zippity

The podcast is about pets with MEGA esophagus and their caretakers. In this episode, they talk to Amy, who adopted a dog named Zippity. Amy already had other dogs with MEGA esophagus and decided to adopt Zippity after losing another dog to the condition. She manages the feeding routine for her dogs and has learned how to help Zippity gain weight. She avoids giving him too much water as it can make him sick. The adoption process was easy, with video calls and no home visits. Zippity has adjusted well to his new home and gets along with the other dogs. He is the easiest MEGA esophagus dog that Amy and the foster parent have dealt with. They had to make some adjustments in his feeding routine due to his unique gully-shaped esophagus. Overall, Zippity is doing fantastic in his new forever home. 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 Dyke and my co-hosts are Paula Jephers, Jennifer Sannes, and Jessica Ramos. Our mission is to advocate for our pets while educating pet owners and caretakers. Today's special episode is the rest of Zippity's story from Rescue to Forever. We have special guests Patty Dawes from Dallas Dog Rescue, Rehab and Reform, Dean Cathy McConnell, Zippity's Fosters, Donna Challender from the Upright Canada Brigade and the UCB Buffet Project, and today we have Amy Rae, Zippity's Adopter. Before we begin, here is our disclaimer. Always speak with your veterinarian about the care of your pet. You're going to be medically and formally educated to cover each of us' pets with MEGA esophagus and hope to make your journey easier by sharing our experiences. All right. So Amy, where did you learn about Zippity? I actually saw him on the website that Miss Donna has posted him several times. I just kept seeing him on there and my heart was like ripped from me. Yeah, I fell in love with him. So what prompted you to apply to be his forever family? Well, I currently have other dogs that have MEGA esophagus and then I had just lost a Frenchie. He had passed because of other conditions because of MEGA. MEGA was just kind of like part of it, but so, yeah, when I saw Zippity, it was just kind of a, I don't know, I just knew. I mean, look at the face. He's being extremely nosy at the moment. Hey, what's up? He's so cute. What are you doing? My son is doing something. He's like, what are you doing? That's funny. He's like, you're talking about me. Of course I'm being nosy. So how many MEGA esophagus pups have you had? Oh, total? Oh my goodness. I have had four, five, six, seven total. Okay. I currently have, with Zipp, four right now. Okay. So, yeah, the MEGA dogs are just kind of my passion, if you will. Yeah. So do you have any other non-MEGA esophagus pups or pets too? We do. We have, my son has a dog. Can't hear, I got birds. They're very loud, and I'm sure they'll talk to you as well. Yeah, we kind of take in, I've also taken in like lizards and snakes. Nice. Yeah, we just have fox hearts for animals. So how do you manage like the non-ME with ME, or even several MEGA esophagus dogs too? How do you manage the feeding and everything? Routine. It's just a routine. Once you have the routine down, it's like it just happens. You know, you just get up in the morning, and you just do your thing. I mean, they're regular dogs. They just eat different. So, you know, you just have to take an extra few minutes to feed them differently, and then they go about their day. How much does he weigh now, Amy? He was 25.4. Wow. He gained four pounds since November. I was upset about it. I thought he had gained more, but my vet was like, Amy, that's 20% of his body. That's like you gaining 40 pounds. So he's very happy with his weight. He does want him to gain a couple more pounds, almost 26 pounds. That's awesome. So what did you use to help him gain weight? I kind of changed his whole regimen. My vet is amazing, and I will send you guys a picture. I took a picture of my vet and Zippity together and told him I was going to use him. But we just kind of started from scratch, because I noticed a lot of the things my other friend, she did, and what he does are kind of the same but a lot different. My other one, we did the huge testing. He was allergic to, like, over 600 things. We had a friend, she. But I noticed that, like, Zippity was on the special foods and so was my other dog. I ended up putting him back on a regular food. I just soak it overnight and then puree it and feed him in a slow feeder. He doesn't sit in his chair anymore. He doesn't need it for now. I do, you know, I added, like, vitamins and dine and all different types of things to his food. Water is a no-go for him. He cannot do, like, the ice cubes. I've noticed if I do too many ice cubes, he will get sick. Or if he drinks too much plain water, he will