After a relatively good day yesterday, I woke this morning feeling angry and frustrated. To explain, my Charlie supposedly died from complications of kidney failure at a relatively young age, just a week and a day shy of his 9th birthday. This occurred last Friday (March 12), but when I first took him to the vet on Feb. 9 he really didn't seem that ill. He was a little off his food and seemed a bit lethargic, but it really didn't appear all that serious. Anyway, the vet took some blood and called back the next day to inform me that Charlie's BUN/creatinine was elevated and I should hospitalize him for a couple of days to rehydrate him and attempt to 'restart' his kidneys. After two days he was released and seemed so much better, he was eating, had loads of energy, etc. Then, within days, he started getting weak again, so I rushed him back to the vet's and they hospitalized him for another 3 days. When I picked him up that time, however, he was in very poor shape, refusing to eat, losing weight, extremely weak, et al. Over the next couple of weeks I must have run him back to the vet half a dozen times and finally got so frustrated that I made an appointment to see a specialist the morning of March 12. The specialist did a lot of tests and basically concluded that Charlie's kidneys were badly atrophied, had probably been failing for some time, and he likely had no more than weeks to live. Still reelinig from the shock of such news, I took Charlie home and within a couple of hours he had a seizure, which the specialist later said was probably a massive stroke, and died.

What still doesn't make sense, however, is why a relatively young dog became so ill so quickly and died of an illness which usually takes months to years to reach end stage. His BUN from Feb. 9 was over 100 (normal is around 25), but his creatinine was barely over 2 (normal is 2 or less). After that first rehydration/hospitalizaztion, his BUN was down to 48 and his creatinine, though still not normal, had also dropped a bit And yet, in spite of daily subcutaneous fluid administration at home, in spite of constant care and dozens of phone calls and visits with vets, in spite of $4,000 in veterinary bills, the poor little guy is gone. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

I want to find out what happened. Even though it can't bring my darling boy back (Oh, if only it could!) I never, never, NEVER want to go through anythinig like this again and after forking out that much cash, I think I'm entitled to a few answers. I phoned both the specialist and my regular vet this morning and though neither is in today, I left messages for both to call me back.

So here's my question: am I tilting at windmills? Am I merely prolonging the agony with all this probing? I'm quite sure I'll never get either my own vet or the specialist to admit to any errors (doctors, you know - human or veterinary, they're alike when it comes to accepting blame) but I nevertheless feel compelled to pursue it. I understand all the stages of grief. I've been through the denial (I couldn't accept that Charlie might die until the very day he did) and am probably in the midst of anger and/or bargaining, but I still feel like I really need to know how and why my baby died. Have any of you been through anything like this, and if so, how did you deal with it?

Barbara

[merlin96]

Hi Barbara,

I know this reply is late and I hope you will still get a chance to read it. I don't log on too often these days but your post caught my eye because April 11, 2010 it will be one year that I lost my beloved Jack to kidney failure. I am so sincerly sorry for the pain you are going through and can very much relate. In approximately July 2007, Jack started having some problems and blood work revealed higher than normal kidney function tests but nothing to indicate actual kidney failure. We kept an eye on things and his issues resolved. He was somewhere between 13 and 15 years old but for that age still walking twice a day and had great energy and good spirits. Then suddenly in early April 2010, I switched food and shortly thereafter, he stopped eating, started throwing up, became lethargic and the blood work came back kidney failure. The vet did not think it was the change of food but I still believe that even though he had compromised kidneys, it was too sudden and maybe the food was to blame. I don't know, Barbara, if you can trace back any change in Charlie's diet shortly before his health failed but I do understand your pain and frustration. It is a quick death when it comes like that. The only thing I can say is that within that week from when Jack first stopped eating and showed signs of the kidney failure to the time I let him go on, he suffered so greatly that I was relieved for his sake that I was able to give him that final gift of release. The pain and loss has been difficult, at times better and at times worse. Now as I approach the one year mark, I find I am struggling to again come to terms with it all because I of course blamed myself for giving him what to this day I believe was tainted food. Barbara, I wish I could say something to ease your sadness but we know we will see them again. I have to believe that because it is the only thing that makes the loss bearable. Take care.

