Dog on death's door saved by surprise change at eleventh-hour
Harlow lost so much weight her quality of life deteriorated to the point her owner thought it best to end her suffering - until a last-minute call changed everything.
An Aussie pet owner whose beloved dog contracted a rare and "severe" illness that "came on suddenly and progressed rapidly" said that she had all but prepared to put down the animal down until a last-minute call from a quick-thinking specialist.
Sydney woman Alana said her much-loved nine-year-old Weimaraner Harlow became so sick in 2020 that she essentially turned to skin and bones, with vets stumped over the root of the weight loss despite working tirelessly to find a diagnosis. Alana said the normally fit pooch refused to eat all but the tiniest of amount of food, reducing the dog's once impressive physique to merely a hollow frame.
After months of Harlow's condition deteriorating, and despite her averaging around two to three trips per week to the vet, no health issues of "any concern" were detected. Harlow was vomiting blood, had gastric torsion and was suffering from multiple bouts of bloat.
Dog's 'rapid' weight loss stumps vets, until specialist intervention
With few avenues left to turn down, it was suggested that the family see the team at SASH, Sydney's Small Animal Specialist Hospital, whose team regularly deal with the complex of cases. It was then that they met Dr Amy Lam.
Lam conducted further specialised testing, including a carefully performed endoscopy that found Harlow’s gastrointestinal tract to be severely inflamed. Finally, a diagnosis for Harlow's "mysterious" illness was uncovered: severe chronic neutrophilic enteritis — the rarest form of chronic enteropathy that had her described at one stage as "the sickest dog this department has seen".
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While Alana had hoped that the tide would turn after Harlow's diagnosis, her condition actually worsened and her weight failed to stabilise. By March 2021, the animal had "lost her spark" and was "horrifically" emaciated with her weight having dropped from 24kg prior to disease's onset, down to just 13kg, almost half.
Not wanting to prolong her pain, Alana made the gut-wrenching decision one Friday night that it'd be best to end Harlow's suffering.
Decision nobody ever wants to make
"I will forever remember that day as one of the most horrible in my life," Alana told Yahoo News Australia. "As long as she had her spark and the wag in her tail and looked like she wanted to live, I would continue fighting for her.
"But the day came when her spark was snuffed out—she had no autonomy over her bodily functions, her vitals were weak and she was so frail that she couldn't move or lift herself up (we had to lift her and carry her). Her quality of life at this point was very, very poor, and when she mustered the strength to look at us, it was like she was telling us that she couldn't fight anymore.
"There comes a point where you then have to consider whether what you're doing is the right thing or not, and sometimes that decision to let them go as peacefully as possible, is the most selfless act of love one can give them."
But as final preparations were made to farewell Harlow, Alana received a call the next day that changed everything. "The next morning, I received a phone call from Dr Amy on her Saturday off," she said. "She said she figured out the problem. So we carried Harlow out to the car and rushed straight to the hospital.
Last-minute call changes everything
"That's when Amy explained that she thought Harlow might be reacting to animal proteins, even when hydrolysed in the foods that work for many IBD dogs (but hadn't worked for Harlow).
"So, we eagerly trialled the hydrolysed vegetarian diet and to our amazement, Harlow, who had been refusing all food for over a week at this point, immediately took to it. I can't explain why she did, but we were immensely relieved nevertheless. Once we started to see her symptoms stop, her zest for life returned, and the weight started to come back — we were absolutely ecstatic.
"There was no better feeling than watching her zest for life return—it was like someone flipped a switch and our sparky little girl was back!"
Since switching to a plant-based diet, Harlow has gone from strength to strength and now in 2024, she's back to the "happy little girl" she always was. "Harlow is doing fabulously now," Alana said. "Looking at her now, you wouldn't even know she had been through such an ordeal.
"Harlow is living her best life! She has been in remission now for over two years. Harlow loves her specialised food, and is actually very hesitant to try anything else. Her diet is completely nutritionally balanced, so physically, she is in great shape.
"She is a happy little girl with a beautiful temperament, and she has boundless energy even at 9 years of age! Harlow was always my "soul dog", but I think going through this journey with her made her even more special.
"Not to mention, it inspired me to change careers and pursue veterinary medicine, all thanks to this special little dog who didn't give up, and the amazing Dr Amy Lam and the veterinary team around us who dedicated so much to saving her."
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