shelly

MEGA E-Misfits is a podcast about pets with MEGA esophagus. The hosts advocate for their pets and educate others. The special guest, Shelly Ann Tanner, shares the story of her MEGA pup, Chrissy. Chrissy is a Scaffy and was the only one in her litter to get sick. She was diagnosed with MEGA esophagus at 10 months old. Chrissy is still on medication and eats from a slow feeder. She had surgery to remove a structure in her esophagus. Her recovery was touch and go, but she is doing well now. Shelly Ann also has other pets who have adjusted to Chrissy's needs. She recommends the Upright Canine Brigade for support and advice. Hello and welcome to MEGA E-Misfits, the podcast about pets with MEGA esophagus and the people who love and care for them. I'm Michelle Zeich and my co-hosts are Paula Jeffers, Jennifer Sanis, and Jessica Ramos. Our mission is to advocate for our pets while educating pet owners and caretakers. Today's special guest is Shelly Ann Tanner to share the story of her MEGA pup, Chrissy. Before we begin, here is our disclaimer. Always speak with your veterinarian about the care of your pet. We are not medically or formally educated, however, each of us have pups with MEGA esophagus and hope to make your journey easier by sharing our experiences. All right, what kind of pup is Chrissy? She is a Scaffy. How old is she? She turned a year in May, so she is a year and four months now. Did you adopt her or get her from a breeder? We took in a whole litter of six and, yeah, she was the only one out of the six that got sick. How old is she? She turned a year in May, so she is a year and four months now. Did you adopt her or get her from a breeder? We took in a whole litter of six and, yeah, she was the only one out of the six that got sick. How old is she? She turned a year in May, so she is a year and four months now. Did you adopt her or get her from a breeder? We took in a whole litter of six and, yeah, she was the only one out of the six that got sick. Okay. So what kind of MEGA esophagus does she have? Does she have PRAA or idiopathic? No, so she actually got pauver. So we had her for two weeks, and she was the only one out of the litter that got pauver. And then she survived the pauver, and then it was two weeks. It was actually four days after she survived the pauver that she started having issues with keeping solids down. And then obviously when we took her for x-rays and that, they found a lump on her esophagus, but they weren't sure what it was. They thought it was a hernia that had come up, and then eventually it wasn't getting any better. And he diagnosed her with MEGA esophagus, but he said it was from complications due to the pauver. That's too bad. So how old was she when she was diagnosed then? She was 10 months old. She's been through it then? She has. Does she currently take any medications? She is still on, we asked her to give her Ciprione, and she's on a permanent alternate between a normal liquid antacid, and she is still on Omeprazole, however you pronounce it. Has she taken any other in between that, or was that just what she has taken? Ever since her op, that's the only meds that we have to keep her on now. Okay. That's nice. That's not too bad. No, it's not. But I do, like I've noticed lately, and we haven't had to have gone for another checkup since her last one, but I find sometimes she'll still blow little bubbles out of her mouth, but I don't know if that's something in the garden. We don't have any more vomits, but there are times where I feel like she, like before when I used to feed her, you know that noise they make when you know they want to vomit, and it's like that funny swallowing sound, she'll still do that, but nothing comes out. So I still have to monitor, obviously, but so far we've been okay. So does she eat upright and everything still? She still eats, she eats out of a slow feeder on a raised, so we don't do, I mean she never adjusted to the, what do you call it, the normal... The Bailey chair? No, she never adjusted to that, so I used to obviously have to either, when she was small enough, she was large enough to be able to hold in one of those little baby carriers, but I got to the point where I just used to have to just sit her on top of a Healz pellet container, and I used to feed her by spoon, and she just used to know that, and I used to feed her at intervals, and the way she used to sit and stay up, the food just used to go down probably. So what does your daily routine look like with her? Like how many times do you feed her a day? I have to, well I don't go by what the vet says anymore because she got quite chunky after her operation, so I was supposed to give her six small meals a day, I've got her on three now, so she'll have morning, lunch and evening. I'm not allowed to soak her pellets in warm water, but I do put cold water on so she's got like a bit of liquid. She's still on a puppy pellet, and I give her the smallest pellet I can. The only thing she cannot tolerate now is if I give her a dog biscuit, like a treat. Even if I break it in