Liver shunt disease in Maltese.

Hi there.
Just recently (about 2 weeks ago) my live has completely changed.
My little Maltese has been partially diagnosed with liver shunt. This has broken my heart.

She is very special dog, she is now 1 year and 5 months old but only weight 1.520 kg. She was born so small, and does not grow up anymore.
But she is amazing. Her character is the cutest you could ever imagine. She is very funny and happy dog.
Whenever she feels bad, you can see it straight away, and she just wants to cuddle and hide her little head into you.

This illness has been so random and happend so quickly that I still cannot believe it. But seeing her at that time, in that pain, paralysed, and feeling that I cannot do anything to help her was heart breaking. The worse feeling you could ever get.

Anyway, I have been so stuipd and did not purchase her insurance. Had I done it, everything would be easier, as she could have a proper diagnosis and an operation if she needed. But now, it costs so much that I cannot afford it here.

I have found out, that in Poland they could treat her for about 1 000 pounds including operation if she needs it. For now she needs to be properly diagnosed- which I still cannot afford here.

I still hope it is something else, not requiring operation, and just medical treatment will be enough. But unfortunatelly everything leads us to the liver shunt.

So far, she is on some tablets, antibiotics and something else. This seems to help her a little bit. Today she was so happy and annoying and did not allow me to eat at all. It is amazing seeing her like this. I have to keep her on diet- more vegetables, less meat. She really does not like it, and does not want to eat it, so I have to give her the food through syringe. Currently she takes so much of my time, but I now it is worth it.

I am writing this posts just to tell you how much your insurance is important. I regret it soo much that I failed to purchase it on time.

Ps. If any of you, would be willing to help me by making some donation, I would really apprciate it.
I feel soo ashamed to even write this posts. But I had to tell you my story and possible ask for any help available. I have to try everyhing to help my little baby, I just cant put her down, especially that she got a little bit better and has quite high rating on her survival after operation.

Hope you guys are better thinking and will not miss your chance to buy insurance.

Thanks so much for reading this and your attaintion.

I'm so sorry to hear this. I am American and of course cannot make any form of donation, but perhaps you could set one up on a donation site and get some help promoting it around if you truly need it.

I didn't get insurance on my puppy either, so if something goes horribly wrong, it will be a struggle to deal with it... same as you are experiencing now. So far he is a healthy, active, puppy loaded with vigor, spunk, and vitality... but of course that can change in an instant.

I don't know what liver shunt disease is... so I can't possibly offer any advice there. Sorry to be so useless, perhaps another user with more knowledge will come along.

I didn't know what it was either but a brief glance at Google brought this up:

A portosystemic (liver) shunt is a blood vessel anomaly that results in blood from the abdominal organs (small bowel, large bowel, stomach, etc.) being diverted to the heart and bypassing the liver. The condition may be either a birth defect – a congenital portosystemic shunt, or may be acquired – commonly associated with chronic disease of the liver such as cirrhosis (scarring of the liver).

I am sorry you are going through this with your little dog and hope you are able to fund her treatment somehow.

I would strongly advice you to get one. It really is worth it. My Maltese was perfectly fine. and it just happened within a weeks time. Nobody had even predicted it to be liver shunt.

Fivedogpam --> you are right. So all the toxics from the food- mainly meat- go straight to the heart and her brain as they bypass the liver so don't get a chance to clear up that blood before it enters her heart.
Terrible disease. I just hope that if it is this disease, it is outside the liver, not inside.

I'm so sorry about your poor baby. I have a little Tibetan Spaniel, a breed that is also prone to liver shunt. So far though she's perfectly healthy. There are homeopathic remedies that might help .....

Pet Alive Liver Aid has been specially formulated for dogs with liver shunt and liver problems. It costs around £25from Amazon.

Milk Thistle which you can buy from Holland and Barrett helps to protect the liver.

I know there are several liver shunt support groups if you search on line.

Hope that helps. Hugs and prayers to you both.