As soon as the vet checked Marley's vitals and glanced at his urine, he told us that most likely Marley was having a immune mediated anemia caused by some sort of allergen (never heard of this before, but they treat about one dog a week). If this was the case, it would most likely have been treated with a blood transfusion (which was successful about 80% of the time). The vet did tell us that we needed to be prepared for the worst, though, because some dogs just didn't respond to treatment. This was the initial scare.
They kept Marley in the hospital that night while running a blood test. When they called us to share the results, Eli answered the phone. The look on his face said it all ... our sweet boy was not going to be okay. The test results revealed that Marley did not have anemia, but instead was not producing red blood cells at all. The most likely cause was leukemia, but they wouldn't know that for sure without a bone marrow sample. We tried to forget about what all of this was costing us, and decided to continue with the testing to find out for sure what was causing this to happen. This night was the hardest for us because we talked and decided that if Marley had cancer, we were not going to treat it. I walked around the house, looking at his toys and his bed and and tried to accept the fact that he may not be coming back home. He was only four years old and was perfectly healthy up to this point, so I was not prepared for what I was feeling. My heart was absolutely broken.
Marley was stable after a few days in the hosptial, which was our first sign of hope. The steroid and anitbiotic that they had put him on seemed to have done something. They let us take him home, which made us feel so much better just knowing that no matter what happened, he would get to be at home with the family that loved him. We continued the medication for over a week before we heard the results of all the tests. The vet called and left a message and told us that Marley did not have leukemeia. We were somewhat relieved until he sent a follow up email and told us that Marley instead had some rare blood disorder that they didn't know a lot about. They recommended treating it with chemotherapy, but didn't have much research to indicate that this would be successful. We weren't sure what to do at this point ... he seemed like he was getting stronger with the medication, but nobody seemed to know his prognosis. We had also already spent way more than we ever thought we would on a pet, and weren't sure about going any further. This is a position that nobody should ever have to be in with an animal that they love.
Now for the shocking part ... when they did another blood test on Marley, his results showed that all of his levels were completely normal. The vet was absolutely shocked ... he literally said that he never expected this to happen. I think the final conclusion was that Marley had an infection so serious that it was preventing his bone marrow from functioning correctly, which is crazy. The crazier thing is that we will never know what caused it - it could be thousands of things from something he ate, was exposed to, or even a vaccine he received last year.
Fast forward two months ... even though Marley seems fully recovered, he is still taking some heavy duty medication and has to have some follow up testing. I am shocked at the emotional roller coaster we went through and even more shocked at the fact that he is still snuggling with us every night. Thank God for the wonderful care he received and the medication that seemed to kick whatevever was making him so sick.
When I was at the point where I was trying to accept that he was going to die, I began to reflect on a number of things. Marley had been a big part of our life over the past four years. After Eli and I got married and returned from our honeymoon, we decided to add a pet to our new family. We scoured the internet until we came across this picture.
It was love at first sight and Eli and I both knew that we had to get this dog. He came from a wonderful shih tzu breeder in St Louis and was available for adoption because of an umbilical hernia that made him ineligible for "show" (which is what he was being held for). A small imperfection made him a pefect match for us, and we agreed to take him. His breeder drove him all the way to Kansas City and Eli picked him up at a gas station. When he brought him home, I fell in love all over again. Marley was the cutest puppy I had ever seen.
After a few months of adjusting to life with a puppy (that whining in the crate, peeing on the carpet, chewing on everything phase), we quickly realized that Marley was a perfect fit for our new family. He was small, cuddly, playful, easy going, well mannered, and he didn't shed a bit. He was also the most handsome shih tzu I had ever seen. Everybody who knew him, loved him --- his vet, his groomer, and people who watched him when we went out of town always commented on what a sweet boy he was. All in all, we were crazy-in-love with this dog and couldn't imagine life without him.
Now comes my moment of honesty. When Ella came along, things changed. Naturally, with a newborn, Marley's presence in our lives immediately took a back seat. Long walks and play time were limited, and Marley preferred to keep his distance from us. What once were cute little traits quickly became annoyances ... I remember a moment where Ella was crying hysterically and Marley began his signature high-pitched howl. I looked at Eli and told him that I didn't care how he did it, but we needed to find Marley a new home (yikes). In that moment of stress, I thought that it would be easier for Marley to live somewhere else. Oh, how wrong I was.
As soon as he got sick, I immediately felt guilty for all of those moments of pure insanity. When Marley was in the hospital, there was definitely a missing presence in our home. He was part of our family, and we needed to have him around to feel truly complete. Now, I look at him and am honestly thankful to have his cute little face to look at everyday. He gets extra ear scratches and belly rubs because I appreciate having him around so much more. Ella loves him too, and will often asked where "gog-gog" or "Mah-yee" is when he is not around.
We celebrated Marley's 5th birthday tonight and took him to our local dog park. He got to sprint around and feel more freedom than he has ever felt in his life. As I watched him pant and "smile", I couldn't help but think he knew he was given a second chance at life. So glad we have our happy, healthy boy back.
love the "evil eye" he is giving Ellasyn
he's so ready to get away from this pic
Oh how I can relate to just about everything on this post (minus the major health scare)! I'm so glad Marely seems to be bouncing back...keep us updated!
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