half, whatever it is, I think it just aggravates her throat, and it just comes straight out. Yeah, some of those treats are a little bit hard, so maybe that's a scratch. I've got a feeling it's that, because I remember when we did her birthday photo shoot, and I was like, oh I bought these nice ass biscuits, and oh no, it was a bit disastrous. You know, if it wasn't for her operation, I honestly don't think she would still be here. Yeah. What operation did she have? So when she was diagnosed with amyotrophic arthritis, we had to go to her and check and the vet wanted her to have put on tequilas, which that didn't do. So he then thought she had the problem, which obviously she doesn't, and he referred us to another vet who he said could live off, and then when they looked at her, it's strange and they said no. She obviously, there's nothing they can do, because she wasn't born with it. And then we tried another vet after that, and then eventually in December we took her to a specialist, and he did X-rays and a scope, and then he said to us that her main problem for the mega esophagus was that she had a distal esophagus fixture. So the bottom of her was so small. So the last two weeks before her op, we had to keep her on a liquid, just plain liquid diet. Okay. We told him we had her on acidinophole. He didn't even understand how that had even worked for her. But he said that that hole, that the esophagus at the bottom was just shrinking, shrinking and shrinking. Wow. Because she couldn't tolerate water in the beginning, and towards the end, that's basically her liquid diet, that's all she, and she didn't bring any of it up. So the surgery was to remove the structure, right? Yeah. So basically what he did was, and I thought going to him was just going to give us basically a diet plan, because I felt what I was giving her wasn't enough, because she would put on weight and then she would lose. It was like, I had figured out also she wasn't tolerating any grains. So even though the pellets that we were donated or given, and I would soak them and liquidize them, it was grainy and she couldn't tolerate it, because that slight little grain aggravated her throats and that was just, it's the same like the biscuit, it aggravates your throats and she just... So we eventually found a grain-free pellet and we stuck to it, and it did help her. And I thought, well, maybe he's just going to give us a diet plan. And yeah, he just came to us and he says, yeah, he could fix it. It came with, well, obviously her operation was terrible, but yeah, I mean, if it wasn't for that operation, yeah, I don't think she would still be here. So how was her recovery after the operation then? So they kept her in hospital for about a week and it was touch and go. So they noticed that obviously every time she did do a regurg or a vomit, they were worried, but it was most of the times they had given her her pain meds because they had her on morphine and all that. And every time they said, oh, you can come and fetch her, then they delayed it because she would obviously have her vomits. So she was in there for a week and then we fetched her and then it was like obviously also to... I was supposed to give her six pellets at every meal and divide six times a day, six pellets. And it wasn't enough. So I gradually on my own just like gave her a little bit more, but obviously monitored it. She then was on a hell of a lot of medicines, which obviously then the two weeks when they took her stitches out, two weeks after that, they obviously decreased some of the meds and kept her on. So basically since her op in January, the only medicine that stayed on continuously was the Omrip result. So do you have any other pets currently? Yes, I do. And that was a bit hard having her and them because I had to always lift the water bowl up. But I must say my dogs adjusted very well. So I would put the water bowl on a high table where she could reach and the dogs learned to go on the couch, lean over and drink out the water bowl. Nice. So now I don't have to worry now obviously, but then it was a bit of a struggle and if I had forgotten to pick up my dog's bowls that they hadn't finished their food, she was there. There were times she was so hungry, she would jump on the kitchen counter and if I was cooking food, she would be eating out the pots. But that didn't go well. No, it didn't. But I mean I learned from those little mistakes. She still eats like she's been starved. Put it that way. Seems like she's a good, healthy weight though, so hopefully. She's just being paralyzed now. I have no idea what you're talking about. I'll call her my little, my Oompa Loompa, Porky. I thought she was getting too fat. That's why I also thought let's decrease the six mils to three. And she's been okay with that. What would you recommend to a newcomer to the Mygosophagus Diagnosis? Well, firstly I would recommend them doing the Upright Canine because I can honestly say here in South Africa, it's not supported. And I honestly didn't know that it was such, that so many dogs are actually