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A lot of folks we already know have heard it, but it is a good learning experience for anything who enjoys Maltese, owning or just admiring.
Mikey was a normal, healthy puppy. He was active, energetic, and very intelligent. He finished his AKC championship at a little over a year of age, owner-handled. He started agility about the same time. He had excelled in obedience, but was bored by formal obedience so we never bothered to compete. He learned a whole lot of goofy tricks instead, including sneezing on cue.
Around the time he finished, he stopped eating well. Then, he started vomiting off and on and having soft stools. At 18 months of age, his vomiting was alarming enough that he had a work-up done including endoscopy and biopsies of his stomach and small intestines. It showed mild inflammatory bowel disease and bacterial overgrowth. We treated him with conservative medical treatment for his IBD, novel protein diet, and added in Chinese herbal medicine. He never got better, but was managable.
At age 2, he was starting to drink and urinate a lot more. A urinalysis showed he was shedding cells from his kidneys. Another extensive work-up including an ultrasound revealed early kidney disease, something that we should just monitor.
Around age 3, he was sick more often with vomiting and diarrhea. A few months after his third birthday, I learned that my other dog, a close relative of Mikey, had microvascular dysplasia, a hereditary liver condition in Maltese, as well as some inflammation in his liver recently being identified in Maltese with MVD. We tested Mikey's bile acids, a screening test for liver dysfunction including shunts and MVD which are genetic in Maltese. Mikey's results indicated he had liver disease. He had another ultrasound which did not find a shunt, so we opted for exploratory surgery to get full-thickness GI biopsies at the same time.
Mikey was diagnosed with eosinophilic IBD, MVD, and the same type of inflammation in his liver. We immediately put him on the recommended treatment, although he could not tolerate the ideal diet. We stuck with a GI-friendly diet.
A few months later, Mikey hadn't improved, but he had started limping on his right rear leg. Because of his liver condition, we could not give him anti-inflammatory drugs, so surgery was the best option for his luxating patella. At the same time, he underwent his 4th surgery for distichiasis, a painful eyelid condition where lashes grow into the eye and require surgical removal.
Leg fixed, Mikey could walk again, but he continued to do worse and worse with his GI signs. He was put on a trial of prednisone which did not help. He saw two internists and had another ultrasound. At age 4, my happy, healthy, energetic puppy acted more like a geriatric dog and was uncomfortable most of the time. Over the last few months, he has done trials of a variety of drugs including budesonide, cyclosporine, and currently azathioprine. His prognosis is poor as he did not respond to prednisone of the cyclosporine. He is 4 1/2 now and his vets are happily amazed that his is still alive. 2 weeks ago he was in ICU on IV fluids, his liver values having shot up due to the chronic inflammation in his stomach and intestines.
Mikey is the poster-dog for why Maltese breeders need to do health testing. ALL of his problems have screening tests available to help decrease the likelihood that they occur. Luxating patellas can be tested for and certified with OFA. Eyes can be certified annually with CERF. Liver shunt and MVD can be screened for with a simple blood test, a bile acid profile. He looks great on the outside, lovely coat, movement, etc. On the inside, however, he is a disaster.
Mikey was a normal, healthy puppy. He was active, energetic, and very intelligent. He finished his AKC championship at a little over a year of age, owner-handled. He started agility about the same time. He had excelled in obedience, but was bored by formal obedience so we never bothered to compete. He learned a whole lot of goofy tricks instead, including sneezing on cue.
Around the time he finished, he stopped eating well. Then, he started vomiting off and on and having soft stools. At 18 months of age, his vomiting was alarming enough that he had a work-up done including endoscopy and biopsies of his stomach and small intestines. It showed mild inflammatory bowel disease and bacterial overgrowth. We treated him with conservative medical treatment for his IBD, novel protein diet, and added in Chinese herbal medicine. He never got better, but was managable.
At age 2, he was starting to drink and urinate a lot more. A urinalysis showed he was shedding cells from his kidneys. Another extensive work-up including an ultrasound revealed early kidney disease, something that we should just monitor.
Around age 3, he was sick more often with vomiting and diarrhea. A few months after his third birthday, I learned that my other dog, a close relative of Mikey, had microvascular dysplasia, a hereditary liver condition in Maltese, as well as some inflammation in his liver recently being identified in Maltese with MVD. We tested Mikey's bile acids, a screening test for liver dysfunction including shunts and MVD which are genetic in Maltese. Mikey's results indicated he had liver disease. He had another ultrasound which did not find a shunt, so we opted for exploratory surgery to get full-thickness GI biopsies at the same time.
Mikey was diagnosed with eosinophilic IBD, MVD, and the same type of inflammation in his liver. We immediately put him on the recommended treatment, although he could not tolerate the ideal diet. We stuck with a GI-friendly diet.
A few months later, Mikey hadn't improved, but he had started limping on his right rear leg. Because of his liver condition, we could not give him anti-inflammatory drugs, so surgery was the best option for his luxating patella. At the same time, he underwent his 4th surgery for distichiasis, a painful eyelid condition where lashes grow into the eye and require surgical removal.
Leg fixed, Mikey could walk again, but he continued to do worse and worse with his GI signs. He was put on a trial of prednisone which did not help. He saw two internists and had another ultrasound. At age 4, my happy, healthy, energetic puppy acted more like a geriatric dog and was uncomfortable most of the time. Over the last few months, he has done trials of a variety of drugs including budesonide, cyclosporine, and currently azathioprine. His prognosis is poor as he did not respond to prednisone of the cyclosporine. He is 4 1/2 now and his vets are happily amazed that his is still alive. 2 weeks ago he was in ICU on IV fluids, his liver values having shot up due to the chronic inflammation in his stomach and intestines.
Mikey is the poster-dog for why Maltese breeders need to do health testing. ALL of his problems have screening tests available to help decrease the likelihood that they occur. Luxating patellas can be tested for and certified with OFA. Eyes can be certified annually with CERF. Liver shunt and MVD can be screened for with a simple blood test, a bile acid profile. He looks great on the outside, lovely coat, movement, etc. On the inside, however, he is a disaster.
