Alfie update

My boy is poorly.  The tests that he had yesterday have shown that he has a urate stone in his bladder. It is the size of an orange.  No wonder the poor boy is having wee problems.  They drew off over a litre of fluid from his bladder.  Urate stones are unique to Dalmatians.  They have a genetic problem that means they cannot process uric acid.  We have always been aware of this problem and they have always had a low protein diet.

Yesterday the plan was to have him back in today to operate to remove it.  However as he is 13 years old they were quite concerned about how he would stand up to the surgery.  So they have sought advice from the college of veterinary surgeons and it has been decided that the best course of action right now is to use a special prescription diet which has good results with breaking down these kind of stones.

This is not the normal suvite type of stone which is made up of  minerals.  Apparently this kind of stone is possible to break down.  It will take several months because it is so large.  They say we should see an improvement in around a week.  The diet is Hills U/D and is incredibly expensive.  Around £80 for a 12 kilo sack.  The vet seems to think that our insurance will pay got it.  I hope so as we can do without adding more expenditure to our monthly bills now we are on less income.

Simon is bringing the food home this afternoon so I just hope he will eat it.  He cannot have anything else at all.  No treats, no biscuits, no chews and definitely no chicken and rice. The poor boy won't know what has hit him.  He will continue with the antibiotics and pain killers for the next few months.  I will speak to the vet next Friday to let her know how he is and if all is going OK then they will see him just after Christmas to do another scan to see what is happening.   If he will not eat the food or anything goes wrong then the operation will have to be carried out.  It is a last resort.

I haven't had to be Mrs Mop today.  He is managing small wees outside.  He is not currently leaking when he lays down but this will probably return.  It was caused by his bladder being so full. In anticipation of further problems I have ordered some brolly sheets which should arrive tomorrow. These are designed for the beds of incontinent people.  They have a fabric upper layer with an inner core to draw away any moisture and a water proof backing.  They kind of work like a babies nappy.  They are nice and big so will cover all his normal bedding or I can put one on the sofa when he wants to sit with Simon.  They are washable and can be tumble dried too.

So,all in all it could have been much worse.  This is bad but hopefully he will get better.  He is currently sleeping peacefully next to Simon.  

I will try to get back on her over the weekend but no doubt as usual it will be busy.  I shall be helping at the dog rescue kennels in the morning.