Report on Charlie's Costs/Medication

 I first started seeing signs that Charlie wasn't right around Christmas time. At first I put it down to the colder weather as I know pouchies struggle more in the colder climates, so I just made sure I kept him warm. It was around New Year that I knew something was seriously wrong. When I got him out for free range he was wobbling a lot and was obviously in some discomfort going by how he was moving. I thought maybe he'd injured himself when running about.

On 2nd January I took Charlie to my local vet in Southport, Rufford Veterinary Practice. The options were either put Charlie on baytril and hope he improves, or get an x-ray. Even though I didn't know what was wrong with Charlie I knew that an x-ray was the right way forward as I didn't believe baytril would fix his problem, especially if there's a possibility he's broken his leg.

It was later that same evening that I got a phone call from the vet. There were 5 main issues that showed on the x-ray.

1. Lots of gas in tummy (potentially serious), 
2. 2 broken teeth (1 been removed),
3. Infected pouches (puss been scraped out),
4. Slidey kneecaps (could be something he's always had),
5. Slipped disc in his lower back (would explain his lack of movement recently)

Charlie was kept in a heated incubator for 2 nights as his temperature was dangerously low, around 30 degrees when ideally it should have been around 37. He was also given very strong painkillers and antibiotics. On 4th January Charlie came home after he'd reached over 35 degrees in temperature. I was to give him 1ml metacam twice a day. You can see on the receipt below all the treatment Charlie had during his stay.

Over the next few days, Charlie wasn't improving so we went back to the vet on 8th January and the vet said to try Charlie on tramadol instead. If these didn't work then Charlie needed to go to a more experienced vet. It proved impossible getting the tramadol tablets down him as he refused to eat so Charlie was in pain all night. The next day (9th January) Charlie went to another vet who'd more experience with pouchies in Chorley, called Pinewood Vets.

Charlie's new vet suspected an underlying problem in his abdominal area. He was also weighed at 1.47kg, a few months earlier he was 1.7kg.

Charlie was too weak for anaesthetic and was put back on baytril (0.5ml) as well as the metacam he'd been having before the tramadol was prescribed (1ml).

Charlie stayed for 1 night and then came back home on 10th January the next day. He was very cold and his heartbeat was slowing. I kept him under my t-shirt for 2 hours and he gradually got his temperature up and came around. I suspect he'd gone into torpor.

Charlie's follow-up appointment on 11th January was cancelled as we all agreed that it was best Charlie didn't leave the house unless totally necessary. He had heat blankets under his cage and was kept as warm as possible. I was also having to syringe food into him as he wasn't eating anything.

I felt that over the next day or so that Charlie was slowly improving so more of the same medication was posted to me. On 12th January Charlie had a burst of energy in the evening which was short lived.

Although over the next few days Charlie was better than he had been previously, I felt that he'd reached a plateau and that he couldn't stay as he was long-term, being medicated twice a day as well as being syringe fed.

On 18th January, Charlie had bloods taken at the vet which they couldn't get previously due to him being too weak.

Nothing unusual showed up in Charlie's results so his medication was reviewed. The vet was concerned that his dose of 1ml metacam (loxicom) was too much so he was taken off it. He thought the metacam had upset his tummy and was the cause of some of his discomfort. He was kept on just 0.5ml baytril for a couple of days before starting ranitidine (0.3ml twice a day) and ronaxan (doxy) (1/4 tablet 3 times a day). This was alongside his baytril. The ranitidine had to be taken 30 minutes after the baytril. Charlie was eating bits on his own but nowhere near the amount he should have been eating.

Charlie had drastically declined a few days after starting his new meds so he was taken off them, kept on the baytril and was also put back on metacam. This time he was having 0.5ml instead of 1ml.

Charlie next had a consultation on 27th January. We all agreed that the next step forward was to refer Charlie to a specialist.

On 30th January, Charlie was seen at Rutland House in St Helens by Molly Varga. She wanted to do a CT scan on him with the view of finally getting some answers and seeing what we can work with.

Less than a few hours later, I had a phone call to say that cancer had spread into many places in Charlie's body and the kindest thing would be to let him go. She also said Charlie had a very damaged jaw and there was a possible tumour under one of his teeth. I was taken through the CT scan thoroughly and I have requested for the pictures to be sent to me.

Charlie was then cremated on 1st February.

Charlie's overall costs came to £1250.17

His gofundme page is closing very soon: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/barry-evans

Thanks for all your support,

Barry x