get sick. So we can do the NOx blocks, but, again, once they dissolve, then that's when I notice his tools get really soft or he starts, you know, regurgitating and what have you. So most of his water is stuck in his food. Right, right. He also does get the Zildafil, Zildenafil, or Thiagra. He gets that before every meal, about 20 minutes before, and that tends to hold it in longer, his food longer. Other than that, he's off all medications except for that. Yeah, we just kind of started over from scratch to try and get him off, get him on the right track, and he's doing fantastic. That's awesome. Yay. So do you do any other water alternatives besides the NOx blocks or soaping the Kibble or is it those two work and that's? Nope, that's pretty much all he does. My biggest concern with these dogs was, no, my biggest concern with him was dehydration as well with all of them, and my vet has asked me, or has said to me, as long as he's seen and having bowel movements normal, I can't talk today, dogs don't need unlimited water, like people think. They do not need to have a bowl of water. They don't have to have as much water as we think. He said as long as he's getting enough in his food, he's going to urinate fine, he's going to have bowel movements fine, then he's good. If he gets overheated, he does need to go in his kennel and lay down just to chill and make himself calm down. But otherwise, I mean, he doesn't, that's pretty much it. He gets most of his water in his food. Sure, sure. That's awesome. Tell me about the adoption process. I can't remember the distance. How far did you have to drive to? Oh, gosh. How far did we drive? Six hours. You went six and I went six hours. Yeah, we drove, yeah, a good six hours. We weren't sure we got there. He was a little nervous. But he is quite the mama's boy. He had a little rough go in the beginning, a little nervous with new people coming in, but he's very protective. He's great. The adoption process was super easy. It was so nice to have everything, I mean, in your hands in two seconds. Like it was amazing. Everything was great. That's awesome. So did they do like online home visits or like Zoom, I guess, home visits, or how did that process go? We did like videos. I sent videos to Patty and I had talked to Lee so much, but, you know, to both of them. We spoke a lot and just did a lot of video. Like I would send videos and such. Sure. That's awesome. So I guess, yeah, what was the biggest adjustment aside from him being kind of fearful of, or maybe that was the only adjustment really? Honestly, that was pretty much it. I was a little nervous at first because we weren't sure about, you know, like dog aggression or any of that. He gets along great. I have had no issues with him and my other dogs. He doesn't care about the birds. The only issue was when people would walk in and the other dogs would get excited, he felt like he needed to go into protective mode, I think is what it was. So we would have to like, I would either have to hold him or like kennel him or I would have to put the other dogs away so he would know it's okay for other people to come in. But otherwise, otherwise it's been so easy. Like he's perfect. Like so easy. Yeah. He doesn't potty in his kennel or in the house. I mean, everything has been perfect. That's awesome. I feel like you said that too, Kathy, that he was the easiest ME dog you've ever had. Yeah. I was afraid when I first said yes because, I don't know, there's a lot of anticipation when you're taking a special needs dog. And I was very surprised when we started working with Zippity how easy he learned how to get in the chair, how willing he was to please you. And he was a sweetheart. I mean, you know, we sent out a lot of early pictures of all of his snuggles and love, you know, and we set him in the chair just because we didn't, we were far away from where his steps are and everything. So we wanted to make sure that we kept him well. And so we took extra care with him and making sure we did upright feedings and stuff like that. So I was very excited when Amy said they were probably going to stop doing that. And we went from the slurry to meatballs. And I'll tell you why we did that because we were feeding everybody else meatballs. So we just made his meatballs with everybody else. And he took, he, I mean, he was a champ. He made that change like nobody's business. You know? And Libby, you got him too. We had, when we first got him, he had some rough, we totally figured out all his transitions and stuff. And he had a really rough, like, I don't know how he survived in that situation. Like I really, I don't, I really don't know how he, and he wasn't a puppy when we got him. That's what's so surprising is that like, yeah, obviously he was eating trash. I