She is My Baby
Hi Dr. Harvey’s,
This is my baby girl Chloe. She is a 9 year old Pomeranian who has always been extremely healthy. I have a complete physical performed on her and her brother Apollo once a year, along with blood work. To say they are like my children is an understatement.
A little over 4 years ago I lost my only child. Her name was Cassi. I have survived, one day at a time, with the help of my canine children, who allow me to mommy them as much as I want and need. Most people would think I spoil them, but they give me so much more than I give them. Unfortunately, in wanting to make them as happy as possible, until recently I did not feed them a proper diet, in fact, it was pretty bad. Mostly treats, including chicken and duck jerky, cookies and candy not containing chocolate…yeah, it was bad.
As their annual blood work kept coming back normal and they had no apparent health problems, as recent as January 26, 2018 I wasn’t concerned.
Suddenly She Was Very Sick
On Wednesday, March 28th, I noticed Chloe straining a bit to defecate. The next day, it was much worse. She was straining very hard yet producing no results. Later that night, she began vomiting. The next morning I had her at her veterinarian’s office before they even opened. Her vet wanted to sedate her to perform an enema, and even though she was extremely lethargic, she was uncontrollable when her vet tried to examine her. I was told I’d have to leave her there for the procedure and would be called the it was over. Unbeknownst to me, blood work was ordered before the procedure was to performed.
Her Kidneys Were Failing
Mid-morning I received a phone call from the vet. Chloe had pancreatitis and her kidneys were failing. She was not stable enough to be sedated. Her vet wanted to keep her overnight to give her IV fluids. I was hysterical. I went back to the clinic and waited until I could talk to the vet in person. She asked about possible contact with toxins such as pesticides, grapes, anything. My dogs are supervised 24/7, there was no way either of them had been poisoned. The vet diagnosed her with Chronic Renal Failure which didn’t make sense because her kidney values had been normal two months previously.
I Was Frantic
The next morning, Saturday the 31st of April, I picked her up after spending a long sleepless night crying, praying and researching the internet for information. Chloe seemed to feel better after 24 hours of fluid treatment, or maybe she was just happy to see Mommy. The vet made no mention of further blood work, so I asked her to repeat it to see if the fluids had helped, and she did. I was sent home with a case of canned prescription dog food, medications to soften her stool, stimulate her appetite, ease nausea and antibiotics. She refused her food and fought taking her medication. As the day wore on, she again became lethargic. The next day she was worse, lethargic and weak. She’s a tiny girl, naturally thin, and had not passed stool in 5 days, had not eaten in 4 days. I became frantic. I was grinding her pills and mixing with fluid to force her medication down her throat with a syringe. I pureed the dog food with extra water and force fed her with a syringe to get some calories in her.
I Was Not Ready to Give Up
The next day the vet called with the results of the blood work I had asked for. The 24 hour IV fluid drip had improved her numbers slightly, very slightly. She offered me no treatment options, basically told me to just try to keep her comfortable and enjoy the time I had left with her. I told her I wanted to start subcutaneous fluid therapy at home, so she agreed and I took Chloe back in to learn how to administer the fluids and buy supplies.I got the distinct impression the vet felt Chloe was dying and that I was clinging to unrealistic hope. However, after all I had learned and was learning, I was not ready to give up.
I Could See She Was Declining-Then I found Dr. Harvey’s
Over the next few days, Chloe was still declining, and I was losing faith in her traditional treatments. I had been researching alternative treatments and incorporating them into her routine.I found Dr. Harvey’s website and called the company to get advice about which products to buy. To my surprise, Dr. Harvey himself called me back. I only knew the kidney values, and that was because I had asked the vet for them. Dr. Harvey gave me instructions and asked me to get copies of her blood work reports and e-mail them to him. I drove to the clinic and requested the paperwork and was absolutely flabbergasted at what I saw. In addition to her extremely high kidney values, her liver enzymes were through the roof as well, but that had never even been mentioned to me. I e-mailed Dr. Harvey the results and again he called me with instructions for liver support.
She Began to Get Better!
Day by day Chloe began feeling better until she reached the point where she seemed like her old self, happy, energetic.
Yesterday I returned to the clinic to purchase more fluids and supplies and requested another blood panel so I could see for myself where we were. I will never again unquestionably trust anyone with the health of my dogs. She told me she would have the results either later in the day or this morning.
The Vet Called She Was Amazed
She called this morning, amazed. Chloe’s kidney function results are within normal range! Her liver function results are still elevated, but I have only been following Dr. Harvey’s instructions for 3 days as I had to order a supplement and wait for it to arrive. I am expecting the same success with her liver as she has experienced with her kidneys.
Chloe is still adjusting to her new diet. It takes some coaxing, as well as hand feeding, to get healthy food into her because she has lived most of her life eating treats…but she is coming around and eats more than I expected. She even ate some the very first time I offered it to her, which surprised me.
Thank You, Thank You…
Dr. Harvey and his staff have been wonderful to me. I don’t have words to express how much gratitude I have.
Thank you,
Very Happy Mommy of Chloe and Apollo
