New rescue Zoey needs help

Dearest Family,
I stop in to catch up,but have not been able to write. Koko passed away May20, 2023 and I have been lost ever since. The grief overwhelming. Friday a small Lhasa apso named Zoey arrived in a transport from Texas with 30 other dogs. She was terrified and with her foster mom for 48 hours. Foster mom said she had stress diarrhea, tried various food for her to eat and she ate chicken, hated the kibble and ate a bit of some canned food.I brought her home Sunday afternoon. she is so loving and sweet. I hand fed her some pcs of the same kibble with bits of chicken Sunday afternoon and then put out her kibble again, adding a tablespoon of rice and chicken, She ate some of that but then had blood in her stool the next day. She also threw up bile at 4:30 am. Foster mom said she did not have blood in her stool at her house and I said she barely ate there and what happens when she eats more. She said it is common she sees this all the time and Iit will resolve on its own. Monday I fed her 2 tablespoons of rice and chicken every 2-3 hours, she ate it willing and wanted more each time. She was happy and playing and was great. She then ate some of her kibble that nite on her own. Tuesday morning stool was not watery right away and she went maybe 3 times each one more mushy but only last one had a spot of blood. She was so happy and doing the zoomies. She went for walks, she was great. Tuesday My plan was to try to give her chicken and rice 4 tablespoon with7 pcs of kibble 3 times a day with small snack before bed. . She was happy Tuesday morning ate willingly had some poops but no blood still more than 1 but not water. Fed her the same for lunch. We went outside in the yard some neighbors topped to say he, I did not let anyone pet her though. She seemed calm in my arms.
Then in the afternoon, she stopped running around the house, went into the bathroom and laid down and stopped following me. I let her sleep. Foster mom said she is decompressing and let her eat when she wants to eat don’t force her and keep 1/2 cup of kibble out she has to learn to eat it. She now will only eat a small amount of chicken. She was up very few hours all last nite having small watery splats of poop, no blood. She keeps licking her butt and sits like it hurts. She is not passing gas.
I had no problem with Zoe or Koko when they came home from animal control. They did not have diahrrea and I had to start cold turkey on a new food. I don’t know how to help her
and a trip to the vet right now may not work.
It is like Zoey with a y was sent to me when I needed her most. She is terribly matted but can’t get her groomed with this diahrrea.
Any input would be most appreciated. With our first Zoe and her colitis and IBS, none of it was this bad. I am at a loss. I might be rambling as I have not sleep for 3 days, sorry.
With much love.
Ps I have all her medical records from when she was a puppy. She is 2 and was well taken care of until her mom developed liver cancer and could no longer care for her. Her last vet visit was Dec 7, 2023. she was deemed healthy for transport by a vet before she left Texas.Kokos vet let me down at the end of his life, I can’t go back to him so need to establish care with new vet. She weighs 12.5 pounds.
Addy

Our dear Addy,

First, I am just so so sorry about Koko. It is hard enough when we know it's coming but to have those we trust most fail us at the most important time compounds everything. I know you did your utmost on his behalf, always, and so does Koko. One of these days, he will tell you this himself when it is time for you to cross The Bridge. Until then, he and Zoe are going to watch over you and their new sister.

Second, bless your sweet heart for finding room for Zoey. You're right...she came along at the perfect time, for both of you. I know you will bring each other much joy and healing.

Now, what I see first of all in your message is the kibble seems to be the problem. Why does she have to have the kibble? We like to think that kibble plays a role in keeping teeth clean but according to our vets that isn't true. Toys designed for the teeth and gums do a better job. So I would stop giving the kibble and find a canned food with limited ingredients OR start home cooking for her. My first thought is some sort of food sensitivity or allergy to it and kibbles have a lot of additives to make up for the loss of nutrients in the processing of the kibble. So it could easily be the culprit. My bud has had issues with his skin for years but so far this year he has not developed any sores. I changed him to Blue Basics this past fall and hopefully it will help him. Food is medicine for us and for them. So that is where I would start. Keep her on the chicken and rice for now til she seems settled and then start trying some canned foods. If you want to cook, I highly recommend Jody Zesko with SpotOnNutrition. She was trained under Monica Segal who has basically retired from taking clients.