mean, like, I don't know how he made it. And his megathopicus is a little bit different because he has the gully. It's more of a gully than it's, it's just, it's almost like a turkey thing in there. So the food goes, so he has like a, it's like a, you know, it's, it's in addition, it's a little bit harder because it doesn't, it's not just, it's got like that little catch all. So, and everybody was like, oh, I don't know. Like not a lot of people had seen that. And so when we made that transition, we were trying to figure it out because sometimes he would eat just fine. And then sometimes he would throw stuff up. And if it's sitting in that gully, it would come up. So we were in the beginning of trying to figure it all out. I mean, we went, oh, sorry. He went to specialists and did all that. And we did the diet changes. So we were trying to still figure him out because I think when you still got him, the foster, she was, she was not maybe doing everything the way it should be done, but loved him and was working through him. And we were really trying to find somebody who, but unfortunately in the world, you don't always find that. So, but trying to regulate him and figure him out initially was difficult because he wasn't your average case, because sometimes I can see how in that case he survived because sometimes he would go and you wouldn't know he had a problem. And then all of a sudden you go in there and it's like two days worth of food he would throw up. And, and then the diarrhea, we were really struggling with the diarrhea. So you had to make some adjustments too, when you got him there, because we weren't really, we were still trying to figure it. We were still in that, I hate to say beginning process with him, but really still trying to feel, were there other things besides that because he was having so much with that digestion. Yeah. Yeah. He was, and he had a really big issue with diarrhea, which is what that turned into. But he had had a fecal before he came here and he was clear, but then that changed over time. Yeah. But, but he was eating nuts, blocks that they were being made with regular cherry jello. And, and so he was eating a ton of those a day. And we thought maybe that that was contributing to his tummy issues and his diarrhea, you know? So. And I think, I think that's important. Just like when we talked about it's these, you know, like that knowing they're all a little different and kind of finding sometimes it's that balance, you know, like what works, what, what doesn't work. And then I think sometimes doctors go a long way. Like they definitely know the illness, but having someone with your experience and doing this and having so many, it's almost like, like, okay. I, for example, I just, my pub just got diagnosed with diabetes. Laughing out. If you get a dog with diabetes, don't talk to a person with diabetes because it's completely different. Yeah. You out when your dog drops. So that's like having the doctor can only tell you so much, right? But getting in those groups where people are there to support and help you and say, oh, I tried this or I tried that. I think I'm learning with the diabetic dog, having a diabetic dog. Their doctors are great. Don't devalue them, but that the tricks that she would do or the different little things that other people would say, or like you said, oh, he recognized and reminded me of my other dog that had these issues. I think you go with the doctors because you trust them, but then you start to realize that they only know so much and can only do so much and then using the expertise of others is extremely helpful. So we were very grateful for your support. Thank you. Yeah. It's what's really nice is to have a vet that will listen to you. And so that makes a huge difference, especially for, you know, where I have four, they all have four different levels. You know, I have from very severe to very mild. So I think it depends a lot on your, your veterinarian and their experience and if they listen to you. You know, with Zippity, like Lee said, when he came, you know, he did have a lot of diarrhea. And so I told him do complete blood work, everything again. He did have coccidia. So, and I asked him how come he said when he first got his test, most likely with, you know, with you guys with the rescue and stuff, he just got it. So it didn't show up. You know, it takes a couple of weeks for it to show. Yeah. Well, coccidia, we just, okay. That's funny because we just had a letter test negative for everything. And we're like, there's diarrhea. There's something there. There's, there's something. We waited like four days. They tested positive for Giardia. And it was like, I said, why didn't it test? He goes, well, sometimes if it's the eggs depending on the level