Nella (Yorkie) is in the hospital - severe GI infection

[NellasMom]

Nella is in the hospital! She is a 1.5 yo Yorkie suffering from an unknown severe GI infection and needs all the supportive care to survive!

Before I took Nella in to a 24 hour Animal Emergency Treatment Center she looked really uncomfortable. Two days earlier we seen our vet because she had tummy problems. She was dehydrated and she received fluids. I did not know if she ate something she shouldn't have - Nella has a curious and independent streak. She often goes on scavenger hunts around the house (I am a watchdog when it comes to things she should not have access to- yet she does outsmart me!) and quickly and artfully tracks down those things. I mentioned that to our vet and as a precaution he gave her antidote and penicillin injections and an antibiotic treatment to give her at home.

I brought Nella home and she ate small amounts of bland food and drank water. Later in the day Nella played with her older brother (5 yo Yorkie) and her favorite yellow Wilson tennis ball.

Christmas Eve Nella's eyes looked cloudy, she was sluggish and looked depressed. She wasnt interested in any food; not even tempted by the smell of freeze dried beef liver treats that my pups go nutts for. Yorkie dogs are known to have more sensitive digestion than other dogs (both Nella and her big brother have caught "stomach bugs" in the past which cleared up within 1-2 days) however this was different.

I became extremely worried when I heard her labored breathing. Unbeknownst to me the next 24 hours was going to be the most challenging and testing time in my personal history of dealing with crises.

I immediately took her to a 24 hour Animal Emergency Treatment Center. Nella was diagnosed with hypothermia (abnormally low body temperature) and dehydration - particularly dangerous for these tinies who have little weight to lose before they are dehydrated and need IV rehydration. Nella's gums were pale pink and her pulse was alarming. She was immediately given IV fluids and was placed on a warming pad to raise her low body temperature. I was told she would have to stay overnight.

The ER vet took a variety of tests and X-rays. Her blood test came back fine with slightly abnormal sugar and red blood cell count levels - we speculated this was mostly was due to Nella's severe dehydration.

Next, Nella began suffering from a severe bloody diarrhea and depression. It became more severe within hours. She got very sick, very fast. The IV fluid therapy kept her from getting a potentially fatal clotting disorder (this disease is often irreversible and may result in death).

She was also diagnosed with sepsis (illness in which the body has a severe response to bacteria where major organs and body systems [kidneys, liver, lungs, and central nervous system] stop working properly because of poor blood flow). She was given antibiotics to combat the suspected infection and a plasma transfusion (necessary to correct her rapid loss of protein). Nothing was guaranteed. The vet said that Nella was so sick that we did not know if her body would respond to the aggressive treatment, and there was a possibility that, my little Nella, would "pass away" and not make it to the morning.

Little Nella made it through her most difficult night and has showed signs that she is responsive to treatment. However she is not out of the woods yet! The bacteria is still in her body and is not allowing her little body to fully absorb proteins, she still suffers from bloody diarrhea and is not interested in food. She continues to be under 24 hour care however thankfully she has been removed from ICU. She is certainly fighting this thing!

The human-pet bond is so precious and unmistakable! My way of I honoring that bond is to agree to every aggressive and costly treatment to save my little girl.

Nella needs to continue with the supportive care to recover.

It takes more than love to save a life, little Nella deserve a chance; she deserves a miracle. Any monetary assistance will be immeasurably APPRECIATED! Please find it in your heart to assist me with the expense so I can bring my little girl home to her family. Please visit: http://www.giveforward.com/shininglight or https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/websc ... 47f193f8fd to donate.

[superozzo]

I'd like to donate but do you have a paypal account? If not I would recommend it as I received more donations once I set-up a chip-in through paypal!

[NellasMom]

superozzo -WOW, I am so pleased! Your gift will be treasured! Thank you so much! Nella had another plasma transfusion today and unfortunatelly I was unable to see her for too long however in the few minutes I seen her she looked a little more alert. YEES!

Re: pay-pal I have never done this before so please be patient (I hope this is how one sets up an account).

Below is the chip in donation link (please note my original post with link is not working ) :
http://yorkienella.chipin.com/nellas-me ... assistance