Letters from readers:

Problems for Yorkie after stroke

Hello,
My name is Diane. I have a six-year-old, 51-52lb Yorkshire Terrier, called Madeline. Two years ago she had a stroke which has been diagnosed as FCE in her hind left leg. In the last two years, she has had stem cell surgery, about five shots now, and there has not really been any marked improvement in that leg. She had a rabies shot this last May and about five days later, she had a mild seizure. My Vet suggested that she should have a MRI of the brain, which thankfully revealed nothing. An x-ray of her liver did show an enlarged liver, and she has had two liver bile enzyme tests, with one result of 70 and the next one at 30.

She is scheduled for another test for her liver bile next week and maybe an ultrasound of the liver to see if things have gotten better. Other than that, she is a very happy dog. Her blood work is all normal, and she does get around quite well despite her paralysis of that left leg. My vet did find that she has hip dysplasia and arthritis in that leg because of the stroke. I have read about Adequan and have spoken to my vet about possibily trying it on her to see if it would help her get around more comfortably. Oh, and she has luxating patella in her right leg.

With all that said, do you have any information that you could possibly tell me, and do you think that it is safe to administer these shots to her? I'm sure, if anything, Adequan would help her other joints, since they take a beating because of the way she walks. What are the side effects of this drug, if any? Any insight would be appreciated. - Diane

Hello Diane,
I was sorry to hear that your little Yorkie has had so many problems for one only six years old. I would say try this website: http://www.animalphysicaltherapynv.com/toc.htm - there are dogs in therapy there with the same problems and although I have never contacted the organisation they do invite questions. Many such problems in dogs are also human problems and although this is quite rare in humans there are still quite a few cases in very young people (and one I read about before birth). The treatment seems to be mostly physical therapy and slow build-up of strength, as with the dog version. In view of your little girl's problems I would say that the main thing is to get her healthy again and back to where she is strong enough to fight off these problems or to cope with them. To have a rabies shot when she is so weakened it does not surprise me that she had a seizure. Again I think we need to look at the human equivalent. A vet (surely more at-risk from rabies than any other person or animal) is recommended to have rabies inocculation only once to be immune for life. I am quite sure that a dog also needs only one - the yearly myth is carried on by hysterical people and greedy chemical companies.

The main thing now is to get her off any foods that could possibly contain preservatives, toxins, chemicals, colourants, pollutants or any other form of inferior food products. If she is on any ready prepared food my advice would be to throw it out and put her on totally natural food. As with another letter in this issue I think that as dogs are omnivores not carnivores they need a variety of food. A big raw meaty beef bone about once a week will keep your wee girl's teeth clean and give her hours of pleasure. Dogs also eat grasses and herbs, fruit and vegetables. A raw carrot to chew on or a piece of apple or other fruit is a good snack, or fill her kong toy with a mixture of foods such as plain cottage cheese, pieces of tinned fish (tinned in water or oil, not brine), grated pumpkin, cooked brown rice or frozen mixed vegetables. For the evening meal stay away from anything called dog food.

The few good natural foods on the market are hugely expensive, so it is best to give your little girl home cooked meals. Organic chicken mince (or other organic meat minces) or gravy beef is a good start, or you can cook up a large pot full of the mince with vegetables and thicken it with a few unrefined rolled oats or a handful of unpolished rice (all non-GM of course). Add some oil to the cooled stew - omega 3 and 6 if possible, or virgin olive oil or coconut oil. The coconut oil is very good. Such a mixture keeps well in the fridge or freezer and can be stored in daily portions.

Gluten grains like wheat, barley, rye etc, dairy products, soy and corn are all foods that dogs with seizures should not eat, and ordinary dog food is chock-full especially of wheat and corn. And of course all the other stuff in commercial dog foods such as preservatives, flavour enhancers, colourings, bleach, rancid oil, diseased carcases and various chemicals that were used to euthanise the diseased carcases. Even the pieces of meat you see in dog food are mostly rendered, ground and extruded along with the rest of the junk in to bite-size bits to make it look good.

I would be rather wary about starting her on any medications now that she would be on for life, such as Adequan. I had a little chihuahua who had patella luxation most of his life and it never worried him at all. It is your little dog's over-all health that now needs to be addressed and I am sure that following a natural diet will help her liver recovery as well. Make sure you talk over everything with your vet and question everything. The main thing is to keep her right off any medication that is not absolutely necessary, and build up her strength and immunity with good natural food. And if she does eventually need to start something like Adequan she will be by then much more equipped to cope with it. - Ed