of where they are, because I'm like, they had the diarrhea. So they obviously there was something, but yeah. Yeah. So we did fight that a little bit, but, you know, now keeping that away from my dog, you know, keeping them separate. That was probably a little bit of a headache when he first came. You know, I had to just make, I made sure to like clean it up and then I would bleach the spot where he was just to make sure there's no contamination. Oh, highly contagious. Yeah. He's been, he's been pretty amazing. And the vet is marvelous. I can't even tell you, you know, as long as, like he and I communicate, if I have an issue of like zippity, but when I was supposed to meet with y'all before he was holding his foot up, I was so scared, you know? So then we went in, broke his toenail, split it. And then after that, he's just like, send me videos. Let me see it. You know, he just, he's amazing. That's awesome. Yeah. It makes a big difference. Yeah. I wish, I wish more people with the special effects definitely had that kind of support because not everyone does. That makes it that much more challenging. Yeah. One of my dogs was the very first dog in Nebraska to actually receive the generic Viagra. I learned it from, you know, Miss Donna and Dan and them. And so I talked to my vet about it and he was like, I've never heard of that. And I was like, well, can we, you know, think about it because this dog, very first dog was, he's very severe. I still have him. I got him when he was four weeks old. He's now, he'll be six this year. And so he's, he called me that afternoon. He's like, let's do it. Let's try it. You know, I connected him with the mega page and have him do some research. And yeah, he, like, he listens. It's amazing. That's, that's the done the bill. It has been such a breakthrough. That's a breakthrough. Yeah. Yeah. It's he's, he's snoring. How he sucks on that. He's so cute. It's like a little, literally is. I'll never forget the time when I got him and the foster was like, well, I mean, I had him first. I fostered him and then he went and then the one foster had him for a little while. She was like, hey, can you give me some balls? I need to, you know, he loves the ball. So I tried to get some heavy duty balls. And I was like, okay, let's test them out. And, you know, he can shred it as quick as he, I mean, he can go through it. Like I've never seen a dog. Like he can get that and destroy it. So we have the safety test. Like I took out like six and he had six that he liked. And one that was like a heavy duty plastic that had the ball inside. Now he could have pulled it. It did take him a while. Cause he liked to play tug of war. So we have the safety test. Like I took out like six and he had six that he liked and one that was like a heavy duty plastic that had the ball inside. Now he could have pulled it. It did take him a while cause he liked to play tug of war and she could grab it. But it was so funny. Like within, I think in a few minutes he had punctured two. I'm like, okay, they're not going to work. And then we had those heavy duty plastics. And then he had this hard one that he liked to chase around in. It was the funniest thing trying to see. And he was so cute about it too. Like he would go, his eyes light up. It's like, where's that orange ball? And the big orange one. Did he put it in the kitchen? Can you bring it here for a second? This is one that we, I had it hanging out on our, we have a really big deck and I had it hanging for, cause I have the other dogs are a great Dane. It's a great Dane German shepherd and a great Dane. And so I thought they would like jump and play with it and they care less. Oh, he's going to freak out though once he sees it. Oh yeah. That was one of them. I don't want to put the call down, but that's my ball. We had a blue one like that. We had all different sizes and he would run around with them. It was the cutest thing. This is like his thing right here. It gets so bad that I have to put it up so he can rest. Yeah. Well, that's what we would have to, we had to let, he was almost like on because that was when we were still trying to, that was early on. And we were told we, so we didn't want him running or playing too hard because anybody gets sick. So we would have to let him play. So we would have to put him in time trials. He had like you could get it for it. And then you had to like swap out because you were like trying to get it from initially. He was like, no, you had to be careful. It's bigger than him. I was just going to say it's bigger than him for sure. He will like. Yeah. This thing, this poor thing, nobody else wants anything to do with it. He's like, that's mine. I'll take it over here. Yeah. Yeah. That is his favorite. I have to, we have to put it up