A long road to healing: How WSU saved Winnie

Las Vegas resident Victoria Day helplessly watched as her beloved German shepherd, Barry, succumbed to cancer. And now, just a month later, her dachshund, Winnie, was withering away before her eyes.

Day suspected Winnie was mourning the loss of Barry; however, her symptoms grew ever more concerning. She was vomiting, refusing food - even her favorite treats - and she soon had lost nearly a fifth of her weight. She was starving, and despite multiple visits with veterinarians, the cause of her symptoms remained elusive.

"She just kept getting worse," Day said. "We couldn't figure out what was wrong, and I was just a basket case."

The answers, it turned out, were a 16-hour, thousand-mile drive north at Washington State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Pullman, Washington, where veterinarians would determine Winnie was suffering from life-threatening stomach ulcers and begin nursing her back to health.

Signs of trouble

Barry's diagnosis of anal gland cancer in February marked the beginning of a challenging period for Day and her pets. Winnie, a normally spunky and playful 2-year-old, started showing concerning signs as Barry's condition deteriorated.

"As he got sicker, she started seeming depressed. She wouldn't go out and play and things like that," Day said.

By early April, Winnie had lost 2 pounds, an alarming amount for a dog that had weighed only 12 pounds.

Veterinarians in Vegas initially suspected pancreatitis, but tests came back negative. While antibiotics showed some promise, Winnie still shunned food and continued to decline. After more than a month, answers to the cause remained elusive.

Finding answers

Not long after Barry passed away, Day planned a road trip to visit her son in Ellensburg, Washington. Knowing WSU would not be much out of the way, she asked her son to see if a last-minute appointment was available. In a stroke of luck, a cancellation meant she could be seen the following day. Still in Nevada, Day drove through much of the night to make it in time for the 7:30 a.m. appointment.

Winnie was initially seen by Dr. Matt Mason and the Community Practice team. A suite of tests was conducted, ruling out conditions like Addison's disease and cancer. Without a definitive answer, Winnie's care was turned over to Dr. Lela Remington at WSU's Internal Medicine service. The following day, a scoping procedure was performed to get a better look at Winnie's upper gastrointestinal tract. Finally, a culprit had emerged.

"One of the big concerns we had for Winnie is she had chronically dark stools, which made us suspicious of a gastric bleed," Remington said. "The scoping found areas of ulceration. That was likely a contributing factor in her dark stools, and, honestly, probably what made her feel poor enough to not want to eat."

Additional testing revealed Winnie was suffering from chronic gastric inflammation, which was likely the catalyst of the ulcers.

To ensure Winnie could receive proper nutrients, a feeding tube was placed through her neck and into her esophagus. She was also prescribed medications to promote healing of the ulcers and stimulate her appetite.

Back at home

Winnie is now back at home, having gained her weight back, and a recent scope indicates her ulcers have completely healed. She tolerates her feeding tube, but other than a taste or two, she still refuses food. Remington is working with Winnie's primary veterinarian in Nevada to ensure the dachshund continues to improve.

"At this point," Day said, "there's no physical reason for her not to be eating. It's just all mental - she associates food with pain. She's taking a few little bites, which before she wouldn't even look at the food. It is baby steps."

Winnie will need to eat on her own for two weeks before her feeding tube is removed. At that point, she will likely need to remain on a specialized diet.

"With the feeding tube we can supplement her nutrition, and we don't have to worry about her worsening and losing weight," Remington said. "But it's going to be a bit of a journey to retrain her brain to wanting to eat normal portions of food."

While Winnie's journey is not over, Day is relieved she is heading in a positive direction. "I don't think she'd be here now if I hadn't gone to WSU," she said. "I wish I could remember the names of everyone there who helped us - the people at the front desk, the technicians, the students, all the vets. They are fantastic, and how they treated me and saved Winnie means the world to me."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.