When Marvin notified me about Scooter and needing a special person to nurse him back, I automatically thought about my sister Ruthie who had recently mentioned she wanted to get involved with fostering. Marvin contacted Ruthie and informed her about Scooter’s condition and she agreed to foster him. Marvin dropped off Scooter at Ruth & Steve’s home on Wednesday October 19, 2004 and so his story begins. Upon initially seeing him that evening for the first time, it brought tears to our eyes. Scooter was very scared and very fragile. His body had an odor. His skin was thicken, red, inflamed, some open sores, and very itchy. At first, we didn’t think he would even survive the first few days and we knew that he’d have a tough road ahead. Due to him
being dipped for treatment of the mange, his bath regimen could not be started until 3 day’s later. Scooter was on multiple medications for low thyroid, antibiotics, antihistamines, eye ointment, eardrops and ear ointments.
On October 24, 2004, Scooter was rushed to the Emergency Animal Clinic with acute onset on nasal drainage congestion and he had conjunctivitis. Scooter was treated by Dr. Howard and upon meeting Scooter, Dr. Howard said, “Scooter, you’ve got some issues!” Boy, was he ever right!! He placed Scooter on additional antibiotics and eye ointments and we were to continue follow-ups with his regular vet. At this time, his bath regimens were 3 times a week with Malaseb shampoo to treat his Malassezia and to control the itching (the shampoo remained lathered on the skin for 15 minutes before rinsing). Scooter’s coat gradually began to grow. The growth of his coat was a slow process. Liza, myself, and friends were so amazed as it grew.
On December 27, 2004, Scooter started throwing up his water and a week later continued to throw up his water and food. Multiple visits to the vet and multiple attempts to modify the vomiting were attempted over a period of a month and a half. Through all this, his weight remained stable. At this time, Scooter was taken to the Veterinary Specialist of North Texas and was seen by Dr. Nitchey. A Barium Swallow (an xray of the food passage way after drinking a chalky solution) was performed. The barium swallow was normal and Dr. Nitchey felt the prognosis was reflux syndrome and he placed him on medications and wanted an update on Scooter in one week. Three days later after being on the prescribed anti-reflux medication, Scooter began to have bloody stools. Dr. Nitchey was notified and ordered an endoscopy (to examine his esophagus and stomach through a fiberoptic scope) and a colonoscopy. The colonoscopy was normal and the endoscopy revealed severe inflammatory bowel disease. Inflammatory bowel disease is a condition in which the stomach and/or intestine is chronically infiltrated by inflammatory cells. The cause of inflammatory bowel disease is unknown. Genetics, nutrition, infectious agents, and abnormalities of the immune system may all play a role. Inflammatory bowel disease may not be an actual disease onto itself, but a characteristic response of the body to certain conditions caused by a variety of factors. The signs may vary depending upon the portion of the gastrointestinal involved, i.e., vomiting is more common when the stomach and upper portion of the small intestine are involved and diarrhea is more common when the colon is involved. Normally, the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease usually involves a combination of change in diet and the use of various medications but because of Scooters immune system, medications were not an option. A food trial using hypoallergenic diets is usually one of the first steps in the initial treatment. The key is to use a protein source and carbohydrate source the animal has never eaten before, such as duck and potato. Also, nothing else, including treats, can be given and the trial should be maintained for two to three months. Diet is dependent on whether the small intestine or the colon is affected.
Scooter’s inflammatory bowel involved all of the small intestine. When the small intestine is the primary site of involvement, some animals benefit from a highly digestible, low-fiber (low-residue) diet. Multiple diets were tried and Scooter achieved success on rabbit and potato diet plus Zantac medication twice a day. Food trial takes a lot of patience on the part of the owner but is well worth it.
Fostering Scooter has been hard work but a tremendous blessing. All the knowledge I’ve gained from caring for him has greatly helped me with my other Westie Bailey who also has Malassezia. Scooter gets along with foster siblings Sparky and Bailey (Corgi and Westie) and has learned to trust humans. He has also made himself quite comfortable in our home and fits in perfectly with our family.
I am happy to report that Scooter is a healthy and happy Westie who currently weighs 24 pounds and has started Westie Weight Watchers.
Submitted by Liza Escobar, Marvin Katz, & Ruth Koons