though because he will play nonstop and yeah. And I'm like, dude, you're going to get too fast. And you have to hide it without him seeing it. Cause he knows he watches where you put it. We are bird cages are like five foot high and the kids were cockatoos. And so I put it up there so he can't, can't see it. Oh yeah. He's naughty. He does this thing too, where he launches balls. So he'll hold them. He'll like lay on the couch and he'll hold the ball in between his two feet and he'll rub it with his nose. And then he launches across the room and then he takes off after it. Plays with himself. For sure. Content all by himself. Yeah. Don't mind our Christmas tree. Wait, well, those are skeletons. Yeah. So I have a couple more questions and then if anyone else wants to add anything, but what would you recommend for a newcomer to the mega-sophagus diagnosis? To breathe, to breathe. Listen to several people, definitely join, you know, the website. Donna, you guys do so much and I love you guys. I can't even tell you how much I love you guys. I learned so much from you guys, for real. That's the first place I went when I got my first dog, Ricky, and they taught me how to burp him. Like I didn't even know how to burp him. Like even the little things. And don't be afraid to ask for help. We have a pretty good village, I think. And it does. It takes a village to get it done. Yeah. Without the support and others who love these dogs, I don't know where I would be personally. I have learned so much from, you know, like I said, the severe to the mild and that it's okay to change things. And like with Zippity, like I said, he, you know, we weren't sure about his allergies. His skin is now clear. His hair is growing back in. It's not as hard and coarse. It's actually soft. Yeah, I mean, he's currently fighting with the ball. He looks great. Thank you. Yeah, he's doing amazing. You would never know that he was a sick dog. Right. I remember seeing pictures of him when he was pretty sick. And you've done a great job. And Kathy and Lee have done a great job with him, too, and the rescue. And, you know, where would they be without the rescue, right? Yeah, absolutely. And Kathy and Lee brought him along. And you were the perfect person to adopt him because, A, you have mega E experience, but, B, you also have French E experience. And they are a special breed. Yes, they are. My vet was, like, when he was listening to him, he goes, I don't think that breathing is mega. That's French E. That's French E, yeah. We talked about, we did talk about in the future he might have to eventually have his palate redone or done. Yeah. But he doesn't want to touch it until we have issues just because, you know, they are high risk of going under. Yeah, he's a great guy, and I appreciate everybody. Patty has sat and talked with me for hours. Like, everybody has just been so wonderful. Like, I cannot even tell you. It is the easiest to have everybody's support. You know, he's just, we're good. We want to say thank you because I knew he was tough and he had corks, and, like, Lee and I were trying to figure out. We couldn't, you know, he was, you know, he's a French E, so you have to have, like, and that's a word in itself. Absolutely. You know, like, a French E is socially inept, I guess. You know, like, they have their own personality and their own, and I think trying to figure that out with all of his medical, because, like, he was socially awkward, but he was like a bull in a china. Like, he was just, like, that awkward child. You know, like, he wanted to play. He was all puppy. I mean, we had to work on trying to take, like, I was loving watching you play with that ball with him because before if we would have touched the balls and tried to get it from him, we would have got bit. And not in a mean way. He's, like, just like he was with you. Like, what are you going to take it? So it was a lot of, like, on top of everything he had. And I think just talking to you on the phone for so long, I mean, it's a medical job to begin with, and you're nervous, like, right, because you're going to be there. We hover over them. And, you know, Lee had already given me so much information, and then you and I talked, like we said, for a long time, and I was like, he's kind of a jerk. I mean, I'm like, he's, you know, and just kind of all that, and I'm, like, pretty blatant and honest because, you know, when you're that far, you don't want to, especially you also want to make sure are you legit, if it's a real person, like, because you also have people that are not very nice. And, you know, you just really kind of took him under your wing, and, you know, and I appreciate that, too. Like, I love the little updates every once in a while, and I love the little vet pictures. Like, oh, my