Dog scan

Had to take Simba back to the vet a few days after their annual checkup. He’s been having a lot of issues with throwing up on an empty stomach the past few months. Having him on famotidine (Pepcid) has helped some, but if it’s more than 5 or 6 hours between meals, his little tummy gets upset and he ends up throwing up. Vet also suggested omeprazole (Prilosec), which we’ll probably switch him to to see if that helps more.

It’s tough to watch the poor little pup going through all that.

Lately he’s been eating pretty slowly, which is a little worrying, and there was more throwing up than usual yesterday. As all Lab owners know, any change in eating habits is a cause for concern. Fortunately I was able to get back in to the vet this morning to get him checked out again.

Simba had some upper abdomen tenderness when the vet checked him out, so some blood work and x-rays were done. Blood work indicated that Simba was anemic, which raised a concern about something going on with his spleen. There didn’t seem to be anything strikingly unusual on the x-rays. Liver and at least part of his spleen appeared normal, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything wrong. He also has some osteoarthritis going on in his thoracic spine area.

Vet recommended an ultrasound to help figure out more definitively what’s going on. At this point though, I think our focus will be to just make sure Simba is as comfortable as possible. I don’t want to subject him to a major surgery at his age. He’s still getting around fairly well, and as long as we don’t let too much time go between meals, he seems pretty normal.