When people first see my miniature dachshund, Goliath, they laugh at the irony of his name. What they dont realize at first glance, is that this little guy lives up to his name every day.
The vet told me my options, and when euthanizing was mentioned, i broke down crying right there in the office. After handing me a box of tissues, the vet apologized for having to give me such bad news. I wasn't about to give up, so i asked her if Goliath was suffering. The second she said "no" i started planning everything i could do to give him his fair chance at life.
This Christmas, i was given a hand-made Bailey Chair. This chair allows him sit upright while eating so gravity pulls his food down his esophagus and into his stomach.
He went from being a sickly little 2lbs puppy, to a rambunctious almost 4lbs puppy in one month. Goliath is a true warrior!
Goliath was diagnosed with a condition called Megaesophagus when he was about four months old.Megaesophagus is a very rare condition in which a puppy's nerves do not develop in their esophagus, making it impossible for the puppy to swallow without the help of gravity.
When I got Goliath, he was three months old and extremely skinny. I was excited to bring him home and fatten him up! Unfortunately, that didn't turn out to be as easy as I hoped. After a few days of vomiting (regurgitating, I later learned) he was brought to the vet. $280 later, we still didn't have a diagnosis. Only speculation of things such as a liver shunt, or a gastric intestinal infection. He was put on antibiotics and still did not improve.
He was losing weight rapidly because he could not get any nutrients from his food, as it was not making it down to his stomach. Another vet visit which included xrays, and $240 later, his abnormally "large and floppy" esophagus was discovered to be useless. Also, he was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia from all the regurgitating.
The vet told me my options, and when euthanizing was mentioned, i broke down crying right there in the office. After handing me a box of tissues, the vet apologized for having to give me such bad news. I wasn't about to give up, so i asked her if Goliath was suffering. The second she said "no" i started planning everything i could do to give him his fair chance at life.
This Christmas, i was given a hand-made Bailey Chair. This chair allows him sit upright while eating so gravity pulls his food down his esophagus and into his stomach.
He went from being a sickly little 2lbs puppy, to a rambunctious almost 4lbs puppy in one month. Goliath is a true warrior!
I am a member of the ME group on Yahoo. I found a link to your blog there. This is an excellent blog on a very cute albeit sick pup. This is a horrible disease. It came into our life years ago to our now 9yr old Rat terrier Willy. We to went for a very long time without a diagnosis. Resulting in a large pouch diverticulum in Willy's chest and now we have to feed him using a feeding tube. I am very sorry for your loss. I want you to know that your dog knows you gave him your absolute best resulting in the best possible chance of survival. I think its great you created this memorial for him and you are very brave for fostering a dog with such a difficult disease.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! That really means a lot to me and I appreciate you reading the blog. I am very sorry to hear about Willy. He is lucky to have such a caring owner. Its very unfortunate that there is nothing that can be done about this horrible condition. All I can do is pray that one day technology will advance such that dogs and puppies like Goliath and Willy do not have to suffer they way they have.
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