Our dog has liver failure

I've tried to write this post for months, but am always stopped by a wave of sadness, or a dislike of sharing bad news, or all of the above plus the last time I tried, a ghastly black spider speeded across my desk. (A poisonous hobo spider, I think!) But with so many animal lovers out there, and so many people knowledgeable about animal health, maybe someone can offer advice — or sympathy.

Callie is our beloved little rescue dog whom we adopted three-and-a-half years ago when she was about two. We connected on petfinder.com. She's the sweetest, gentlest dog we've ever had. Her mission when we go for a walk, besides peeing and pooping as much as possible, is to befriend every dog and person she sees. Although she's willing to calmly walk on by if friendship isn't in the cards, she's so cute that strangers are often drawn to her and want to share her affection.



About seven months ago, she stopped eating, started throwing up, lost weight and was lethargic. After a series of tests, we were referred to a specialty clinic, with a diagnoses of liver disease.The new vet said Callie had liver failure. She had an ultrasound, a liver biopsy and blood tests, but it wasn't certain if she was suffering from a congenital condition, a chronic disease or a liver insult — a toxic event triggering a liver failure response. Other diseases were also ruled out. A toxic insult could be something like eating a poisonous mushroom or insect she found outside. She prefers to stay near us when outside, and rarely goes out by herself, so it seemed unlikely she ate something toxic at our house, but it's possible she could have gotten into something at the house where we occasionally board her. We don't know.



She was put on a great number of medications because her health was so precarious, and I had to make myself a chart to keep track of her drugs and dosages. She was on steroids for a time, which made her a little crazy. She had to wear diapers. Her fur got very thin and started to fall out in clumps. I had to get food into her because she had lost so much weight, and our pantry looked like a specialty pet food store, with so many choices with which to tempt her. She rejected everything, even home-cooked offerings. I became a human feeding tube, sticking food down her throat. Finally, she started to eat small amounts on her own, and slowly started to gain back the weight she had lost. Her blood work gradually started improving, and we were so happy. She was put on a liver-specific prescription diet, and many of her medications were discontinued until only the liver support meds were left. Her hair grew back and she looked healthy and happy again.



Her March blood work results were so good, her veterinarian was surprised but happy, and scheduled more blood tests for the end of April to further check her progress. Unfortunately, the most recent results indicate severe liver issues and the vet wants to do a new ultrasound to see how extensive Callie's liver damage is. I won't go into all the medical details, but we are heartbroken and confused. She looks and acts perfectly fine, but her blood tests indicate her liver is failing.



If we do another ultrasound, which we probably will, we may know more about her chances for survival, but at this point it doesn't look especially great. The other piece of this depressing scenario is the unbelievable, shocking cost of veterinary care. If I could go back in time, I would definitely sign up for pet insurance.

I'm giving Callie all the love, kisses, pets and walks I can, for as long as I can, and trying to remain optimistic.

Raw Snacks winner

I used the handy random number generator to pick a winner for the Raw Snacks bars giveaway, and the number that came up was #7, Molly, from Rambling Vegans. Here's something a little weird. I sent Molly an email this morning telling her she was the winner and asking her to send me her address. I hadn't heard from her but started writing my post anyway, thinking I'd post it when I got her confirmation. Just as I typed her name, her email popped up! One or both of us must be psychic.

To choose a winner, I had planned to use the same selection method I used for my last giveaway, which was to write each name on a slip of paper and have Callie pick a name, but neither one of us was in the mood.

We were both feeling a tad lazy, so the random generator got the job. Congratulations to Molly!

Raw snacks — review and giveaway

When Melisser from Vegan Cuts contacted me to see if I'd be interested in reviewing Raw Snacks snack bars, and hosting a giveaway, of course I said yes. Raw Snacks are a new item at Vegan Cuts, and will be included in the upcoming Snack Box.

Nutrition facts for the goji-cacao bar.

Raw Snacks boasts on their Web site, "We don't even roast our nuts! Raw Snacks is proud to provide certified organic and gluten-free bars packed with high quality ingredients that you can pronounce! Our bars are made without fillers and preservatives, gluten and soy, and are sweetened by a handful of unadulterated ingredients. Raw Snacks’ provides the consumer a smart, safe, and guilt-free indulgence or pick-me-up, before or after a workout." Totally raw and vegan, organic, gluten-free and soy-free — Raw Snacks is a bar that meets the preferences of a great many people with special dietary needs.

I received four flavors — goji cacao, apricot cinnamon, cranberry cashew, and blueberry vanilla. They all sounded wonderful, but the goji cacao intrigued me the most, so I tasted it first. It reminded me initially of a Larabar, but softer, and with much richer flavors. It tasted very fresh, as if I had just made it myself. I liked it a lot, and would choose it over other fruit and nut bars, because it tastes much better. The goji cacao bar contains 240 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 23 grams of sugar. It also warns on the label that it might contain pit or shell fragments, and yes, it did! I bit down on a couple of hard bits that were unpleasant, but fortunately didn't do any harm. Now I know to be more careful.

I haven't tried the other flavors yet, but they all sound delicious, and I plan to take one with me on an upcoming hike.