Meanwhile, start interviewing vets. She may need one to get her innards calmed down or she may need regular meds like Tylan or Metronizadole. Regardless she will need a vet on her side so start that awful process. Doc B is getting ready to retire and I am going to have to do the same thing and I just hate it. Doc can't be replaced, sadly. Hopefully, you will find your Doc B soon. I hope so...they are a true treasure.

Finally, I am so glad to hear from you again even if the circumstances aren't quite perfect. You are still, always, family, Addy.
Hugs,
Leslie

I'm so sorry, Addy...I was grief-stricken when Lena left me, then Gable. I still miss them both terribly.

We got a chihuahua puppy when our Doree passed last year at the age of 19. Raina, who is now one, eats everything and anything she can find and I have spent many days trying to find ways to help her when she gets sick. I have found that carafate helps soothe the upset tummy issues, but we have had to bring her to the vet many times. Two weeks ago it was bloody diarrhea and vomiting, and we were in the ER for hours getting xrays, cerenia and fluids. I eventually figured out it was the ground turkey I had fed her. For some reason it bothered her, but not the two others who had the same thing. A day of fasting, chicken and a little rice and she was back to normal, until she ate something else outside...back to carafate! She never learns!

I think Leslie is right about the kibble. Her plan sounds like a good one for Zoey. I hope you find a vet you can trust and have confidence in. As we all know, that is hugely important. One who will listen to us, work with us, and always make us feel that they truly understand. I have been very lucky with mine, who is part of a group, and the only one I will truly trust. I know in my heart that if he had been available when Gable was so sick, that he might not have died. I knew he was dying, but was not paid attention to by the one in the group who saw him that day.

Love,
Joan

Thank you Leslie and Joann, your input means a lot.
I spoke with a vet group today and I am bringing Zoey in. They said they see a lot of parasites in the Texas dogs that come up. They do a standard deworming and that parasites could be causing her not to want to eat. She said they do come up very stressed.
I had planned to continue using Honest Kitchen for her as the food served Koko so well but because she was started on this kibble and already has gastric upset, I did not want to again change something, just try to stabilize her first for a bit. Now she won’t eat the rice and chicken.
Hope she will be ok.

If this group does not work, a friend mentioned another near by vet. Ugh, you might remember all the spats I had with Miss Zoe’s IMS. So many private practices are being swallowed up by the huge chains backed by private equity groups. I. One vet told me they were not taking new patients.
Zoe with a y is the sweetest loving little girl. She tries so hard and just wants love and safety.
I think she can heal this huge hole. I hope it all works out.
I’ll let you know what the vet says.
Lots of love and hugs.

Hey Addy!

About a month ago Jax had really foul smelly diarrhea, took him to the vets and he had colitis brought on from antibiotics plus stress. Vet gave me pro pectalin and metronidiazole. That pro pectalin worked fast, the first pill formed his stools and one can purchase it without a script.

So, so sorry about precious Koko and my heart goes out to you. Sending huge and loving hugs, Lori

Hi Lori,
Thank you for replying. I will make a note of the pro pectalin that is useful info. The new vet seems to understand the situation, Zoey is bonding but I don’t have 100 percent trust yet, she’s traumatized. Vet is trying to keep her stress down, she gave me an appetite stimulater, tiny pieces of a pill. The problem is Zoey wil not eat anything now. I tried to put the piece of pill in a small piece of chicken, I opened her mouth and popped it in but did not get it back far enough and she spit it out. Tried another time and missed after that she was growling and showing teeth so had to stop. Pill was dissolved anyway and worthless. So back to the vet we go today for an injection. She is now throwing up bile and it has been 48 hours since she ate. Vet was not worried yesterday, not sure what happens today.Not sure why everything went south Tuesday afternoon.
Foster mom said she was decompressing and she will eat when she’s ready but now she is vomiting bile. She only drank water twice today. This morning she was not hiding and her tail was up so thought we made progress. Seems like 1 step forward, 2 back. I need to be able to give her medication. She was a different dog Monday and Tuesday. I don’t get it.

