josiejo update

[kalmn]

josie has kidney damage. it is likely going to decrease her lifespan. the vet doesn't know by how much, so we're going to see.

they ran several tests, all of which came back negative, so the diagnosis is immune mediated glomerulonephritis, which i just spelled without having to look it up. go me.

that seems to mean "kidney damage like all the other dogs get kidney damage", rather than "kidneys? what are those doing there?" via the immune system.

she's on special food, she's on blood pressure medication which is supposed to help with not losing protein in her urine as much.

she dances for the special food-- i bring out the can opener and up she goes on her hindlegs sniffing and poking me, and then she eats the entire can's worth, and has been happily eating since it's been introduced earlier this week. this makes me happy. i am hoping to put some weight back on her-- she's down pretty substantially (for a twenty pound dog) from her fighting weight.

the worst of it in the short run is going to be that the special food is expensive ($2usd a day), but she is the sweetest dog i have ever met, and she's worth it. okay, i have to stop writing and go pretend like i'm not crying now.

Comments

[maize]

*huge hugs* I'm sorry that it turned out to not be something simply repairable. If it helps, we've had cats with problems that were supposed to stop them in their tracks within days and who stayed with us (and stayed active with a good life) for many years beyond what anybody thought possible, and we've had cats (well, still have one) with a condition that requires special food and medication and was supposed to shorten his life dramatically but who is now "an old geezer" by cat standards. We've also had one cat with a condition that did take her from us very quickly, and one cat who did outstay the estimates by a lot, but still left too young, and they both had wonderful lives while they were here and I wouldn't have missed a day of them. It's awful that they ever die at all, but I hope Josie obstinately sticks out way past any prognosis and keeps you wonderful company the whole while.