What is my dog's liver problem?

Question

My husky is very sick--took to ER yesterday morning. First vet puzzled-high enzyme count, dehydrated, bloody stool---came on suddenly. Called us--dog started to crash---we ran in and sat with her--she got better. She had gone into shock--they couldn't wake her---in an hour she was walking around with her IV. Vet says extremely small liver--not sure what is causing sickness---may be HGE--as tests ruled out many other things. Felt enzyme levels may be high due to dehydration. Vet on second shift calls us--he reviews x-rays 1st vet took---he feels she has a large growth. The 1st vet never mentioned this. He suggests putting her down. We decided to do that last night---then decided to leave her overnight to see how she is today. What do we do? She is only 6. We don't want her to be in pain---but can't believe the 1st vet didn't see large growth. We are thinking of picking her up tonight and taking to our vet tomorrow morning---but don't want her suffering tonight.
Any help?

Thanks for answers---except the shooting one. I will ask vet about Addison's. Vet just called and said she is up and wants to go outside---in very good shape. But we do know that will most likely change when IV stops. He suggested taking dog home tonight or early in morning as our Vet appt. is at 10 a.m. and having an ultrasound to check out the growth he sees.

Answer 1

First of all, I am very sorry to hear about your beloved pet and the difficulty you are having with her. Our pets are our "family" as much as our brothers and sisters are.
The main thing to keep in mind here is this: you do NOT want your dog to suffer.
If it looks like the growth could be an inoperable tumor or perhaps even cancerous, don't for a moment think about YOURSELF and how much you would miss your dog, but think about your dog and how much she might be suffering.
For me, it wasn't a dog but a Calico cat that had been with me for many years who finally developed CRF or Chronic Renal Failure, her kidneys were giving out.
I made the very difficult decision of putting her down rather than have her suffer any longer and it is a decision I've come to realize was the best one for me because it prevented her from any more suffering.

For the question of what might be causing her illness, I can only leave that decision up to your Vet, BUT...has your dog been around any driveways where she could have licked up any Anti-freeze or transmission fluids or perhaps any other household cleaners or chemicals in your kitchen or garage?
This is just a thought that I'm throwing out here.
If you want, read through these links for more information:
"Antifreeze: ethylene glycol can be deadly, even in small doses for all animal species. Symptoms may include drunkenness, staggering, weakness, depression, renal failure and death."
http://www.4militaryfamilies.com/pets-poisons.htm
http://www.seco.noaa.gov/ENV/Factsheets/antifreeze.html
http://www.dog-first-aid-101.com/household-poisons.html

Good luck!

ADD EDIT:
Thanks for your update. Please keep us posted.

Answer 2

Have the vet run a test to diagnose Addison's disease. If it looks like she's in renal failure it well may be disease. The symptoms of Addison's disease are: lethargic, weak in the legs, shaking, enzymes out of whack, and especially dehydrated. This disease is manageable and needs daily medications. There is also a website www.k9addisons.com that is a great help with dogs affected by this disease.

Unfortunately a lot of vet's don't recognize the symptoms of this disease or test for it until it is too late. Some people end up paying thousands of dollars before they get the correct diagnosis.

Good luck to you and your pup. I hope this information is able to help you.

PS They will bounce back quickly after IV fluids!!!

PPS If your dog has Addison's diease she will need florinef and predisone daily to maintain optimum hormone levels. If you take your dog off the IV fluids and take her home, she will crash again because the body's adrenal glands are not making the proper amounts of cortisol to maintain proper enzyme levels. Please go to the site I recommended, it helps us tremendously with our dog. If you have any other questions, please contact me directly.

Answer 3

You may wnat another opinion at another clinic possibly an internest - and by the way ask if Addisons is a possiblilty. Except for the mass (which may or may not exist since the vets seem to be divided) the symptoms match Addisons but are not exclusive of Addisons

Answer 4

I would leave her at the ER, pick her up first thing Monday morning and take her to your vet. Make the ER give you the x-rays so your vet can look at them. And the results of all the tests they ran. Then your vet can review them and see what is going on. Good luck.

Answer 5

I hope not. TLC and medicine can help. I wish you well. My daughter had a kitten with acute liver failure. The vet we took her to wanted to put her down that day..We waited until the next Monday when our vet was available. I am happy to say that the cat is now 6 years old and very healthy.

Answer 6

CANINE HGE: http://www.vetinfo.com/dencyclopedia/dehge.html

But if there is a growth.
I would find out what is wrong with your baby, and maybe it can be helped.

Let her stay with the Vet at least until your Vet is open.
So sorry for your babies pain.

Answer 7

hmm.. if the vet doesn't REALLY know what's wrong... the best thing to do would to be to stop her suffering.

i know how u feel.. i had to put my dog down.

Answer 8

I'm really sorry about this. My prayers will be with you and your dog. It could be liver cancer. If that is so, I reccomend that you put her to sleep.

Answer 9

put her to sleep. she's suffering too much

Answer 10

Shoot her.