Cosmo is a two-year-old Westie who found himself in an unfortunate situation on June 16, 2017. Cosmo has an unfortunate disease called portosystemic shunt (PSS) that he has likely had since birth. A portosystemic shunt is a disease where the blood that is normally taken through the liver to be filtered is redirected around the liver via a vessel that is not there in a normal dog. When this happens the toxins that would normally be filtered out of the blood by the liver remain in the blood and can cause symptoms that can complicate the lives of the dogs with the disease. While some dogs do not develop signs and can live a semi-normal life, Cosmo was not so lucky. Cosmo is normal on the outside and loves to play, explore, and bird watch out the window; however, he has had difficulties with the side effects of the PSS.
Cosmo experienced urinary tract signs and symptoms of PSS including the development of bladder stones and urinary tract infections that were hard to control along with bouts of diarrhea. Cosmo’s previous owner paid for surgery to have the stones removed and even started medical management in an effort to control the signs and symptoms of the PSS.
Unfortunately, Cosmo still struggled and began urinating in the house multiple times a day. As much as Cosmo’s former owner loved him, it became too difficult to take care of Cosmo’s extra needs and clean up the messes. Cosmo was brought in to be humanely euthanized when his veterinarian asked if she could try and find a home for the adorable, life-loving pup.
A day later, I, a fourth-year veterinary student at Louisiana State University, went home to visit the clinic where I have worked since I was fourteen years old. My wife of one year and I were visiting with the veterinarian when Cosmo came running around the corner exploring his temporary home. My wife saw Cosmo and immediately fell in love wanting to foster him. We have a few other dogs and I immediately indicated that this was not a great idea and he would find a home. For about a week my wife would ask me if I thought we had made the right decision and if I really thought Cosmo would find a forever home. I would answer, “I’m sure he’ll be fine.” After a week of my wife trying to find homes for Cosmo, I told her that if she wanted to go pick him up and he got along with our current dogs we could foster him until the clinic could find him a home.
Cosmo came home with us six days after our initial meeting and he fit right in. On the second night of his stay with us, Cosmo slept right next to my head and I fell for him as hard as, if not harder than my wife had. He is so personable and loves to play so much that he truly adds to the joy in our lives. After discussing it, I told my wife if we could raise the money to get Cosmo’s condition fixed we would keep him. I took Cosmo to school with me the next week and began talking to clinicians in the hospital and we commenced testing to find out exactly what was wrong with Cosmo. That day Cosmo was officially diagnosed with PSS after an ultrasound revealed a large vein bypassing the liver. Options were discussed and surgery is the absolute best treatment for this particular condition. We started Cosmo on two weeks of medication to prepare his body for the surgery and scheduled the operation.
As a single income family, with myself in school, it was not going to be easy to pay for this surgery, but Cosmo had stolen our hearts. We began looking for ways to raise money for his surgery. That is when I found WestieMed and reached out to them for any help that they could offer. Their staff has been great to work with and help us along this process and they have been so generous to make this surgery more affordable for my wife and I. We are looking forward to Cosmo’s surgery and recovery allowing him to live a more normal life! Thank you WestieMed!
Kevin, Joy, & Cosmo
Update July 24, 2017
We wanted to update you on Cosmo’s status. He underwent surgery on Tuesday (7/18). While they were doing the surgery, they took a biopsy of his liver. Unfortunately, there were significant changes in the liver that indicate a lack of oxygen and cellular death, which means he will likely have liver issues for the rest of his life. However, the surgery itself was successful.
He stayed in ICU for 4 days and received medication for pain, seizure preventive, and antibiotics. He was finally able to come home on Friday with the understanding we’d watch him for seizures, which is a possible complication of the surgery. He is now on a special diet and will remain on the prescribed medication for eight to sixteen weeks. He goes back in two weeks to have his incision checked and will go back in six weeks after that to have bloodwork done. That will tell us if the surgery has started closing off the shunt. He will then go back again in another eight weeks and hopefully by the shunt will be completely closed. At that time we can start weaning him off of medication.
We wanted to keep you guys updated. Thank you again for WestieMed’s generosity. Your financial assistance made it possible for Cosmo to have this necessary surgery and have a full life. Even though his liver is not normal, he will have the best life possible with us and his siblings at home!
Sincerely,
Kevin, Joy and Cosmo Shrewsberry
Class of 2018
Louisiana State University
School of Veterinary Medicine
SCAVMA, AABP, AAEP, AASV, HSVMA, ASV
Update January 24, 2018
First, let me express our thankfulness for WestieMed’s financial assistance in Cosmo’s veterinary care. It was a long process to get Cosmo’s liver working better, but he is definitely a healthy dog now!
From the first day I met him, Cosmo was a happy, outgoing little man. However, now, he is even more exuberant (if that is possible) displaying the Westie characteristics! He is definitely a special part of our family’s life. He loves to play with his brothers and sisters; even when everyone else is sleeping, he will go to each sibling and annoy them until someone plays with him. He is convinced he is the largest dog on the block and takes his job as guard dog very seriously until he realizes he could get a scratch from a human or meet a new dog friend then his toughness melts away to wags and licks. Finally, he is a master at expressing his feelings 100% of the time. If we kennel him and he doesn’t like it, he will sit there and make noises like he is having a conversation with us about his situation (it’s especially hilarious when guests are over because they don’t know if they should respond or what). We rescued Cosmo because he was in need of help – regardless of his breed. But it has been a bonus to get to enjoy his Westie personality. Dynamite definitely comes in small packages!
Health-wise, Cosmo is doing well. I can tell he has become stronger. Before his surgery, he would need to stop and have me hold him on our walks. Now, he leads us the entire way! Before the surgery, he would have two to three accidents a day (at least) in the house. This was a primary reason his first owner surrendered him to a veterinary clinic. Now, he rarely has accidents! Cosmo is still on a special diet due to the damage already done to his liver. If it were not for that fact, you would not know he had overcome the disease of a portosystemic shunt (PSS).
Thank you again for helping us give Cosmo the best life he can have! Cosmo always seems to have this little grin when I look at him for more than 5 seconds as if he is saying, “Yeah, I’m pretty awesome”. We are forever grateful for your generosity toward our Cosmo!
Sincerely,
Joy, Kevin and Cosmo Shrewsberry