[CharliesMom]

I know this reply is late and I hope you will still get a chance to read it. I don't log on too often these days but your post caught my eye because April 11, 2010 it will be one year that I lost my beloved Jack to kidney failure. I am so sincerly sorry for the pain you are going through and can very much relate. In approximately July 2007, Jack started having some problems and blood work revealed higher than normal kidney function tests but nothing to indicate actual kidney failure. We kept an eye on things and his issues resolved. He was somewhere between 13 and 15 years old but for that age still walking twice a day and had great energy and good spirits. Then suddenly in early April 2010, I switched food and shortly thereafter, he stopped eating, started throwing up, became lethargic and the blood work came back kidney failure. The vet did not think it was the change of food but I still believe that even though he had compromised kidneys, it was too sudden and maybe the food was to blame. I don't know, Barbara, if you can trace back any change in Charlie's diet shortly before his health failed but I do understand your pain and frustration. It is a quick death when it comes like that. The only thing I can say is that within that week from when Jack first stopped eating and showed signs of the kidney failure to the time I let him go on, he suffered so greatly that I was relieved for his sake that I was able to give him that final gift of release. The pain and loss has been difficult, at times better and at times worse. Now as I approach the one year mark, I find I am struggling to again come to terms with it all because I of course blamed myself for giving him what to this day I believe was tainted food. Barbara, I wish I could say something to ease your sadness but we know we will see them again. I have to believe that because it is the only thing that makes the loss bearable. Take care.

Charlie ate Science Diet dog food most of his life and to the best of my knowledge it's never been linked to any problems. The only 'change' I can think of is that shortly after Christmas I had a lot of leftover turkey, so I was mixing some of that in with the dogs' regular food. Charlie started suffering from diahrrea, however, so I stopped the turkey and he seemed okay for awhile, but his appetite was never quite the same from that point forward. It kind of makes me wonder if maybe it wasn't the turkey that caused his diahrrea. I recently sent for a book called "Food Pets Die For" which claims that even premium brand dog foods use questionable ingredients. I've only just started reading it so don't know if Science Diet is one of the brands the author found questionable, but it certainly makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Except for occasional bouts of G.I. upsets (which could usually be linked to something he ate) Charlie seemed quite healthy throughout his life. Or at least he seemed to be healthy. It wasn't until late January-early February that I noticed he seemed rather lethargic and wasn't eating well, so I took him to the vet to see what, if anything, was going on. It's only been two weeks since he died, but I think I'm starting to come to terms with it. I know that nothing I do will bring him back, but I still have Belle, my Sheltie, to think of, as well as any other dogs I may have, so I'm certainly planning to do some research about the pet food industry and, if I have to, I'll cook for my dogs from now on. This book also has quite a few receipes for healthy home cooked meals for dogs. At least that way I'll know for sure what they're eating!

Thanks for your comments. It's give me something to think about.

Barbara

[ladywolf]

[quote name='CharliesMom' date='Mar 25 2010, 02:47 PM' post='56532']
Charlie ate Science Diet dog food most of his life and to the best of my knowledge it's never been linked to any problems. The only 'change' I can think of is that shortly after Christmas I had a lot of leftover turkey, so I was mixing some of that in with the dogs' regular food. Charlie started suffering from diahrrea, however, so I stopped the turkey and he seemed okay for awhile, but his appetite was never quite the same from that point forward. It kind of makes me wonder if maybe it wasn't the turkey that caused his diahrrea. I recently sent for a book called "Food Pets Die For" which claims that even premium brand dog foods use questionable ingredients. I've only just started reading it so don't know if Science Diet is one of the brands the author found questionable, but it certainly makes you wonder, doesn't it?

Except for occasional bouts of G.I. upsets (which could usually be linked to something he ate) Charlie seemed quite healthy throughout his life. Or at least he seemed to be healthy. It wasn't until late January-early February that I noticed he seemed rather lethargic and wasn't eating well, so I took him to the vet to see what, if anything, was going on. It's only been two weeks since he died, but I think I'm starting to come to terms with it. I know that nothing I do will bring him back, but I still have Belle, my Sheltie, to think of, as well as any other dogs I may have, so I'm certainly planning to do some research about the pet food industry and, if I have to, I'll cook for my dogs from now on. This book also has quite a few receipes for healthy home cooked meals for dogs. At least that way I'll know for sure what they're eating!

Thanks for your comments. It's give me something to think about.

Barbara
[/quote

Hi Barbara--

From the moment that Ladywolf was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I've been custom-cooking for her. Everything that I've come across on the internet has persuaded me that commercial dog food can CAUSE cancer, and other health problems.

Lady was "supposed" to die within a few weeks after her diagnosis. Well, it's been a few months now, and we are still going strong. I can't say that I never give her any dry dog food with her other food (chicken, beef, turkey {yes, turkey, which she loves!}, eggs, tuna fish, salmon, brown rice, vegetables, oil, etc.), but only the highest quality of dry food, which lists beef as its first ingredient, and only when I am broke and/or lazy. The bulk of her diet is good quality "people" meat. Her appetite is terrific, as she is being spoiled ROTTEN, and I KNOW that the change in diet is keeping her alive.

So it's definitely something to think about and look into. A friend with a six-year-old dog, Misty, has switched her over to all people-food too, after Misty and Ladywolf had a conference, and Misty decided that she would never eat plain, high-quality dry food again, without nutritious additions!

I believe that you are definitely on the right track here, based on the quality of Ladywolf's life since I changed everything and she started eating better than I do!

Good luck, and big hugs--
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Margi and the Wolf