Poor precious

This time it's Madeline who is ill. When we got home from work today, Madeline had gotten sick several times (always the carpet, never the tile...). We are so fortunate that our vet is open until 8 pm so Chad was able to take her to a 7:30 appointment. They did some blood work and unfortunately her enzyme levels were very off. Her amylase (which typically ranges from 300-1000) was 4,000 so it was clear that something was wrong. The vet suspects pancreatitis. Typically pancreatitis comes from eating a lot of food that is too fatty or high in protein. We did just start a new dog

food because California Natural had a voluntary recall and was impossible to obtain. However, the food we switched to (Nutro Natural Choice) has very similar ingredients and a similar nutrient profile (24% protein compared to 25% and 15% and 12% fat). We switched gradually, over a 6 day period. So that seems a little less likely. And we don't feed table foods and she doesn't end up with many of Alaina's scraps (Jasper is too fast and Madeline's eyes are too bad) so it's a bit of a mystery. The vet is being very proactive and aggressive with treatment and she said the prognosis should be very good. But of course I worry. Madeline is a special little girl. I feel sad for her. She hates being in a crate so I'm sure she's miserable tonight. But I know it's for the best. They are giving her tons of fluids to flush out the toxins along with lots of medicine. Hopefully they're also giving her lots of love. She's the queen in this house.

Update (8/1/13, 9 am): The vet said she had a good night! They are starting to feed her small amounts of food. If she tolerates that well, they will recheck her blood work at 5 pm. If her enzymes are going down, they may send her home. We might have to go back in for subcutanous fluid (she will have saddle bags again!) but it will be great to have her home again.