Last week was my first week back at work in 2009 and though I worked ahome 3 days I swear it felt like it was a least a fortnight!
Today I got a panicked call from my sister about her dog and when I started asking questions she explained she was at work, Doug was home with Athena and she'd collapsed in the back yard. I called him, asked a few questions and had him call the emergency vet hospital while I threw on clothes and hurried over. We rushed her downtown and she was admitted. Long story short she may (or may not) have pancreatitis and is still not stabilized. Hopefully she will be by morning and can go straight to her regular vet.
I feel so bad for my sister. Athena is like her 3rd child and I'm afraid Athena is not going to live a super long life...but at least she has a great one and that is important. She developed a rare, genetic autoimmune disease called pemphigus. She has to take steroids and immunosuppressants to keep her healthy and in remission. It seems prednisone is linked to pancreatitis which is what the vet thinks her episode today was. It appears that can be controlled with a low-fat diet with plenty of protein and moderately high fiber.
So perhaps a strict diet and more closely monitored meds will be the answer. I don't know. I'm not a vet. I know there are concerns with long term steroid use but it's better than not giving them. It seems before current knowledge was in place the dogs that got this would typically die from skin infections but beyond the current treatment I haven't found any alternatives. Say a prayer for her puppy tonight.
