A few months ago a sty grew on her eyelid. The vet said if it wasn't causing her discomfort and wasn't infected, it would be fine. We watched it and it didn't bother her at all, so we let it be instead of opting for the expensive surgery to remove it. Fast forward a few months to today - we're at PetSmart getting all the girls' nails clipped. Charlotte is waiting "patiently" in the cart for her turn and they inform us they can't clip her nails because her rabies vaccination has expired. It isn't recommend that senior dogs continue getting rabies vaccinations because it isn't good for them if they have underlying medical issues you may not know about. So since I refused to give her an unnecessary and potentially harmful vaccination, they suggested I take her to their on site vet to have them clip her nails instead. So we walked her over to them. Around this time, while I was checking her in, Rob noticed the sty on her eye was bleeding and there was pus coming out. So we asked if the vet could check that out too.
After some work on the sty (which was infected) he gave us some antibiotics for her to get rid of the infection. He then looked her over and asked if she was always this bloated. We had grown accustomed to Charlotte getting larger. When we adopted her she was 6 lbs and sick. By the end of that year she weighed around 14 lbs. Now, when weighed at the vet she was 18 lbs. We knew she was over weight and she seemed to have a pot belly, which we thought had to do with all the eating and drinking she was doing.
He felt her abdomen and listened to her heart and then recommend we do blood work. He thought she may be suffering from Canine Cushing's Disease, something we had never heard of before. We were worried, but I had a feeling it was for the best and we okayed it. We have long known in the back of our heads that Charlotte isn't young anymore and something was going on with her, we just didn't want to face it. This was God's way of saying we needed to face it and accept it.
We went home, with the promise from the Vet that they'd call us in an hour with results. I immediately went home and started researching the disease. Charlotte had all the symptoms.
-Excessive eating and drinking
-Excessive urination and deification (sometimes in the house due to lack of being able to hold it for long)
-Heavy panting
-Loss of hair
-Pot belly / bloating
-Lethargic
-Weaker muscles, especially in back legs
-Crusty skin and skin lumps
-Pacing a lot and unable to get comfortable
Every one of the symptoms, she had. In fact, for months now she'd been keeping me up at night because at least once a night (usually around 3am) she would need to go to the bathroom and would normally not wake me up in time and would go on the floor. Then she'd be whining for water and I'd have to fill her bowl. Looking back, I realized I've had more nights where she has woken me to go potty or get water than I have had sleepless nights. All this time I was so angry at her thinking she didn't need the water, but maybe this was part of a disease, something she couldn't help.
Sure enough, the Vet called us an hour later with the news. She has Cushing's Disease and our option was to pay $700 for an ultrasound and other tests to see which gland it was coming from so they can put her on medication (which would cost at least $1,000 for a years worth of meds). As heart breaking as the thought was, we decided against medication and further testing. After reading up on it we saw that the medication would make her sick (vomiting and diarrhea), and would do nothing but prolong her life and possibly make her more miserable. At 14 years old, we felt it was best to let her live as she is, as long as she wasn't in any pain. She still seems happy. Her tail wags to go outside, she lays in the sun to get warm, she gets excited and barks and jumps (or tries to at least) when daddy comes home. We decided that when she was ready to go, she'd show us.
The disease seems pretty depressing. It is caused by an increase of the hormone called Cortisol, produced by the pituitary and/or adrenal glands due to a tumor in the gland. The tumor may be benign, but either way it causes the glands to overproduce the hormone that in return wreaks havoc on her entire body. It causes all the symptoms she is showing, plus it is puts damage on her organs. It's normally a good hormone, but when overproduced it causes everything from skeletomuscular problems, skin/hair problems to organ failure (specifically liver and kidney). Right now, her ALKP enzyme count is at 739 (the norm is around 212) and her ALT enzyme count is at 352 (the norm is around 200). This increase shows the disease is essentially killing the cells in her liver and she will most likely die from liver failure. The is also even a chance that before her liver fails she could have kidney or heart failure.
From what we've read online, she is closer to the end stages of the disease, and may not have much more time with us. There is a chance she has had this for the past year or maybe even longer. The vet explained most of the dogs with this disease go undiagnosed for a long period of time because this is common in older dogs and all the symptoms are what most people assume is just their dog aging normally. That helped me feel a little better, because at first I was upset at myself for not taking her in sooner and thinking she was just being a typical old dog.
Either way, Charlotte seems fine right now. After the vet she laid down in the car and took a nap. She naps a lot, which is because of the disease. Chloe and Chelsea were laying next to her, laying as close to her as possible. I think they sense it. I've noticed they sniff her a lot more, and cuddle closer to her than normally. She also doesn't seem to mind their presence next to her. I wonder if it is comforting for her? I think having the other two girls was the best decision we made. At first we worried how Charlotte would feel, not being the only dog anymore. We were afraid she wouldn't get a long with them or they'd bother and annoy her. But now, it seems like in her final days, they will be a comfort to her and to us too.
God really has blessed us with Charlotte. From the day I said "Can we get a dog?", to the day she pranced into our lives and peed on our floor - the very moment Rob said "I'll get my check book" to the Robyn the woman who adopted her to us. She has been the best dog we could ask for.
I know this will be especially hard for Rob. She is the first dog he has ever had, and he is very attached to his little princess. It will definitely be hard for me, but now having a diagnosis and knowing what is coming, I am planning for the final days and trying to make sure everything is in order so we can make her last moments with us peaceful for everyone. I am also working on arrangements for after her passing. All things I feel that if I plan ahead for we won't have to worry about later and can spend that time together with her.
I am just trying to be strong for me, for Rob, for Charlotte and the girls - like any mother would. I may not have made them and they may have four legs... but they are my babies and I am their mother and I love them with all my heart - even once I have children of my own.
This is the girls in the car today cuddling with Charlotte on the way home from PetSmart.
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