Hi Kimberley
I had a Border Collie who was born in Sept 1995 who was diagnosed with a liver shunt at the age of 10 weeks. Went to vet because I just knew he was not right and I was basically told he was just a normal puppy and to go home, stop being paranoid, there was nothing wrong with him and enjoy him. I decided to go back to see a different vet who realised from my description that there could be something wrong. The next day the first vet I had seen had to tell me that Taz had a liver shunt. I could see how sorry he was even though he did not actually say the words. After a period of time Taz got worse and we were sent to Liverpool University who agreed to try to operate but unfortunately the shunt was inside the liver and was in operable.
Taz could not stomach any meat or fish and survived on cottage cheese, rice crispies, vegetables and strangely seemed to be partial to eating daisies and dandelions in abundance. Please would laugh at Agility shows as he would be there munching away like a cow. The vet seemed to think that there must of been some natural reasons why he did eat the flowers but I do think they helped with his water retention ( I believe that is why they call dandelions ‘wet the beds’)
We sadly lost Taz two weeks before his 2nd Birthday. The vet was always amazed at how long we had him for and they originally told us his lift span would be about 8 months at the maximum. I also think because I got another puppy quite quickly, another male, that he was always mentally challenged and always tried to be top dog.
I remember how shocked I was at the reaction of Tazs’ breeder and afterwards came to the conclusions that I think she already realised he had a problem but was still going to try and sell him. Maybe it was fate as I would never of given up on him and gave him the best life I could and I am sure he enjoyed himself while he was with us.
I will always remember the sleepless nights as he would pace constantly around the bedroom because of the toxins in his blood and how he used to mouth my arm as I tried to comfort him.
Just reading your article on the net made me think of the good and bad days and how much Taz gave to us and how much we still miss him. Thank you for sharing your story as I think there seems to be more and more dogs with this problem and it does help to know other people have gone threw this as well.
I am sure Jade will be with you for many years but can understand your concern and hope she continues to enjoy her Agility.
Many thanks
Annette Brown ~ Wirral ATS