A few weeks ago, we noticed that Jasper was feeling a little under the weather. He had been throwing up a couple of times a week and seemed to be slowing down a bit. Over the weekend, he got markedly more lethargic, so we took him to the vet first thing Monday. The vet wasn't sure what was wrong with him, so she decided to treat the symptoms and give him some antibiotics, in hopes that it was just a little bug that we could knock out. By Tuesday night, it was clear that he was feeling worse and was having trouble keeping down the chicken and rice that we were making for him . We headed back to the vet first thing Wednesday morning. Our vet took one look and him and decided he needed some more diagnostics and that we should go to a clinic that could do an ultrasound and bloodwork on site. They referred us to Oak Springs Veterinary Diagnostic Clinic in Oak Hill, and we made an appointment for a few hours later.
By the time we got to our appointment, Jasper had gone downhill. He was barely able to get up, and I had to help him walk into the clinic. We got in to see Dr. Donup right away, and he started the diagnostics. After an x-ray, bloodwork, and an ultrasound, it was determined that he had pancreatitis and was in kidney failure. Dr. Donup wasn't sure which problem came first (the kidneys or the pancreas). He was concerned about Jasper's kidneys possibly being a congenital problem, since they appeared shrunken and thick, but there wasn't any way to know since he'd never had any previous blood work. Dr. Donup recommended treatment of fluid therapy and strong antibiotics. He sent off more tests, hoping that we could pinpoint the exact cause.
Jasper spent Wednesday night at the animal hospital, and the kids and I went to see him on Thursday. We were so sad when we saw him. He wasn't improved at all and his only acknowledgement that we were there was when he inched his head over to rest it on my hand. He only lifted his head when he realized we were leaving. The vet assured us that it was too early to know whether or not the treatment would be unsuccessful, but I just knew that he wasn't going to improve. I called Bill at work and told him he should go visit Jasper. He did, and he had the same impression I had. We were bracing ourselves for the worst.
On Friday morning, I called to check on Jasper. The vet told me that Jasper was no better clinically, and in fact he'd started vomiting again. His bloodwork showed miniscule improvement, but his kidney levels were still off the charts. He was still just as lethargic and felt miserable. It was clear to us that he wasn't going to improve and we were just prolonging the inevitable while making him suffer. We talked as a family and decided the best thing for Jasper would be to let him go.
We were all heartbroken at the loss of Jasper. He was the most patient and loving dog anyone could have wished for. We miss him every day.
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