Four Paws up for Gastroparesis

Some people are still shocked to hear that animals can suffer from Gastroparesis and other Digestive Tract Paralysis conditions and are amazed to hear that I, as a Gastroparesis sufferer, happen to be owned by a Long Haired Chihuahua who also has Gastroparesis!

Loki (the above named Chihuahua that owns me) is not alone in the canine community when it comes to having Gastroparesis, here is another dog with Gastroparesis who owns a blogger! (http://starcraving.wordpress.com/2008/01/12/gastroparesis-my-dog-the-good-the-bad-the-crunchy/)!

In fact, if you do a search on the Internet about Electrical Stimulation for the treatment of Gastroparesis you will find that dogs with Gastroparesis (mostly diabetic gastroparesis) were the used to test the Gastric Pacemakers that help so many Gastroparesis sufferers. (http://www.uptodate.com/patients/content/topic.do?topicKey=~7XXoSLm_kv_Ho)

The fact that my dog was diagnosed before I was saved his life and gave me a better understanding of Gastroparesis and what to expect by watching him as he went on a low fat low fiber prescription diet.

Loki was my Service Dog, and still is in the Home (I have various mobility issues and he helps me with many daily tasks) but he had to retire from working out of the home because of the stress it put on him. He became very defensive of me, if I was hurting and he was hurting then no one could come near me and this is not acceptable in a Service Dog.

We have a very close bond, when I talk to him he is always looking into my eyes, head cocking to the left and the right as he tries to make out the strange noises I am making (He humors me alot in this, lol) and I can always tell when something is wrong and what is bothering him. He will just look at me in a certain way and I know that his belly is hurting, or he has a headache and when he feels he needs one he will bring me the TUMS bottle for a quarter of a TUMS and sometimes will not touch it until I have one if he thinks I need it.

The truth of the matter is that if an animal has a nervous system then they can suffer from the same nerve issues and damage is humans, and this includes vagus nerve issues. Dogs that seem to throw up undigested food hours after eating (cats and other animals as well), have 'poor appetites', are 'picky eaters' or always seem to be eating grass might very well be suffering from Gastroparesis.

Loki has a few quirks that go along with his tiny pawed walk with Gastroparesis... like the fact that he refuses to drink! He used to be willing to drink from a water bottle (he has never been willing to drink from a bowl, maybe because of the air that is taken in making him uncomfortable) but now the only way he will take in water is with his food. This is not as big of an issue since he gets many small meals a day and I monitor carefully how much water he gets a day, but when I am not able to be with him he often will refuse a meal and that worries me.

There are three things that he will lap up with a gusto... any smoothie (yes, I have made him special little smoothies on hot days to encourage fluid intake), iced coffee (he goes absolutely nuts when he sees one but only gets a few drops) and green bean broth!

This pup refuses to drink meat broths, lick ice cubes or touch any of the special liquid treats that he has been offered... he knows what he likes and what does not make him sick and that is what he will drink and nothing more. (I wish I had that kind of will power at times)

This does not mean that he is not above snorffling up the odd tasty bit at rest stops when we are on a trip so we have to keep a very careful eye on him when he is walking us at one of those because the stray french fry, bit of leftover sandwich that did not make it in the trash or other goodie strangers were kind enough to leave on the ground just for him is absolutely irresistible! (If they left Gatorade on the ground, however, he would not touch it with a 10 foot cat!)

So, today, Loki is giving four paws up for Gastroparesis in solidarity to his canine GP sufferers! (Four paws up is a wonderful thing to give and puts the belly in the perfect position for a good gentle rub :) )