Roseanna, a pint sized version of a Jack Russell Terrier, suffers from liver disease. She is now almost two years old – quite an accomplishment considering she was not expected to live past six months of age. A typical day with Roseanna requires the administration of eight medications and when she’s having a rough day, we infuse her with 100-200 ml of lactated ringer solution which hydrates her system, making her pee a lot and causing the toxins to move through her system quickly. Fortunately, most of the time we are able to manage Roseanna’s disease without causing too much stress to her already fragile system – but nothing prepared us for what we experienced in the summer of 2012.
[image alt=”Roseanna sleeping with her Binky.” caption=”With her binky”]http://hartsong.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/roseanna-binky.jpg[/image]
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In mid July, her system became overwhelmed with a build-up of ammonia due to the fact that her liver does not process toxins efficiently. She spent five days hooked up to IV infusion lines and during this time, she remained in a dazed state, lost her ability to walk and also lost the ability to open her mouth to eat. We kept her nourished by pureeing her usual meal of ground turkey and green beans and feeding it to her via syringe. It was, however, the little green binky, gifted to Roseanna by her God Mommy, Stephanie, that helped her to turn the corner. Something about that little green toy and especially the “squeak”, gave her the will to fight and to play.
She has now found her way back to the happy little pup she was prior to this setback. Nothing slows her down – she is, after all, a Jack Russell Terrier! Her spirit and love of life are alive and well. Rock on Roseanna – you have quite a cheering section!