Tashi

I took Tashi to the vet for her annual physical. She is in pretty good health, considering that she is coming off a bad bout of SIBO. It took her weight from 63 to 44. Yup, she was too fat, but this is not the way to lose weight! It has been a real struggle to get her weight back up to 48.4 pounds.

SIBO is short for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth. In Tashi's case, the only sign of it was weight loss. She didn't vomit, didn't have diarrhea, seemed to be eating normally. What was happening was that an overgrown colony of bacteria was literally taking the nourishment from her food, and she was starving. When I went for the third time to vet, I insisted on seeing the head vet at the clinic. He was alarmed. His first guess was right, and we started treatment for SIBO immediately. But every time she started to put on weight, another trauma reared its ugly head. I went on vacation, and my house sitter, who was well paid to stay in my house, night AND DAY, admitted he left her alone all day every day, while he went to his sister's. She needed to be coaxed to eat, and he knew that, yet he left her alone. She lost all of the weight she had gained.

Tashi finally put back on a few pounds. Then we lost Ayn Chee. She decided not to eat. I could maybe get a little down her off a spoon, but she lost three pounds in the week after Ayn Chee died.

In came Fred, aka Figgy Pudding (click on the link to hear that whole story), the only dog I could find that she would accept. She was happy again, and grudgingly started to eat better. But it was still a struggle, and it was becoming obvious that she hates dog food.

I am now making her food from scratch, ground turkey, ground beef, sweet potatoes, rice, chicken gizzards, livers and hearts. My new vet here in Mishawaka gave me some minerals to add to it, and she is on an enzyme now as well. And a B-12 shot once a month.

In addition to SIBO, she has had a lot of trauma. She HATED leaving the farm. She never liked getting in the car, but after we moved up here, she jumped in with no hesitation. I think she was hoping we were going back to the farm. Poor thing! And as I said, losing Ayn Chee affected her deeply. I credit Fred with saving her life.

Her blood tests came back just fine, so that means it will be okay to get her teeth cleaned. She is going to be like new. Last night, for the first time since all of this started, she cleaned her bowl and begged for more. It's a miracle!! Love you, Tashi. :)

Tashi at gate to chicken run on her beloved farm