God, you know, it's just to know that he. Do you see how patient he's been? I know. He's like, Mom, give me the ball. I want to show you what my son has taught him real quick. Zippity sit. Sit. Okay. I don't know if you can see him here. Nice. Nice. Wow. Good boy. I don't think I've ever seen him take a ball that nicely. Yeah. He just slowly. I would be watching your fingers. Yes. Well, that's why my son, that he gets all the credit for that because he would just, you know, chomp us. And so my son would take it and wouldn't give it to him until he took it nice. And then, like I said, now I can hold it. He'll just stare at it and flip his little tongue. And then we tell him nice, and he just slowly, like, okay. So, yeah, he's doing fantastic. That's awesome. Now he's mad. So I made him be nice. Yeah, right. He's like, I'm not giving you back the ball. Can I have it? Nice, Mom. He's very protective. He does have the protective nature. I was worried when his – he's not too fond of men. Well, that doesn't surprise me from what I heard where he lived, so. Yeah, he loves my son. He didn't at first. My son didn't give him a choice. And then he – I was kind of worried, like, when we go to the event and stuff, that's why I kicked the ball, so that way I know his mouth is busy. I do have a mask for him where he looks like an alien. But I – you know, when I was talking to my vet about it, and he says it's – because it doesn't usually happen in public. And he says he knows this is home, and so he's very territorial of his home. So we're slowly working on that now. But he's doing better. He's doing much better. He just wants to make sure I'm okay. They're so sweet. That's awesome. I'm so happy, and I'm so glad. I mean, it's a team. I said the last time, and I'll say it again. Like, I've never had – like, in rescue, I've just never had an experience where collaboratively a bunch of people came together to help each other. Like, and I know that sounds weird in rescue. You would think that you would hear that more often since we're all on the same purpose, but it doesn't often happen. And, you know, we're trying to post all the dogs we have. And I guess I can't remember what group it was that shared, like, every single day. Like, they did seven days of Zippity or whatever, and they featured them every day. That's Michelle. Yeah, Michelle. Like, I mean, it was like – this is another group that they have their own dogs and they're responsible to you, and they took the time to feature Zippy to a whole different audience. Not only did it get an adopter, but it really brought awareness, but it also brought that camaraderie together to say, like, we can work together to place some of these harder-to-place dogs. And that's why I said to Lee, I said, maybe it's a network that I don't specialize in. Like, we get medicals, but this, you know, it brought – I mean, brought us all together that we can help and support each other, and that to me is, in addition, help other people. And I think I, again, just want to say thank you, because that army let Zippity get what he needed. But Amy got an amazing adopter, and I got an amazing foster that when we need something to help us, you know, it's an army behind you, and that's what it should be about. Yeah, thanks to all of you, because we obviously wouldn't be where we're at without any of you, you know. Thank you. You suckered out. One more question, and you probably already covered it, but what is your favorite thing about Zippity? Oh, my gosh. That's a good question. Probably just to see, like, how much he loves me, even though he's been through hell, his growth. There's so much I can't even tell you. He's so nosy, though. He is nosy. I see that side eye in the camera. No, he doesn't love it. He's like, how did I get – stop talking about me. There's too many things to give a name. I love that he's independent enough that he's not always under me. I love just watching him grow. I don't know. He's improved. Like, he's grown so much. I don't know. His personality. You love his personality. Yes, definitely. Personality. He definitely has a unique personality. When he talks, it's very hilarious. When he's telling me off in his own language. He's a good boy. What's not to love, right? I just want to say thank you for everybody because it really has been such an amazing experience and learned so much. So I just want to say thank you. And Amy, keep us posted. Yeah, definitely. Oh, you know I will. It's so nice to hear a good story come out. You know, a story about a dog that had such an unhealthy life before rescue, and then foster care came in, and then a wonderful adopter. It's just really nice to see that full circle and that he's doing so well. That's great. I agree. Thank you for joining us.