elle

With our Dobes (Kaiser and Mitter) and the cats (Valentino and Summer) all getting on in years, we were worried that we might suddenly be petless in a short period of time. Belle was the solution to that potential problem. We got Belle from a breeder in Pennsylvania (about whom we now know more than we did then -- and we will not go back there again!). She was 4 months old at the time and the only remaining female (with 3 brothers) from a litter of 10. She was truly the boss of the bunch, and just oozed personality. We brought her home and she fit right in. She and Mitter came to an understanding as to each other's position in the pack, and they were quite the pair to watch play. As you can see, she and Amanda became close friends. Belle loved the attention and the food, and Amanda enjoyed the attention.

After Kaiser and Mitter passed on to The Rainbow Bridge, Belle began to experience a string of off-the-wall medical problems. Around Thanksgiving 2001, she could not hold down any food and stumped her vet as well as specialists. During this testing, she had an ultrasound and endoscopy (done with a bunch of vet students in attendence -- her stomach was filled with mucous which the demonstrating vet hastened to explain was not the way it was supposed to look!). The diagnosis was Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Belle is now on a Duck and Potato diet and doing well -- except for missing her treats and table scraps.

Her current medical problems started during the Spring 2002, when she got her annual physical including a 'geriatric' blood profile (standard for her size/age combination at her vet's). The exam ended with kudos from the vet for taking off some pesky pounds, and we were sent on our way. A week or so later, her vet called with some worrisome results. Belle's blood counts, specifically her red blood counts, were dangerously low (you couldn't tell by looking at her though). She got another ultrasound (just as the hair was done growing back from her ultrasound the previous Fall) to look at her spleen. It was agreed that it had changed and needed to come out. After a few weeks on Prednisone to get her blood levels back up, it was successfully removed. Unfortunately, her problems have not entirely cleared up and at this time (October 2002), we are still running blood tests looking for a reason for her depressed blood counts. At this time, we are looking for some of the more esoteric tick-borne diseases. [While the Predinsone is helping with her blood levels, it's making her ravenous. We can't wait until she's off it and (hopefully!) her appetite calms down.]