DAISY LIVER SHUNT PUPPY

by Ricky · Published 02/10/2019 · Updated 12/11/2020

Daisy was surrendered to us in May 2019 from the Animal Welfare League, Daisy was on deaths door with Liver Shunt complications. If D2DR was unable to give her the care needed she was going to be euthanized, as the AWL did not have the resources to care for her critical condition. She was 3 months of age and weighed 3 kg.

She was transferred to Dr Lance Wilson Animal Referral Hospital in Brisbane for 10 days critical care unit where she was monitored and cared for till she was able to come into foster care.
To Date Daisy’s medical bills are $4288.00

Her condition is known as:
A Porto systemic shunt (PSS), also known as a liver shunt, is a bypass of the liver by the body’s circulatory system. It can be either a congenital (present at birth) or acquired condition. Congenital PSS is a hereditary condition in dogs and cats, its frequency varying depending on the breed.

I put my hand up to foster her as I was the closest to the hospital (10 mins) should her condition deteriorate at any time.

She was so skinny, so flat, but so sweet.

Over the next 3 months, we did have a couple of close calls with hospitalization on 2 more occasions.

She was too young and not well enough for the hospital Team to do any CT scans as yet to determine what sort of Liver Shunt she has and also if it is operable, I have attached a link which may help you to understand this condition if you have not come across it before, as I had not.

She did have an ultra sound to try and determine the location of the liver shunt however this was inconclusive which meant she would need a CT scan.

Daisy was on medication twice a day and special food Hills L/D wet and dry.

She continued to thrive being fed 4 small meals a day, absolutely no other types of food, so as to not overload her under developed Liver.

Weighing in at 5.4 kg, she was healthy enough to have a CT scan at 6 months. The results of the CT scan did not confirm a standard porto-caval shunt with an adequate portal vein size for surgery to proceed, rather a very unusual one.

Considering the risks involved with surgery under these circumstances and taking into consideration how well Daisy has done with the care and special diet we decided to leave things as is.

This condition was a first for all the D2DR Team, we’ve been through so many IVDD episodes, broken bones and lots of dental decay and infections, it’s one I hope to never see again, but from a huge amount of hours researching this condition Daisy is certainly not on her own!
Please enjoy browsing the pics of Daisy as she grows and thrives in our care.

It has been a wonderful experience for us at D2DR to relish in her progress over the past 3 months, to see her grow and get stronger, see her play with so much energy and have had the pleasure of doing what we do best for the Dachshunds in our care.

We cannot do what we do without the support and donations from our beloved Dachshund Community and Friends and supporters of D2DR.

If you would like to assist in helping us with a donation towards Daisy’s vet bill we would be grateful as it helps us to help more dachshunds that come into our care.

For Vet Care, Specialist Care, Travel Costs, Food, Medication, Preventive Care