Oh Addy, I’m so sorry I’m so late to see your posts here!!! And words cannot tell you how my heart goes out to you about Koko. Our sweet, sweet boy. I’ll write more later on, but quickly wanted to just add a couple thoughts about Zoey before any more time passes this morning.

I’m wondering if she might possibly be having an acute attack of pancreatitis? When Peg had her attack, it came on very quickly, too. If that’s what it is, I think you’re doing the right thing by continuing to keep her quiet and limiting her food to very bland stuff like super mushy white rice and the chicken breast. I’m trying to remember what else our vet gave us but it’s been so long now I’ve forgotten. But it might be something to ask the new vet about if it seems like a possibility.

I think Lori’s suggestions of Pro Pectalin and metronidazole are great. We used metronidazole with both Peg and Luna during GI upsets. And I think we got Pro Pectalin once in a gel form that comes in a large syringe that was easier to get the dogs to lick as opposed to a pill. We also got another syringe paste for Luna called Pro Max which is a probiotic blend. She really liked the taste of that paste and would lick it off my fingers when she wouldn’t put anything else in her mouth. That also seemed to soothe her GI tract when she was having the bloody diarrhea.

Anyway, everybody has already given you such good tips and I surely hope that something helps little Zoey! Please keep us updated!!!

Sending much love and healing hugs…

P.S. I just tried searching for Pro Max and it looks like a British company made it and it’s not available here in the U.S. anymore. Oh well. But the Pro Pectin should still be a good option.

Hey Addy, still thinking about you and little Zoey, and surely hoping that things have improved.

Continuing to send healing thoughts your way…

Oh Marianne, It was with much grief and heartache, it was decided to give Zoey back to her foster mom. I had her eating and happy and stools improving but it took us a vet visit everyday. It was the perfect storm of everything that could possibly go wrong in 10 days did and I was headed for a possible hospital stay. It was the hardest thing I have ever done but her vet said she was positive I made the right decision.
Not sure we can ever have a dog again as I was also allergic to her.
So much sadness to bear but I did what I thought was best for her.
With much love and a broken heart.

Oh my dear Addy, my heart goes out to you and my arms are reaching out to hug you from across the miles. Sometimes the right thing to do is also the hardest thing to do. But you went ahead and did it anyway, mustering every bit of courage you could find. I do believe you did the right thing here, but at such a price to your own heart. I am so sorry, my friend. I so hope that now you’ll be able to find the space to allow yourself to rest and to heal

Yesterday on another of our dear member’s threads, I posted this quote I had just found. I won’t repeat the story behind it, but it is attributed to Franz Kafka:

“Every thing you love is very likely to be lost, but in the end, love will return in a different form.”

The first part of the quote breaks my heart because as I age, myself, I realize it’s likely true as so much in my life that has meant so much to me has already changed over time. But the second part gives me hope and comfort, because I think it’s likely true, too. I really do. I’m still not sure that we’ll have another dog again, either, and if not, that makes me so very sad. But maybe there’s another way or another form in which the love I’ve shared with my babies will return to me. I just don’t yet know — or at least I haven’t yet recognized it.

But don’t give up hope, my friend. Even for such a short time, you gifted little Zoey with your loving arms when she likely needed them most. And in some way, in some form, I choose to believe that love will also return to you. Because love is forever.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

It’s me again. I just came back and re-read what I wrote earlier. And I realize I’m probably trying just as hard to buck up myself as I am you. I’m so grateful we have this place to talk.