Livin' with Liver Issues: Hugo's Story

Hugo here! Life has been interesting lately!

Back on February 23, Mom took sis and I to the base vet to have bloodwork done. Mom wanted me to have an elective surgery to remove some lumps on my chest and she planned to get sissy and my teeth cleaned at the same time, but the vet required bloodwork before they would put us under sedation.

Sissy's bloodwork came back great! Mine, not so much. My liver enzymes were really high, so the vet made me skip breakfast the next day and go back in for more bloodwork. That test came back even HIGHER.

As you can imagine, Mom was freaking out at this point and Dad was still deployed...it was an ugly sight in our house for a few days. Gigi and Aunt Kel made Mom feel a little better with a goodie box in the mail! Included with Mom's surprises was a blow-up cone for me to use post-surgery! What the heck, Aunt Kel!? I thought you loved us!?!

Reynolds wouldn't keep her face out of the way when Mom was trying it on me, so she got the cone of shame for a few minutes! Clearly, neither of us enjoyed the experience.

Gigi presents?! YAY!

We want whatever is in the box

ok nevermind. this is awful

Aunt Kel can have it back

heck no to this thing!?!

Let's just say I am NOT upset with my surgery being postponed!

Over the next few weeks, I had another round of bloodwork sent out to a national Japanese testing center that cleared some possible problems with my liver. That was a good sign, so they decided to try a liver supplement to hopefully help my liver numbers level out over the next two weeks.

Of course, before I take any meds, Mom runs it by my favorite vet of all time, Mrs. Shannon! Mrs. Shannon approved this supplement and even tried to mail the supplement to Mom, but the mail refused to send it to us in Japan... I'm telling you, the struggles of being an American dog in Japan are real!!!

During the two weeks of supplements, I got all the extra loving and attention from Mom! While she did break down crying a few times, I was sure to remind her that I feel fine and I am acting completely normal! I still love to play with sissy, retrieve my favorite squeaky balls, and wallow in her feather pillows! Nothing has changed for me other than the new morning routine of pill-shoving down my throat!

mom enjoying Gigi's treat

see I'm fine!

ok sissy needed extra love too

Sometimes Mom would even give us extra bones to enjoy filled with peanut butter. Reynolds eats hers so fast that she forgets she got one. This is how she reminds Mom that she is unloved and neglected in our house:

I hope you read my sarcasm. Sissy is a pain in my tail when she wants MY bone in addition to hers! Ugh- siblings.

Anyway, after two weeks of the supplement, I had more bloodwork done at the base vet that showed the supplement didn't help at all. So they told mom her next step was to go out in town to the Japanese vets to have an ultrasound and X-rays done.

Then Mom broke down crying in the vet's office. It was embarrassing!

After the nice ladies in the office calmed her down, they explained that they don't have the modern X-ray and ultrasound machines necessary for moving forward with my issues. They put together all of my records and sent the information over to my friends at Ikeda Vet Office.

Mom called them the next morning and Ms. Meg at Ikeda Vet Hospital was expecting Mom's call! They fit me in for first thing the next morning! So on the morning of Saturday, March 18 Mom drove me to Ikdea and dropped me off.

Yep, you read that right. Mom ABANDONED ME for the morning with Ms. Meg and they made me STAY IN A KENNEL. I felt like a stray dog. It was awful. But eventually, Ms. Meg took me out, shaved my belly and, with the help of the Japanese vet, took X-rays and an ultrasound of my belly so they could see what was happening with my liver.

By noon Mom came back and Ms. Meg explained that I don't have liver cancer. Praise God! I tried to tell Mom that I was ok well before this, but thanks to Ms. Meg, now she understands! What they did learn is that my mutt genes gave me the liver of a smaller dog and that it has to work extra hard to do its job in my bigger body. This means that any damage that my liver faces causes the bloodwork numbers to look worse than they are.

The bad part is that my liver does still have some damage, so Ms. Meg and the Japanese vet prescribed me some more meds to take for a month AND I have to go back once a week to get a shot that will help give my liver a break so it can repair the current damage.

prior to mom abandoning me

my insides

my insides again

me waiting for mom to pay

new meds from the vet

directions for new meds

So now I enjoy two pills in the morning, one pill in the afternoon and a weekly car ride (favorite part) to see Ms. Meg for a shot (least favorite part.) Luckily Dad came home in the midst of my pill/shot adventure so Mom doesn't have to take me by herself anymore!

Oh, and I also learned I hate being weighed at Ikeda Vet Hospital. They don't have a floor scale to weigh me, so Mom or Dad has to wrestle me up on the table, where I immediately begin drooling everywhere and shaking like crazy! I hate being up there- so Mom and Dad say I'm scared of heights!

I have to admit, though, my favorite of the vet visits happened the day Mom and Dad got home from their Bali trip! On April 7th, Mom and Dad loaded sis and I in the car and we went for our weekly Ikeda vet visit for my shot. BUT after I was a not-so-good-boy and tried to jump off the table and had to be wrestled back into place by Dad, I was rewarded with dinner out on the town!

Mom and Dad ate at Queen Kabab, a Turkish restaurant in the Ginza, and they took sissy and I! We were on our best behavior and sat quietly while they enjoyed dinner outside the restaurant. Sasebo isn't the most dog-friendly place we have lived, so this was the first time Reynolds and I have gotten to go out to eat with Mom and Dad- but we did so good Dad says we may have to try it again!

The Japanese people who walked by steered clear of us "big dogs," but we were friendly and wagged our tails at them while Mom and Dad said "Konichiwa!" After dinner, we walked through the Ginza! Reynolds was even on her best behavior and didn't bark at the little dog we passed (even though I think she just confused it with a rat on a leash.)

On April 15, we started our Saturday morning with another visit to Ikeda Animal Hospital! This time, I got more bloodwork done to see how the meds and shots were working. Good News! My liver enzyme numbers went down by half!!! While still well above normal, Meg and the Japanese vet said they want me to continue with the meds and shots for another month to see if we can get the levels even lower (and possibly in that good, healthy range!)

Dad also asked for clarification on what these shots are filled with. Ms. Meg replied "Placenta" and then rushed in the office to translate the word again when she saw Mom and Dad's faces. After experiencing some language barrier, Dad messaged Mrs. Shannon and learned that there is some new science that says "placental injections for canine hepatic function has been found to improve hepatopathies" - which mom translates into "Mrs. Shannon is the smartest vet and says it's good we live in Japan where these stem cell injections are available!"

Don't you love the pink ankle tape I had to wear after getting that bloodwork drawn? I am one stylish dog!!!

While all this stress has taken days off of Mom and Dad's lives- I am on my way to being perfectly healthy! And Mom and Dad are happy to report that all this has cost them $693.68‬ (so far) and I still need my lumps removed and our teeth cleaned. But hey, I don't have liver cancer!

Still waggin'

--Hugo