Our Experience with Pancreatitis and Personal Tips on Treatment that Worked 

Pancreatitis is a serious illness in dogs and it often takes pet owners by surprise. Its onset can be sudden and many times pet owners assume that the fact that their family dog doesn’t want to eat or drink and is throwing up may be a passing thing. It could be, but it could also be life-threatening pancreatitis. If that’s the case, you need to act fast.

My experience with pancreatitis began when my 11-year-old Yorkie, McCarthy, started showing signs of ill health about a week after surgery to amputate two cancerous toes. He was doing relatively well after the operation, but then the lethargy crept in; he looked pale, and his eyes sunken. It was so out of character, he was usually active and demonstrated immense excitement whenever I picked up the leads.

He also refused food and water, so I took him to the vet and he was given anti-nausea and pain medication. It didn’t help, he licked his lips constantly, another sign of nausea; he ate grass at every opportunity and started throwing up through the night. I spent the evening Googling what could be the problem – I suspected pancreatitis.

The following morning we were back at the hospital, he was admitted and given medication and fluids intravenously. The following afternoon he was discharged, completely transformed and back to being his bouncy self, but a week later, the symptoms returned.

Back at the hospital, where they ran a batch of blood tests and found that his liver enzymes had skyrocketed. The specialist thought he’d eaten something that was poisonous, but he hadn’t. He was prescribed a cocktail of medication. I thought he was going to die, I had never seen him so sick, his listless, tiny body hung in my arms as I carried him. However, to my surprise, a week later he looked well, but it was fleeting, and we found ourselves back at the hospital once again.

The ultrasound reflected that his pancreas was extremely inflamed and finally a diagnosis was made – pancreatitis. He was prescribed chronic medication to make the bile less fat soluble, milk thistle to support his liver, and we continued with some of the other medication previously prescribed. I also had to change his diet, as the Hills food he was eating was not staying down. I prepared home-cooked chicken and some veggies and blended those for him; he still refused food. Initially, it is good to allow the pancreas to rest by withdrawing food and water for 24 hours, but after that, they need nutrition and hydration, so I had to force feed him the blended food with a syringe.

Our journey to keep him symptom-free began…

Further Information on Pancreatitis

Firstly, for those who are not aware of the pancreas’ purpose – it has a dual function in that it helps to digest food as well as control blood sugar. It is situated near the stomach. Pancreatitis occurs when this organ becomes inflamed, which could happen suddenly, as in McCarthy’s case, which is called acute pancreatitis, but it could also then become chronic pancreatitis. Some dogs have one bout and never again, others need specialised foods and careful management to prevent recurring bouts for the rest of their lives.

When the organ is functioning as it should, the enzymes from the pancreas only become active when they reach the small intestine, but in a dog who has pancreatitis, those enzymes activate prematurely when they are released, which causes inflammation and damage to the pancreas as well as the surrounding organs and tissues. The enzymes can even begin digesting the pancreas itself, which causes excruciating pain.

I knew immediately when McCarthy was having a pancreatic attack. I could see the pain in his face and he would hunch over and then begin to vigourously scratch his bed or blankets, it was as if he wanted to dig the pain away. It broke my heart watching him digging like a mad animal.

He remained on chronic medication and I fed him small portions of low-fat, home-cooked meals three times a day, but he still had recurring bouts of pancreatitis; even a visit to the vet or slightest form of stress started triggering an attack. I was at my wit’s end, but I continued researching.

The next option was a more natural one; I was referred to a reputable homeopathic vet.

Our Journey into Homeopathy

The homeopathic vet suggested ozone therapy and biopuncture with a range of homeopathic medication and high doses of Vitamin C. He also prescribed a live probiotic and homeopathic tinctures which I had to administer daily. A few days after receiving his first round of treatment, my dog was vibrant. The transformation was miraculous.

He regained his appetite and we moved over to Acana Light and Fit kibble with tiny bits of boiled chicken as a topping. He wouldn’t eat it otherwise. I continued medicating him with the prescribed medication, probiotics, homeopathic tinctures, and milk thistle a few times daily, according to the homeopath’s instructions.

We repeated the treatment with the homeopathic vet every two weeks initially and slowly progressed to every three weeks, then six, then eight. We continued in this way for two years.