paralyzed because it's never spoken about here. We hear the odd case and even the vet said to me when she was first diagnosed, he said make it work. He said because most rescuers will come in here and they don't have the time and they will just use the nose straight away. I worked very hard on it. It's like I do feel like there is a group here in South Africa. I joined yours. I asked them a question and they responded two months later. You just responded straight away. And honestly, your group is just amazing. It's just they are there 24-7 for you. And if you can't give advice, you always get support. So I just wish that it was more supported here and more people knew about it. Because you can work through it if you try. Yeah. I was kind of curious how the vet care and everything differs in South Africa to the US, especially with the special needs. No, it's very hard, yeah. I think the only reason this vet told me to work through it because he had had a thoroughbred German Shepherd come in at eight weeks old and was also diagnosed with it. And they decided they weren't going to give up. And the dog lives – I mean when Chrissy was diagnosed, he said it was a while ago and he said the German Shepherd had turned eight. So they made it work. He said you've got to find the right fit. And it is that. It's trial and error. But I think if he hadn't have given me that support then, I also probably would have given up. There were plenty of times I wanted to give up. Especially in the beginning. It's so tough. It's not easy. It is tough. Until you find that place where they actually can settle and you know what's working and what's not working. But I mean every dog is different. I mean our tribe knocked blocks. It didn't work for her. They would get stuck and then she'd just bring them out. But everyone's different. Yeah, Dana hated them. She'd spit them back out at me. So they didn't work for us either. No, no. I gave up with those. Yeah. I always feel bad when I see people in the group that you can tell they're frustrated that the knock blocks aren't working. I'm like, oh, Dana hated them. So you're not the only one. Not everyone loves it. You can only try. But also I thought, oh, yeah, but I did find what worked the best for Chrissy. She always liked – it was like her throat was always inflamed. So if I had – we always used to ask my kids love of ice cream, like lollies. That was – Chrissy loved having ice. So I would give her ice lollies or chew up an ice – like she would always take a bite of an ice cream and it would always just go down her throat and melt. So yeah, she often had lollies and ice cream because it melted quickly. And it seemed to me like it sealed her throat. Yeah, whatever works. I mean, there were times before a whole week she lived on custard because it went down. What is something you wish everyone knew about mega esophagus? It was a shocker for me to – I think deep down I knew because there was another rescuer that I knew who also was diagnosed. Okay. He could never have the op that Chrissy had. I don't know if she even bothered to go for it. But I think I wish everyone just knew that there is help for it. And I also get frustrated on the group because people think that they must just give up. And I know it's hard. And I know I wanted to give up so many times. If you don't try, you don't know. And that's – it is trial and error. And I know not all of the dogs are the same and some have it worse than others. I'm just lucky with her. I mean, I've seen other dogs on the group and they have operations with prawn and all that. And it's still – I've seen some dogs still have to still eat differently. If I don't give Chrissy a slow feeder, she will just – I guarantee if it wasn't for the slow feeder, she would vomit because she still thinks she must eat like she's been deprived of food. I mean, she got into her routine when we started it and she figured it out well. Yeah. But I mean, I know that baby food doesn't work for everyone. Yeah. And even when she was young, she just was like she couldn't do it. And, you know, I found other ways to make it work. And then we found that solution on – even though she was upright, I just fed her slowly so that she could keep the food down. And she learned. She knew that was her eating spot. What has Chrissy taught you? Sure. She has taught me that she is a fighter of notes. Yeah, I know. I don't think I was ever prepared. I mean, I've dealt with poverty at times, but I don't think I was ever prepared for what came after it. And I've heard of maybe some of this, but I didn't ever think I would have to deal with it. But I had a lot of support. Yeah. So she has probably taught me that if I ever came across another mega esophagus dog, I would be able to do it or give it my best shot at trying to help that dog again. What is your favorite thing about Chrissy? My favorite thing about her is that she's so needy probably still. She's very, I think, too needy, I suppose, because she's been with me 24-7. I mean, I used to take her to work when she was sick. So if she