May 18, 2020

White Dog is, we think, recovering nicely. As the days have passed she has gotten more lively and last night she joined Tizenegy for a bedtime walk. Tomorrow she sees Dr. Julia for a post procedure check to make sure the insides are less inflamed, no more fluid has built up, and all is healing.

Always a picky eater, WD continues her less than chowhound approach to eating...a few bites here...a few bites later. The others are astounded at her restraint. "For dog's sake Sister, you have SARDINES and EGG WHITES! Why are you nibbling? EAT!" cried a frustrated Zsofia after Steve warned her to back up and "Leave It" for the twentieth time.

White Dog has been fed customized meals built around things we know she loves in an effort to entice and get her back to eating solid foods. At breakfast whether oatmeal or rice the key has been a splash of cream and a drizzle of honey but lunch and dinner for her often involve trying a couple of things before finding a food she eats.

We have also discovered a few tricks to boost appetite: Feed her sitting next to Steve on the couch as we humans eat; Serve her food on a human plate and make a point of putting a couple of bites from our plates onto hers as she watches; Handfeed her with a spoon. This combination usually guarantees at least interest in four or five bites.

Right now we see our goal is calming the pancreatitis and getting her to eat enough to begin to regain some weight. (WD is spare to begin with and this pseudocyst matter left her on the thin side). Of course we are reducing her fat intake (not easy for My Girl who loves brie cheese and bacon) to avoid future complications.

Paws crossed that tomorrow our wonderful vet will give us a thumbs up on White Dog's progress.