The first few months post surgery were particularly bad and I believe the repeated bouts of pancreatitis caused much damage to his pancreas. However, after receiving treatment from the homeopathic vet, he only had two attacks over a 19-month period, but sadly, the last one — a few days before his 14th birthday — caused too much damage; it was also accompanied by hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (HGE), which is a disease in dogs that is characterised by sudden vomiting and bloody diarrhea. The symptoms are severe, and if the illness is not treated, it can be fatal.

McCarthy’s symptoms began by him refusing food and displaying signs of nausea, but there were no other serious signs initially during that day, but during the night his symptoms worsened, and I took him to the vet early the following morning. He was losing a lot of blood and his breathing became laboured. The vet admitted him and administered intravenous fluid therapy (IV), but she called me an hour later to say he was battling to breathe and she referred him to the animal hospital. He was placed in an oxygen tank, had an ultrasound, which confirmed that his pancreas and intestines were severely inflamed, and they too administered a cocktail of the appropriate medication intravenously, but he sadly died 90 minutes later from toxic septicemia.

I was shocked at how quickly death could come. He was completely healthy between Monday and Wednesday, started showing signs of nausea during the day on Thursday, became severely ill during the night, and died the following morning. From commencement of symptoms to death was not even within a 24-hour period. Life is so fragile…

Symptoms 

The purpose of this post is to warn other pet owners not to take the following symptoms lightly.

Acute symptoms of pancreatitis include:

a) loss of appetite

b) reluctance to drink

c) vomiting

d) shaking/tremors

e) depression and lethargy

f) abdominal pain

g) frantic digging in blankets or bed (a tell-tale sign when McCarthy had an attack)

Chronic symptoms of pancreatitis include:

a) vomiting or pain after eating (but not necessarily after every meal)

b) reluctance to eat or loss of appetite

c) reluctance to drink

d) weight loss

e) depression and lethargy

f) difficulty breathing

g) frantic digging in blankets or bed (my experience in McCarthy’s case)

Causes

The causes of pancreatitis are not always clear and are commonly debated. It has been said that high-fat diets are often the cause, but this has not been scientifically proven. However, too much fat can cause pancreatitis in older dogs, especially if they are overweight or relatively inactive. Dogs who eat scraps from the garbage are also more prone to pancreatitis, especially if the dog usually eats a low- to normal-fat diet, but then suddenly eats rancid fatty scraps or high-fat foods. There are also several medications associated with pancreatitis in dogs.

In McCarthy’s case, none of the above applied, as I never fed him or Higgy a high-fat diet and they both lead active lives. McCarthy was particularly active and ran six to ten kilometres with me on many occasions until he reached his senior years, then I tapered it down, but we still did many hikes and walked daily. The vets and specialists suggested that the cause in McCarthy’s case could’ve been the repeated anaesthesia required for the procedures leading up to his amputation surgery, and the surgery itself, which can wreak havoc with the functionality of the bodily systems.

Take-Away Message

Pancreatitis is a serious illness. I would like to warn other pet owners to err on the side of caution and take their pets to their local vet as soon as their dog displays any of the abovementioned symptoms. It could be a matter of life or death and one should certainly not take a wait-and-see approach.

Our canine family’s lives are precious and it is our responsibility to care for them to the best of our ability.

Stay informed, do your research, and always do what is best for your pets!

Our Experience with Eccrine Carcinoma – Rare and Aggressive Cancer

Shocking News

In March 2016, McCarthy, my beloved little 11-year- and 9-month old Yorkie, developed a mysterious cut on the third toe of his right foot. He was stitched up and treated with antibiotics, but it wasn’t healing, was very swollen, and in no time the swelling started spreading to the second toe and underneath the pads too.

A further dose of antibiotics was given, but still little healing. A biopsy was taken on 29 April 2016, and on 11 May 2016, I received the shocking news: Eccrine carcinoma – which is an extremely rare and aggressive cancer of the sweat glands. The prognosis on the pathology report said: “Cautious, further complications as regards local infiltrative growth and distant metastatic spread could be expected.” Apparently, an important differential in these cases is metastatic carcinoma from the lung.

Little McCarthy was the sweetest, most loving, and joyful being I had ever met. He loved life and had no idea how small he was in size. He used to run 10 km races with me, and we regularly ran 6 – 8 kilometres on the road or in the mountain until he was about nine years old. As he aged we walked more, which his Yorkie brother, Higgins preferred. I couldn’t believe this devastating news, as he was still as sprightly as ever, despite having an aggressive form of cancer eating its way through his toes.

