Arlo at 16 weeks
I had for many years dreamed of being a whippet dog owner and was finally blessed with becoming one when Arlo came into my life in January 2022. He came home at 16 weeks old (born in September 2021). He was the smallest of his siblings and was born underweight, but apart from being skinny (even for a whippet), appeared normal. Being a first-time dog parent, I was worried about him being underweight and closely monitored his eating every day to make sure he was growing properly. We went regularly to the vet to get various vaccinations and the vets were not concerned about Arlo’s weight. At home, we were busy bonding, potty training and helping him adjust to city-living. Arlo was a shy, timid puppy, but loved snuggling together on the couch or bed.
Arlo at 24 weeks
Arlo was never an eager eater. I tried to keep him on a 3-meal-a-day schedule, but he would often not eat his food during “mealtimes”. This was heartbreaking as he was already underweight. I resulted to offering food every few hours to encourage him to eat whenever he felt like it. After much encouragement throughout the day, Arlo generally finished (or close to finished) his food by the end of the day. As the weeks went on, Arlo continued to grow and gain some weight but remained underweight. Occasionally Arlo would regurgitate water right after drinking, or would vomit bile in the morning, but his vets were not concerned.
Things started to change towards the end of April 2022. Despite all my best attempts, Arlo was consistently eating only 1/3 to 1/2 of what he was “supposed” to eat. I decided to take him to the vet again to just make sure everything was okay since I knew that “low appetite” was one of the signs of a sick dog and felt this was more than a “fussy eater”.
Arlo at 6 months
We did some bloodwork and urinalysis, and the bloodwork came back showing elevated SDMA, BUN &Phosphorus, and low Total Protein. Urinalysis showed blood and protein in the urine (hematuria and proteinuria). All signs were pointing to a kidney issue. His vet recommended we get an abdominal ultrasound (or see an Internal Medicine vet) to determine diagnosis, which was unfortunately not offered at the clinic.
It was a challenge (nightmare) trying to get an ultrasound as every clinic or hospital in our city was either booked out for months or not taking new clients. One of the hospitals recommended we try the ER at 5AM. We did, but were unfortunately turned away. Eventually, after repeated phone calls and begging, we were able to get Arlo an Ultrasound appointment a week after his initial bloodwork, at another hospital in the city.
The ultrasound showed severe changes to both his kidneys, and he was diagnosed with renal dysplasia. Arlo was 7.5 months old at the time (May 2022). Since renal dysplasia had no cure, and Arlo was showing several key symptoms (low appetite, nausea), the vet said his prognosis was poor and he likely had months left. I was determined to give Arlo the best care and quality of life with whatever time he has left.
Arlo the day of his ultrasound
See Part 2 (on the first 3 months post diagnosis) here.