Rescue Dog: Piper

Piper in the car, leaving the shelter.

Piper was left at the shelter by her owner who requested that she be put to sleep. SCBR got the call to come get her and after speaking with the vet at the shelter, it is suspected that the owner knew something was wrong with her and chose to give up on her and let a stranger PTS rather than try to work with her medical problems.

Our volunteer picked her up and Piper barely had enough energy to get up and walk of out of her kennel. The volunteer happily picked her up and carried her to her car and drove her to our own rescue vet that afternoon. Piper was filthy…covered in feces, fleas and dirt.  The whole car ride to the vet (almost an hour away) Piper could barely stay awake and stayed curled up in the passenger seat with her head as close to the volunteer as possible. She was scared and clearly ill.  Upon arrival at the vet, she went straight into ICU.  She weighed in at only 27 pounds, severely underweight  The next day she threw up and collapsed and was immediately put on an IV to keep her stable. The entire time she drifted in and out of consciousness, struggling to hold on. It’s uncertain how much longer she would have survived in the shelter without medical attention.

Piper after her first bath.

Once she stabilized a bit, Piper began undergoing a long series of tests and evaluations.  Based on the results of the initial bloodwork, Piper was prescribed hypoallergenic food, Prednisone and Metronidazole to help stop her diarrhea. After not seeing any change in the recurring diarrhea and no weight gain, Piper was taken to be evaluated by an internal specialist to receive an ultra sound and additional blood work.  In the end, it was determined that Piper has Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD) and also suffers from an autoimmune  disease.  In addition to what had already been prescribed, she was placed on Tylan powder, Vitamin K, Pepcid AC and Vitamin B12 injections. She was also placed on Imuran after receiving the last bit of results from the lab.

Piper is extremely underweight due to the IBD.

What is Irritable Bowel Disease?

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a disorder in which one or more sections of the gastrointestinal tract have become invaded with inflammatory cells. Over time, this inflammation causes the intestine to become less efficient at absorbing nutrients from digested food and weight loss, vomiting or diarrhea often result.

(info taken from Halo pets: http://www.halopets.com/pet-education/pet-articles/Inflammatory-Bowel-Disease-in-Dogs.html)

None of the medications were helping, so Piper was put back on the Metronidazole to help relieve the diarrhea a bit again.

In the end, none of the meds are really solving the problem. She still suffers from chronic diarrhea and her body is not retaining any of the nutrients or vitamins in the food she eats that are essential for a healthy lifestyle and weight gain. In addition to what she’s already been prescribed, her foster mom has put her on enzymes, vitamins and Hydrated Calcium Aluminosilicate Clay powder, as well as putting her on a diet of boiled chicken and rice.

Sadly, nothing is working still. The next step is to seek guidance from a Pet Nutritionist.  Diet plays a key role in treating IBD and finding the right diet that works with Piper’s system will be a challenge.  With the help of a Pet Nutritionist, we will hopefully find a diet that works for Piper and allows her body to correctly absorb the nutrients of the food so she can gain weight.

Piper is very ill and needs urgent help.

Your contribution will help pay for the large amount of medications and supplements she is on, her special diet, and the guidance from the Pet Nutritionist.

We have also found another doctor that specializes in immune issues that we hope to see soon.

Piper is truly a fighter. She’s got everything going against her and it’s shocking that she has made it this far. She isn’t giving up yet and neither are we. We will continue to work hard to find a solution to Piper’s problems so we can get her back to a healthy weight and she can live healthy and be adopted. We have been told her condition is very advanced but we will not give up.

Tylan Powder 58.00
Lab Diarrhea Panel  $ 180.20 (Internist)
Blood Screen $171 (internist)
Internist consultation  $139.00
Internist visit $49.
Calcium Idexx   $39. (Internist)
Vit K  $26.16 RX
TLI test (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency)  $72.50
Pepcid AC $29.35
Vitamin B12 injections  $18.14  RX
Imuran  $16.68  RX
Hypoallergenic Food $100 big bag

$25 – Bullie Hugs Sponsor:
Picture of your sponsored dog along with a biography (can be emailed or mailed).

$50 – Bullie Kisses Sponsor
Picture of your sponsored dog along with a biography
AND a Southern California Bulldog Rescue sticker

$100 – Bullie Friend Forever Sponsor
Picture of your sponsored dog along with a biography
AND a Southern California Bulldog Rescue sticker
AND a SCBR Tote Bag

$200 – Bullie Gold Sponsor
Picture of your sponsored dog along with a biography
AND a Southern California Bulldog Rescue sticker
AND also free entry for one of our  SCBR Events

$500 – Bullie Platinum Sponsor
Picture of your sponsored dog along with a biography
AND a Southern California Bulldog Rescue sticker
AND also free entry for ALL of our annual SCBR Events
AND a Southern California Bulldog Rescue T-shirt (specify size in Paypal comments section).

THANK YOU from all of us at Southern California Bulldog Rescue!