Some Updates

Last week I posted that we'd had a big change and appetites had improved along with better output. That lasted four days and just as suddenly they crashed again. They refused to eat, stools turned watery and they both seemed sicker. I worked overtime coaxing them to eat and was sure we'd see a weight gain on Friday. But I was wrong, both had lost more weight. Sky has dropped from 66 pounds to 48 and Samba has gone from 52 pounds to 28.

Dr B is very concerned. He said we may not be able to save Samba, and Sky is iffy. Standard medicine isn't working to kill the cryptosperidium bacteria and we have to start thinking outside the box. If we don't get some weight back on these dogs, we'll lose them both. Their bodies aren't absorbing nutrients from their food and what they eat just passes thru.

I won't be posting any new photos of either Samba or Sky at this point because they're both suffering severe hair loss from their malnutrition. It doesn't seem fair to them to show their thin hairless bodies to everyone.

Dr B had a new strange idea for us to try. He's not giving up. Pig pancreas! He says that feeding them pig pancreas may help give them enzymes to help them absorb their food. He made a number of calls to butchers, but no pig pancreas was to be found. Still there is a powdered form of the pancreatic enzyme available and it's been ordered. It should be here in the next couple days and they'll start getting it several times a day on their food.

In the meantime they're eating natto at mealtime and though the other eight dogs think it's yummy, Samba and Sky don't want to touch it. I have to get creative in disguising it with other tasty treats such as peanut butter. They're getting other supplements such as Boost and Fortiflora daily.

As bad as all this sounds, something good happened yesterday. Though Sky is unchanged and feeling very sick, Samba had a nearly normal stool for the first time in 4 months. I called Dr B this morning to report in and he's happy. He says now we start packing on the calories, five meals a day along with snacks and treats. This takes up most of my free time, as you can imagine, but it's the last option for them.

On another issue, we've been having no success in finding a replacement ball for Sky. Though Petco advertises the exact ball, they actually carry the smooth ones. Yesterday I emailed Sergeants, the company that makes the glow ball and explained Sky's situation.

This morning a very nice lady from Sergeant's called and asked for details about Sky and his ball. She is going to try to locate one for him. I guess there is still good customer service available afterall. I'll let you know if she succeeds.

We know your paws are probably getting tired from having them crossed so long, but if you can hold on a little longer, we're still trying hard to get Samba and Sky well again.