Unwanted and Unfamiliar Territory

The week after the diagnosis he had to go for a CT scan to determine whether the cancer had spread. If not, surgery or amputation was indicated.

I dropped him off at the animal hospital on 18 May 2016 for the CT scan. The specialist advised me that he would be on a drip before, during, and after the procedure as some dogs had a bad reaction to the iodine dye they were injected with, which was a necessary procedure for a contrasted CT scan. I was also informed that the specialist stops the dog breathing for 30 to 45 seconds when scanning the lungs, as one cannot tell a dog to hold its breath. It is an incredibly stressful ordeal to have to go through, especially the day-long waiting period to find out whether the cancer had spread to his lungs.

Later that afternoon, I was relieved to hear that it had not spread to his organs. The specialist advised me that they would keep him in hospital for observation and that he may have to spend the night, but since he was bouncy and full of life a few hours later, they called to say he could go home until his scheduled surgery two days  later to amputate the affected toes.

On 20 May 2016, he was back in hospital for surgery, but fortunately, that wasn’t as long a wait. At 11:45 am I received a message from the hospital on McCarthy’s behalf advising me that he was out of theatre, awake and that all had gone well. After a few hours of observation, the specialist said he was stable and they were satisfied that he was well enough to be discharged. I couldn’t wait to fetch him!

He was a little unhappy and unbalanced that night and fell over when trying to urinate, as he was still getting used to using only one foreleg and holding the bandaged leg up. The next morning, he was hopping around so quickly that I had to run after him to keep up. Such a little trooper – I was amazed at how well he was doing. The following week he was booked to return to hospital to be sedated for the first bandage change.

The specialist advised me that the amputated toes were with the pathologist. I had to wait another two weeks to find out whether they got clear margins of the soft tissue and whether the cancer had spread to the bones. If there weren’t clear margins or if the cancer had spread to the bones in his leg, amputation of the leg would be necessary.

Post-Surgery Complications

Sadly, a week post surgery, McCarthy was not doing well at all. He wasn’t eating or drinking, became severely dehydrated and pale. He was admitted to hospital again, stayed overnight on a drip and was given a course of antibiotics and had blood work done.

His white blood cell count was high, which indicated that he had picked up an infection of sorts. His immune system was likely compromised post surgery and his little body was no longer fighting fit. However, within a week he bounced back.

Long-Awaited Pathology Report

Two weeks post surgery, the specialist advised that the findings of the pathology report revealed that they got clear margins of the tumour when they amputated his toes, but there was destruction to the bone in those toes, which proved the aggressive nature of eccrine carcinoma.

The diagnosis meant that there could be microscopic spread, however, at that stage, there was no way of telling whether that was the case. Amputation of the leg was, therefore, not necessary as it was unclear whether it had spread to the bones in the rest of his leg.

As a precaution, the specialist suggested four treatments of chemotherapy over an eight-week period. He advised that some dogs cope well on chemotherapy, others not, and one to two percent could die therefrom. He said an alternative would be to send McCarthy for another CT scan in a few months to determine whether the cancer had spread and if so, to start chemotherapy then.

Unfortunately, due to this form of cancer being so rare, the specialist had no comparisons to previous cases and treatments to investigate further.

However, while deciding whether to go the chemotherapy route, McCarthy became severely ill again. Further blood tests revealed escalated liver enzymes. That poor little dog was then prescribed a cocktail of medication to aid the healing, and after weeks of repeated bouts of vomiting and lethargy, the specialist did an ultrasound which revealed pancreatitis as the cause of the elevated liver enzymes and McCarthy’s extreme discomfort. The decision as to whether or not to proceed with chemotherapy was made for me, as a pancreatic dog was not a good candidate for chemotherapy.

From One Level of Severity to the Next

Pancreatitis then took centre stage. McCarthy’s foot was fully healed and he had no trouble adjusting to his new gait, and we all forgot about the cancer while figuring out why he was having repeated bouts of pancreatitis.

The symptoms and treatment of the acute bout of pancreatitis, which was becoming chronic, will be discussed in detail in another post. I would like to walk other pet parents through our experience in dealing with that awful disease in the hope that those in similar situations with their beloved pets may gain insight therefrom and seek treatment as soon as possible. It is not a disease to be messed with!

Parting tip regarding Eccrine Carcinoma: If your pet presents with a mysterious cut on his/her paws, have it seen to by your vet if it is not healing within one week. It is always best to err on the side of caution as fast action can save your dog’s life.