I was born in March 2004. Momma brought me home to be a brother to Trot - he's a German Shepard. Momma adopted us both but when she went to pick him up, he was too sick to come home. The owners made him stay but she saw me and fell in love. So I got to go home that day!!
A few weeks later, Trot finally came home too.
We've been best brothers ever since.
Since then, I've lived a pretty great life until last year. Before I got sick, I used to play with my brother all the time. I love playing in the snow, running around with my brother and sleeping...alot. Hey...I'm a Saint - waddya expect? Woof!
Last year, I started to get really sick. I would eat and drink, but little by little, it just wouldn't stay in my stomach. I would throw up everything I ate. Even when there was nothing left in my tummy, I still threw up anyway.
And poor Momma - she had to use a WetVac to clean up my messes - ick.
Momma couldn't figure out what was wrong.
At first, she just thought I was eating something bad - like grass or dirt. But I wasn't.
Then, I began to lose weight, breathe and pant really hard all the time, cough and hack, and finally I just didn't want to eat anymore. I didn't want to play and I didn't even want to climb and cuddle on the couch anymore. I just curled up under the coffee table and tried to sleep as much as I could - even more than I already did. Momma was getting really scared.
So she took me to the vet and we were there almost all day long. They poked my tummy, took lots of blood tests, put tubes in my mouth down to my stomach, made me eat some really yucky stuff, took xrays, and finally figured out what was wrong.
I had Canine MegaEsophagus. It means the muscles in my esophagus don't keep the food in my stomach anymore. Momma has been calling me "MegaPaws" ever since we found out (now you know where the name comes from).
So Momma took me home and had to figure out what to do. I was only the second dog that our vet had ever seen with this problem. Many dogs actually go to Doggie Heaven when they find out they have this. But Momma didn't let that happen to me.
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Memere and Pepere (french for Gramma and Grampa) came to visit to help Momma for a few days. Pepere made a special chair for me to eat my food. I have to sit up in a big box to eat my food and then I have to stay in it for a half hour so the food can stay in my stomach better.
For a week, she had to give me special water through a catheter that the vet put in my leg. The vet said I was very dehydrated. In fact, when we went to the vet, they said I lost 20 lbs in just one month. (I had gone a few weeks earlier but they didn't figure it out yet.) So every 6 hours, Momma gave me a whole bag of special water through a needle and long tube.
She also had to give me a special shot under my skin 3 times a day. It helped the gurgling in my chest. I don't know why, but my chest sounds like I am under water every time I breathe. That medication really worked.
But then, the vet had a hard time to get the medication - something about a nationwide shortage - they couldn't even find it at a human hospital. As the medicine was harder to find, it was also getting more expensive.
Eventually, Momma slowly started to take me off the medicine. The gurgling was a little bit better because of the medicine. Now when I start to gurgle again, she taps me on the chest kinda hard - looks like burping a baby. This helps my chest ickies break up inside and I start to feel better. I know Momma gets so scared when she hears me gurgle because I could choke on the liquid and have to go to Doggie Heaven. She doesn't want that to happen.
Now for the really hard part - after a few days back from the vet, Momma had to get me to start eating. Of course, it took a few days before I even wanted to eat. So she did research on the internet to figure out what and HOW I could eat. The vet said I had to eat at least 2,000 calories a day to help gain back some of the weight I lost. That's alot of food!! Woof!
Watch as I get into my chair and eat my breafast
After learning what to do, she made me meatballs from cans of PUPPY food, put them in the freezer, and then I just popped them in my mouth, swallowed and yum!! She did this 3-4 times a day. She also had to give me some special milkshakes to help me gain weight even better.
Not too much work for me to do - all I had to do was sit in my special chair, eat, then sit. It started to work and I started to feel much better.
About an hour before eat meal, she has to give me medicine. She crushes up some pills into powder, puts it in a syringe and mixs with a little bit of water, then puts it in my mouth and I have to swallow. Yuck. But I guess it makes my tummy feel better because when she doesn't give it to me, I start to feel bad again.
Momma tried to get me to take less of it each day because it costs so much, but I would just start coughing, gagging and throwing up all over again. So she just gives it to me 3 times a day - no skipping.
So because everything costs so much (oh yeah, Momma has been sick herself for awhile and she doesn't have a job), she decided to switch my food a few weeks ago. Instead of canned food, she grinds up dry food in a really noisy machine, then add lots of water, and puts in the fridge until my next meal. Then she takes it out and Voila! She's made my very own ground food.
Sometimes she crushes up even more medicine and mixes it in with my food, but it's ok. I hardly notice because I just gobble up the food so fast.
Then I just have to sit for a half hour. Momma sits right next to me, so I just put my head on her lap and sometimes I even fall asleep.
She says I even snore - but I know that's not true. Woof!
Once we're done, she puts a special collar on my neck - it looks like a swimming tube - and it helps keep my head raised when I lie down.
After my meal is all done, I usually just cuddle up and take a nice, long nap....until next meal time. Woof!
About 6 hours later, Momma starts everything all over again - medicine, food, sitting, and making more food.
All in all, life isn't that bad since Momma has helped me get better.
No more getting sick all the time. Every once in a while, I still get sick, but it's not as bad as before because of all that Momma does.
Lots of other dogs aren't as lucky as me. They have to go to Doggie Heaven because it is so difficult to care of doggies with Canine MegaEsophagus.
Momma is trying her hardest to take care of me. And I let her know I love her by cuddling on the couch with her as much as I can. In fact, she keeps telling me she's going to find me my very own couch - something about how I take up all the room. Woof!
Anyway, I hope you like my blog. I'll try to tell you how I'm doing as much as I can. You can also watch some videos and look at pictures to see how cute I am!!
Enjoy!!
Enjoy!!
Woof Woof!!
