Update 4/9/2012

MAX IS HOME!!!


When Max was first admitted to Southern Arizona Veterinary and Specialty Emergency Center, his kidney values were 81 BUN and 2.9 creat. The normal range is 7-27 BUN and 0.5-1.8 creat. So he was very very sick and extremely critical upon his arrival to SAVSEC. Now his values are 22 BUN and 1.9 creat. BUT the vet is very optimistic about his chances of avoiding permanent kidney damage.

He is so happy to be home! First thing he did was run outside and grab his favorite toy! We played fetch for a few minutes, but he fatigues very easily. He is going to continue doing outpatient care at home. He needs 1L of fluid intravenously every day. He's also on 4 different prescriptions and is on a special diet. In two days we have to get his blood panel rechecked. However we are glad to have him home, and for him to be relatively unscathed.

JJ got a little iffy with Max! He got very scared and didn't recognize him at all, which made me quite sad. I'm sure in an hour or so they will be best buds again. I just found that so strange!

From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank everyone for their support, prayers and donations. It means SO MUCH to us! Max was truly at death's door, and we are so thankful to everyone, especially the wonderful vets at SAVSEC for their outstanding work.

Update 4/8/2012

Max's blood work shows that he has improved, but not to his normal kidney levels. There is a chance of permanent kidney damage. We won't know the extent of it for a few months, but since he's young and healthy, he does have a good chance of regaining full kidney function. The vet wanted to keep him for one more day, but I explained to them that we could only afford $2000, which we had already reached. They were able to help us out, and they let Max get treated for another full 24 hours for FREE.

PLEASE LET THEM KNOW THAT THEIR WORK IS APPRECIATED BY USING THEM AS YOUR VET! SOUTHERN ARIZONA SPECIALTY AND EMERGENCY CENTER HAS HELPED US OUT SO MUCH!!!

Update 4/7/2012

Max's blood work came back with some exciting news! One of his kidney values has dropped by half, the other has dropped, but not significantly. So at least it's progress in the positive direction. The vet would like to keep him an additional day, but at this point and time we cannot afford that, so we are hoping to do outpatient care. We are going to see him tomorrow, and at midnight tomorrow he will hopefully be released. At this point and time there hasn't been any mention of any long term health problems, but that's something we are going to have to wait out. We are trying to find ways to raise money, so if you have any ideas, please let us know!

Maximus Jackson

This is Max Jackson, our year old Boxer. He became part of our family in June of 2011, and he's been such a blessing to our family. He has a "brother," Jake, whom we adopted this past December. As you can see in the photo, Max loves the outdoors. We call him adventure dog because one of his favorite activities is to go hiking in the mountains of Arizona. Anyone who has met him can tell you that he is the life of the party, and that he's one of the friendliest dogs you'll ever met. On April 6th, we took him to the vet because he had difficulty urinating. The vet couldn't figure it out, so he suggested waiting until the following Monday. Earlier in the week, we found a few pieces of chewed up plastic, and we figured he just got into something. Turns out he ingested an entire bottle of ibuprofen, which is very lethal to dogs and can cause kidney failure and death. We rushed him to the vet hospital, and they confirmed our fears. He is in the beginning stages of kidney failure. Right now it is only damage, but since we do not know how many pills he ingested or how long ago he ingested them, we can only wait it out and see. Financially this is putting a HUGE strain on our family. His vet bill is already at about $2000, and we don't know whether or not he will be released soon. Please take the time to at least share this page, and if you can, please donate! Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog!

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