If you're a fan of fruit and nut bars, and would like to try the Raw Snacks bars for yourself, Raw Snacks is offering to send a four-bar assortment to one lucky reader of this blog. All you have to do is leave a comment, and on Sept. 30, the last day of vegan mofo 2013, I will randomly select a winner. You don't even have to like me on facebook or twitter, or run around the block twice. Just leave a comment and you'll be entered in the giveaway. Be sure there's  a linkback to your email or blog, so I can reach you. If I can't contact you, you won't be eligible to win. If you just can't wait to see if you're a winner, sign up for the September snack box to try these great bars for yourself!

What you're seeing here is an outtake photo that I couldn't resist sharing. It's a picture of my dog with her mouth open and just about to grab a bite of my goji cacao bar as I was trying to get a photo. I noticed her through the lens just in the nick of time — from my point of view, anyway. She's usually so well-behaved, but I guess the temptation of such a delicious treat was just too much. She must have thought I was holding the bar for her, not the camera. The photo is especially for you, Abby.

Vietnamese soup and a dog update

Years ago, while we were living in Australia for six months, we visited the city of Ballarat so we could take the kids to the re-created gold mining town at Sovereign Hill. Sovereign Hill depicts Ballarat's first ten years after the discovery of gold there in 1851. There are more than 60 buildings, and costumed staff who serve as townspeople-guides. Many of the buildings were operating as they would have been in the 1860s — the bakery turned out baked goods in a stone hearth, the foundry produced household wares, etc. Anyway, we were in a building with a large hearth, and someone was baking loaves of flatbread and handing them to visitors. I was starving, and the bread appeared to be very basic and vegan, so I accepted one and took a bite. It had seeds that I didn't recognize, but as I started chewing I was hit with a horrible recognition. "It's fennel," I gasped to my husband. A giant wave of nausea passed over me as I tried to figure out where to spit the bread before it was too late. I actually don't remember what I did, just the extreme fennel-panic I felt as the taste hit my tongue. Fennel has been a problem for me since childhood.

For the past few years I've been trying to overcome certain food aversions, and fennel/anise/black licorice is one of them. I've learned that when baked, the taste of fennel root changes and I can eat it — nervously — but I do think it tastes good. I don't know that I'll ever be able to eat black licorice, but if the flavor of star anise is mild enough, I now can eat and enjoy it. But "mild" is the key, and I mean very mild.

My husband loves pho, a Vietnamese noodle soup, and there are tons of pho shops around here, many of which make vegan pho. It's a perfect, light take-out supper on nights when we don't feel like cooking. That is, it would be a perfect dinner, except that the stock is traditionally flavored with star anise. When the anise flavor is mild, I enjoy the soup, but when it's strong, I feel like gagging. My husband found a recipe for pho in the New York Times. He made the broth without star anise, so there would be no question of whether or not I'd eat it, and I loved it. I didn't miss the anise at all. :D

The pho we get in the shops is served with rice noodles, but my husband used 100% buckwheat noodles — a nice variation. The soup was great and I recommend it! You could make it with star anise if you like the stuff and want your broth to be more authenic.

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Callie

I've gotten a couple of requests for a dog update, and truthfully, I've been restraining myself or I'd be publishing photos of her every day. I sat her down for a photo session and am sharing a few photos with you. She's still the cutest dog in the world, and as sweet and cuddly as can be. She barks now, but only once or twice if she feels it's really necessary. She's always by my side and follows me from room to room.

We had a problem leaving her alone because she cried and howled when we left, but she seems much better now, though she gets into a little trouble when left by herself. Nothing serious, but she obviously entertains herself when alone.

When we took her to the vet we learned she had ear infections in both ears, but otherwise seems in good health. Because she's a rescue dog, the vet didn't charge us for her first visit, which was a nice surprise.

The weirdest thing is although she's about two years old, and considered full-grown, she seems bigger than when we first got her. Maybe her hair is growing, but both of us have noticed it. Probably our imagination, right?

Oatmeal almond chocolate chip cookies

I don't know how many times I've been to Richa's blog and decided on the spot to make whatever she had just made because it looked so good — but somehow I never do.

For example, did you happen to see the month of pizzas she created for veganmofo? Or the Diwali treats she's been featuring. Everything looks so wonderful that it drives me a little crazy. When I saw her oatmeal almond chocolate chunk cookies, I decided I needed to make some right away to have on hand when my Thanksgiving company starts arriving Thursday morning.

You never know when someone might need a cookie, so I made a batch, and tucked them in the freezer. They will be perfect to have around on a day when lots of food will be consumed because they are satisfying without being overly sweet or rich.

Of course, I meddled just a little with the recipe. I didn't have chocolate chunks (much to my dismay) so I used chips — extra chips, actually, 3/4 of a cup. And I used two tablespoons of melted coconut oil (instead of no oil), 1/4 cup of sugar and added 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom and some vanilla extract. Crispy, lightly coconut-scented cookies with a LOT of chocolate chips were my (and my guests) reward. I made 18 cookies. Richa's basic cookie recipe is especially great because it seems so wonderfully adaptable — a little more or less oil or sweetener, extra chocolate chips, spice — it's all good. Very good!

Get Richa's recipe here. And see how she made a beautiful and clever gift-jar of cookie mix.

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Thanksgiving is about sharing

In other news, our cat friend, Lucy, was relatively unfazed by the new addition to our household, and Callie (her name, we think) was perfectly willing to share her meal. This unexpected sight had me running for the camera!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!