Our Lovely Emma-Lou had always acted tired and old. She was like that when we got her at 6 months old. She never ran around with her 2 sisters or played with toys. Looking back, I guess she was never really happy. Not sad , but not a happy bouncy puppy. I noticed she had bad diarrhoea in October 2022. She had no energy, she couldn’t walk to the Deli with her sisters at all. Life seemed a bit of a struggle.
Her coat then started to fall out in clumps, her skin was very dry and itchy, she made herself bleed with scratching, she was miserable. I took her to our local vet and over the course of the next 4 months , had all sorts of blood & poo tests and other tests. Nothing was conclusive. Medication I gave her didn’t really help. They suggested a CT scan.
My friend recommended SASH in Adelaide. I rang and got a referral from my vets (who were most helpful & supportive) and got an appointment in April 2023. Lucky for me they had a cancellation and we went for it. It was a most expensive day, BUT Dr Jennifer and Dr David Davies were so understanding and thorough, and could see how unhappy Emma-Lou was. She just went to sleep on the floor , it was so sad to see such an unwell dog.
So after a lot of tests, I had a result. Emma-Lou had an underactive thyroid. I was so worried that it could have been cancer, Addisons etc. I was planning for the worst. I left armed with medication and details to completely change her diet. ( Royal Canin gastro wet & dry food to help with the tummy issues). Over the course of the next few weeks things started to alter. We went back again for a follow up consultation. What a change. After monitoring and blood tests to adjust the amount of Thyroid medication needed, and the altered diet, I had a completely different dog.
Emma-Lou is finally an extremely happy dog, she runs all the time with her sisters, she plays with toys, she has lots to say and to stir up her sisters. Her coat is so soft and her skin is good. She simply loves her Royal Canin food. I will stick to this as it agrees with her. She does get some cooked pumpkin and some plain cooked pasta just to make food a bit more interesting. So now, I just go to my local vet for blood tests to monitor the level of medication required. SASH were life savers for me and Emma-Lou. Her whole life has changed for the better. All of Emma-Lou’s results are always given to SASH from my local vet , so they can just keep up to date on Emma-Lou’s condition.
SASH was wonderful and I cannot sing their praises enough. Thank goodness there are places and Doctors like the ones we had. It was life changing for Emma-Lou.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. And keep up the good work. You really make a difference in this world.
Trish & Emma-Lou
picture – Dog at front is Emma-Lou and behind her is her sister Lilly
