Guimauve is my 18 month old papillon. When I got him the end of March he was fairly thin. The breeder stated that he was at a show facility and came back to her that thin. Got him back to Pullman and he was eating like a pig and doing great. Took him in to the vet hospital at the beginning of April for a severe cough. They put him on drugs and he got better. Beginning of May got the little bugger neutered and his teeth cleaned. Before his surgery he had gained almost half a pound! Yay! (For a dog about 4 lbs that is quite a bit)
I took him to Spokane and left him for a bit so he could adjust to farm life and socialize with some other dogs. Mum began to worry because he had a gastrocolic reflex of a puppy which he did not have when I got him. Gastrocolic reflex is the reason why puppies have to poop 20-45 minutes after they eat.
Mum took him to a vet in Spokane on June 8th. They ran a fecal and it came up negative for parasites. Vet advised her to continue as she was.
I talked with the breeder on 6/21 to see if she had any knowledge of something similar in any papillons. I was informed that coccidiosis was found in Guimauve's littermate and one of her other dogs.
On 6/22 mum took him to the holistic/acupuncture vet in Spokane. He had been depressed for a couple of days and she was still concerned by his lack of weight gain. The holistic vet determined he had abdominal pain and bradycardia (low heart rate) and he needed to get some blood work done and possibly an abdominal ultrasound to determine liver or GI disease.
Mum brought him to Pullman and we took him to the hospital. The doctor looked him over and determined a basic chemistry profile and CBC were warranted. Some of their differentials included a Protein Losing Enteropathy which is a condition of the GI tract that causes a net loss in proteins, liver shunt, fat malabsorption (pancreas) and parasites. Also, she took blood for a fasting bile acid level test. The acid bile test came back as not too high but enough to get the second bile test that evening.
When I took him in that evening I was informed that his albumin was very low. Normal is 2.5-4.3 and his was 1.6. Albumin is a protein that is produced by the liver. It is the main protein in blood plasma and is very important in transport of things through the blood as well as platelet function. Needless to say hypoalbuminemia is bad.
Today (6/23) I am waiting on bile acid test #2 results and fecal results. Next step is possible intestinal biopsy via endoscope. Funny part of all this is the fecal samples and, if the biopsy is performed, those samples will all go to the lab I work in, WADDL. Not my specific division, but just the lab next door.
Well ladies and gents, there is a case study for you! I will keep you updated as things progress.
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