Puppy with possible kidney disease...Should I keep him?Me and my husband got a mini schnauzer 4 month old pup from a rescue group about a month ago. This has come to be the worst nightmare of our lives so far...Since the day we brought him home we noticed that he drinks a lot of water...we were told by the vet that it was probably stress from the house change...we waited and he still drank lots of water (he's about 11 pounds and drinks about 1L of water everyday)...the vet did some blood tests and urinalysis and found his BUN, Phosphorous and Calcium levels a little elevated and his urine very dilute...nothing big, but still not normal...he said it was a probable UTI infection and put him on antibiotics...10 days later we took him back, the values were a little higher now...he advised of probable kidney disease, possibly congenital...the vet put him on k/d food and gave him more antibiotics. I decided to go to another vet for a second opinion and again the new vet advised that since his Creatinine values were within normal range, it could just be a bad infection and gave him stronger antibiotics for 14 more days. Yesterday I took him back for his recheck and now his values are all within normal although his urine is still very dilute (1.008 and this was his first urine of the day). The vet is not sure if his values are lower because the antibiotics are working or if it's just because of the food he's been eating have lowered the values (low protein, low calcium, phosphorus, etc) so she wanted to do an ultrasound to confirm if it's indeed kidney disease...the ultrasound is about $ 300 but my husband and I cannot afford this. The vet suggested I just keep the dog b/c she does think it might be some kidney problem and leave him on the diet and just let him live whatever time he's supossed to live...basically just keep him on diet and dont worry about testing and stuff....our dilemma is, should we return the puppy to the rescue group and let them deal with him? (they said they would put him up for readoption but I dont really believe them and i dont think anyone would adopt a sick puppy) or should we just keep him and let him be happy and give him love until God decides to take him away? By the way, the puppy is the happiest creature ever...he's not in pain, with appetite, not lethargic or anything...in fact, he's VERY active...My heart is broken because I love him with all my heart and I dont want him to be put to sleep or to be given to somebody that wont take care of him the way we do...so I need advise...should I keep him????????? HELP!!!
Posted by Vet Tech
As heartbreaking as it would be, I would keep the puppy until the day I had to make the tough decision to end his suffering. I would want to make sure this puppy was given the best chance at life.
Posted by flan318
Please keep him. If you cannot afford additional medical procedures, that's alright as long as you give him love. If you return him to the rescue center, he will feel alone and afraid, and it is very possible that no one else will adopt him now that they know he is sick. The rescue center probably does not have funds to provide for him either, so the best thing for him is to stay with you and live out his life, however short or long it may be, with his "family". As long as he's still happy and enjoying life, let him live it out with you.
Posted by You asked for it
YES keep him! you are supposed to stay with them through the good times and the bad. My dog may have cancer, i am waiting for the blood results to come back. I am going to go bankrupt after all this, but it's worth it because my dogs are family, they are like my kids.
he needs you more than ever right now. don't leave him.
Posted by DachsieLvr
Should we return the puppy to the rescue group and let them deal with him? Seriously? Adopting a puppy is not conditional, its not a toy thats defective and can be returned. Once you welcome an animal into your home you are responsible for him. Good or bad, it comes with the territory. If you return him to the rescue you don't deserve to find out what happens to him. You can't dictate to them what kind of home he needs because your relinquishing ownership because the puppy is sick. What kind of owner does that make you? Ofcourse you should keep him! If the puppy is sick so be it, you take care of the puppy, give the medical treatment he needs and go from there. You adopted him, take responsibility.
Posted by blue_angel_1400
Although I can't really answer the question of whether you should keep the puppy (only you can decide that)... I can tell you what I've seen. If the rescue group does take this puppy back, chances are good that he will be euthanized. I hate to say it, but most places are reluctant to adopt special needs animals, and would prefer to simply humanely euthanize. While every dog is different, I have seen many dogs live for quite a while even with very high kidney values after being put on k/d. Things can change fast, but it sounds like the k/d is working for your puppy, and things seem to be going in the right direction. If it were me I would not put the money into the ultrasound though, the prescription food and bloodwork are expensive enough. I would simply keep doing what you are doing and love your puppy as long as he is with you. I have seen puppies that had kidney problems early on live to be 7-8 years old with early intervention. Good luck!
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