Dannan is a mini dachshund and is the most important cutie in my life.
We got Dannan in January 2021. He’s so playful, loves kisses and is a ‘velcro’ dog. He has the most caring nature and makes us laugh everyday. He’s part of the family and can’t imagine life without him. He was for sure meant to be with us, for many reasons.
Dannan had been in and out of the vet for the first 9 months, not eating, underweight, vomiting, lethargic. Local vet tried their best, tried a lot of different foods and medication. This went on for 8 months. The last Friday in Nomember 2021, Dannan wouldn’t eat and had severe diarrhoea the whole night. His poo was almost black and had a funky smell. The next day we took him to the vet and was told to give him boiled chicken and medication.
On the Sunday evening Dannan collapsed, his tummy got so swollen and he was salivating and clearly in a lot of pain. We rushed him to SASH Emergency and they said his heart rate was low and his body temperature was cold and were concerned for him. We were brought into a room where Dr Catherine went through what she thought and the cost.
It was there I told her about the colour of his poo and the smell. She left the room to do an ultrasound that confirmed he had hemorrhagic diarrhoea. This was what caused the funky smell, he was losing blood in his poo. He also had bloat. We were told that he might not make it as he was so sick. We asked if we could say goodbye as we didn’t know if he’d make it through the night.
I couldn’t believe this was happening. I lost someone extremely close to me in August 2021 and Dannan was the only reason I got out of bed in the morning. We were devastated.
Dr Catherine called us at 5AM to tell us he had got very quiet, he was dying. She wanted to know if we wanted him to have a blood transfusion, we said yes, to try everything. Dannan had lost 1.2kg that night at SASH. The fluids they were putting in were coming straight out of him. He had survived the night because of Dr Catherine. The following morning I got a call from a surgeon who said Dannan had intussusception and needed to be operated on otherwise he would die. We said yes but he wasn’t out of the woods yet.
We visited him the next day and he was so unwell and just skin and bone but he survived the surgery. He stayed in ICU for 4 days and then he came home. He was so fragile and quiet. After 3 days he wouldn’t eat or drink so we took him back to SASH. He had pancreatitis. He stayed at SASH a further 3 nights.
The staff loved him as he gives cuddles, rests his head on your shoulder and snuggles in.
Finally we got him home for good, on medication and food for dogs who have gastrointestinal disease, which was causing him to be sick in his first 9 months with us. He was allergic to almost every dog food.
SASH contacted a nutritionist about an appropriate diet for Dannan. He now eats cooked pork tenderloin, steamed potatoes, carrots and spinach.
We had tried everything, many different dog foods with different proteins, food that was hypo-allergenic, chicken and kangaroo. Everything made him sick.
For months we were weaning him off his medication, a few slip ups along the way but he is now off all medication. He takes a few daily supplements and probiotics. He’s had a few minor flare ups with his GID but he is doing great.
I cannot thank all the team at SASH for saving Dannan’s life. They are incredible and the customer service team are all so friendly.
Dannan now sees Dr Lucy when we go to SASH, he’s quiet a nervous dog but given all he’s been through it’s understandable. Lucy is amazing and we’re so happy she’s Dannan’s vet. She’s so gentle with Dannan and patient with me as I ask ALOT of questions.
We got Dannan neutered at SASH as they’re the only one’s we trust with him.
Just Incredible in every sense of the word.