doesn't see me, it's like she looks for me. But yeah, she is – she's busy biting my fingers now. I think we would be very lost without her. So we have scheduled her sterilization in November because we were told we had to wait a bit after her operation. And I didn't feel like I wanted her to be going under so many times. Yeah. Because, I mean, she moved up January, and then she was put under TOS after that. And then after that, anyway. I know she's strong, and I know she's a fighter, but she would still worry that something goes wrong. Yeah. Oh, yeah. And then also when she did her checkup to see – so in April, we had her checkup to see that everything had healed, all right inside, and to see the size of her esophagus had grown. Then she was diagnosed with that Spiralupi worm in her throat. So yeah, I would say she has tested the universe. So then she was on a course for eight weeks of medication for that, and then I have to deworm her every month now because of that worm. Because the only way we're going to know if it's gone is – Remember, I think it was when I thought, well, that's strange. I'm glad we don't have anything like that here. But then it takes – We haven't had it, yeah. It disappeared for a long time, and then it came out. Her dog was diagnosed, but it was diagnosed too late, and she lost the dog. And then when – because she had her thing, he noticed that – and she never – someone else also saw maybe that was what was – regurgitates after that deworm. So she obviously couldn't – didn't know if she could eat. Horrible esophagus and the worm. And the worm. Which I hope the worm's gone, but she hasn't shown any – because the vet still said if we don't – she wasn't really worried about it then, because she didn't want to go in and intervene on anything, that we had to just monitor it and keep on this. And then obviously – oh, yeah. Then also she had permanent – so that's why we couldn't do that. And then, yeah, so we just had to monitor the symptoms of the lupi worm, but so far she's been fine. Because she said if that lupi worm is not sorted, then obviously she might start with the megatrophic esophagus again. Which I'm not prepared to go through that again. So what are the symptoms of the lupi worm then? They all – yeah, you see. They say it is obviously coughing, vomiting. They can actually lose balance in that. But usually when you notice the symptoms, it's really too late. A lot of people have taken their dogs, and the only way you know is obviously you see those symptoms, and you think it's kennel cough or you think it's – they've pulled something and they're limping. And then you go, and then they do x-rays or they do a scope, and then they actually find the worm in that throat. But sometimes it's too late, and most dogs don't survive it. And then she showed me all the little worms that were obviously dead, but in a jar of liquid. So the lupi worm is actually red. To think that a worm can actually do that. I think also she had that spirit to pull through all her obstacles. Do you have anything else you want to add? Or Colin, do you have any questions? I know you joined us a little bit after we started. Sorry about that. Oh, you're good. I was taking care of things and lost track of the time. No problem, Cynthia. I'm still in the middle of that bright time. I just want to say thank you very much. Your story is, to some of us, unimaginable. I mean, that's just not something we have here. It's just a wild thought that that worm could do that the way it did. Yeah, it is actually. For us, yeah, for a while it had disappeared, and then all of a sudden it's made its way back, and, yeah, everyone's back. But, yeah, for her to have got it, yeah, it was just awkward because she was allowed to eat most of after her op. She obviously found it somewhere and got it. Don't look. She's looking at me with her side eye. But at the same time, your story is still so relatable. I totally empathize with so much of your story, experienced it the same way, and, you know, it's good to see that there are people like you in the world that go that extra mile. Thank you very much. Yeah, I wish there was more support to answer that. I think we need it. I think if more people realize that there is help, then they would probably try. They give up too easily. The first bit that I had actually supported it because the second bit was like, I know you're torturing her, you're putting her through pain, and I was like, no, she's not decreasing. And they don't process pain, I don't think, like we do as humans. But, you know, they would. It's different. I think ME does kind of teach them to have a much higher tolerance of discomfort. It does. Yeah, it does. I mean, I have the world's most accident-prone German shepherd, and he's a tough little bugger. It's been a storm now, so it's probably why our signal's gone a bit bad. Well, thank you so much for joining us. It was great to hear Chrissy's story, and she's an awesome little fighter. She is. Thank you for letting me be on your talk, and I will do an update on her on the page soon.