Vet Bills for Nala
Donation protected
I noticed that Nala wasn't feeling well the morning of Saturday, April 11th, 2015. I heard her stomach making a lot of unusual noises, and then she went outside to eat some grass. She throws up from time to time, so I didn't think much of it. We left to go to a Birthday part at 3:00pm. When we returned, we noticed that she had thrown up at least 6 times. It was all foamy yellow bile, with grass in it. She refused her dinner that night, and continued to throw up every now and again.
She continued to throw up on Sunday, at which point I called my daughters, friends father (whom is a vet) for advise. We checked her gum color, which was pink, and her temperature which was normal. She didn't seem to terribly dehydrated, so we thought we could wait until Monday to take her to the vet, as we could not afford the cost of emergency care.
She got worse through Sunday evening and into the night. She continued to throw up bile. At this point, she was refusing to even drink water, and she began panting heavily. She didn't have a fever, so I assumed that she was in pain, especially since she would startle if I touched her belly.
Monday morning, April 13th, I took her to the vet (daughter's friends father) who accessed her for me. He was really concered with her having some sort of blockage, and since Nala is such a big dog, and he had older equipment, we needed to find another vet who could get some good images.
We ended up taking her to Pet Hospital (PH) in Orange, to see Dr. Rossi. Dr. Rossi took x-rays, and blood work from Nala, gave her some medicine for vomiting, and gave her IV fluids. She was 113 pounds when we checked in. I was advised that so far, all blood panels have come back pretty normal, except her red blood cell count has been a little high (which is to be expected with the vomiting) and her bilirubin seemed elevated. I was told that I could pick her up in the evening, and bring her back the next morning for more tests. They couldn't see any blockage in the x-rays, and they knew we were on a budget, so she had a tech in on Tuesday who was training to do ultrasounds, and Dr. Rossi wanted her to see if she could do it to save us some money. Dr. Rossi gave Nala some barium before we left, hoping that she could keep some down and she could get some enhanced images the next day. Nala threw up barium when they brought her out, and again when we arrived at home. She was offered food a little while after we got home, but didn't want it, but she did drink some water. She spit up two times Monday evening.
We took her back to PH on Tuesday, April 14th, for monitoring and follow-up tests She now weighed 118lbs at check-in. Dr. Rossi had her tech do the ultrasound, but they couldn't get clear pictures, so they had to have the pro do it. Good thing that came out of this was that she could tell that Nala didn't have any blockage for sure. Nala also had managed to keep some of the barium down, and this gave Dr. Rossi some enhanced x-rays to view. She ordered further blood tests to check for Addison's and Hyperthyroid disease. I was able to pick-up Nala on Tuesday, and bring her home with 3 medications to give her, 1 which supports her liver function, the other 2 for her stomach. Nala ate a little boiled chicken on Tuesday evening!!! :)
On Wednesday, April 15th in the morning, I gave Nala her 6 pills and gave her some chicken and rice and she ate again!! Then I went to work. My husband reported that she didn't throw up all day. On Wed evening, I gave her 6 more pills and more food with the same result.
On Thursday, April 16th, Dr. Rossi called to report that Nala's blood work came back, and she tested negative for both Addison's and Hyperthyroidism, but again her bilirubin was elevated. I reported that Nala was doing really good and eating well and taking her medicine. Nala is due to go back to the vet on Tuesday for more blood tests.
At this point, Dr. Rossi believes that Nala is having a problem with her liver, and that she is feeling better because of the medicine she is on (Ursodiol). In total, we have had to charge $1,290.19 in my daughters Care Credit card, which we of course have to pay back. It looks like Nala may need to be on the Ursodiol for awhile, and it's a very expensive medication, ($400 per month!!). I am however trying to find it for a lower price online.
We adopted Nala from Rottweiler Rescue of Los Angeles when she was 6 months old. She will be 7 years in August of 2015. We love her very much and are trying to do our best by her, but we are also on an extremely tight budget right now. Any help that you all can offer to pay for these vet bills would be extremely appreciated.
She continued to throw up on Sunday, at which point I called my daughters, friends father (whom is a vet) for advise. We checked her gum color, which was pink, and her temperature which was normal. She didn't seem to terribly dehydrated, so we thought we could wait until Monday to take her to the vet, as we could not afford the cost of emergency care.
She got worse through Sunday evening and into the night. She continued to throw up bile. At this point, she was refusing to even drink water, and she began panting heavily. She didn't have a fever, so I assumed that she was in pain, especially since she would startle if I touched her belly.
Monday morning, April 13th, I took her to the vet (daughter's friends father) who accessed her for me. He was really concered with her having some sort of blockage, and since Nala is such a big dog, and he had older equipment, we needed to find another vet who could get some good images.
We ended up taking her to Pet Hospital (PH) in Orange, to see Dr. Rossi. Dr. Rossi took x-rays, and blood work from Nala, gave her some medicine for vomiting, and gave her IV fluids. She was 113 pounds when we checked in. I was advised that so far, all blood panels have come back pretty normal, except her red blood cell count has been a little high (which is to be expected with the vomiting) and her bilirubin seemed elevated. I was told that I could pick her up in the evening, and bring her back the next morning for more tests. They couldn't see any blockage in the x-rays, and they knew we were on a budget, so she had a tech in on Tuesday who was training to do ultrasounds, and Dr. Rossi wanted her to see if she could do it to save us some money. Dr. Rossi gave Nala some barium before we left, hoping that she could keep some down and she could get some enhanced images the next day. Nala threw up barium when they brought her out, and again when we arrived at home. She was offered food a little while after we got home, but didn't want it, but she did drink some water. She spit up two times Monday evening.
We took her back to PH on Tuesday, April 14th, for monitoring and follow-up tests She now weighed 118lbs at check-in. Dr. Rossi had her tech do the ultrasound, but they couldn't get clear pictures, so they had to have the pro do it. Good thing that came out of this was that she could tell that Nala didn't have any blockage for sure. Nala also had managed to keep some of the barium down, and this gave Dr. Rossi some enhanced x-rays to view. She ordered further blood tests to check for Addison's and Hyperthyroid disease. I was able to pick-up Nala on Tuesday, and bring her home with 3 medications to give her, 1 which supports her liver function, the other 2 for her stomach. Nala ate a little boiled chicken on Tuesday evening!!! :)
On Wednesday, April 15th in the morning, I gave Nala her 6 pills and gave her some chicken and rice and she ate again!! Then I went to work. My husband reported that she didn't throw up all day. On Wed evening, I gave her 6 more pills and more food with the same result.
On Thursday, April 16th, Dr. Rossi called to report that Nala's blood work came back, and she tested negative for both Addison's and Hyperthyroidism, but again her bilirubin was elevated. I reported that Nala was doing really good and eating well and taking her medicine. Nala is due to go back to the vet on Tuesday for more blood tests.
At this point, Dr. Rossi believes that Nala is having a problem with her liver, and that she is feeling better because of the medicine she is on (Ursodiol). In total, we have had to charge $1,290.19 in my daughters Care Credit card, which we of course have to pay back. It looks like Nala may need to be on the Ursodiol for awhile, and it's a very expensive medication, ($400 per month!!). I am however trying to find it for a lower price online.
We adopted Nala from Rottweiler Rescue of Los Angeles when she was 6 months old. She will be 7 years in August of 2015. We love her very much and are trying to do our best by her, but we are also on an extremely tight budget right now. Any help that you all can offer to pay for these vet bills would be extremely appreciated.
Organizer
Lorraine Stricker
Organizer
Brea, CA