Heart of a Lion
Missy and I have been pet sitting and dog walking in Jackson NJ for the past 18 years. Most often, the pets we see are happy, playful, and full of life. Providing the best care for pets while pet sitting and ensuring they're getting great exercise with dog walking and socialization for potty breaks is always a healthy challenge to us. But because we come from a veterinary background, we're able to care for severely debilitated pets too. And sometimes, we are also inspired by the pets and owners we work with.
For the past two weeks, we've been caring for this brave little chihuahua mix, "Simba". He has a serious condition called mega-esophagus. Normally, the esophagus (the "tube" connecting the mouth and stomach) acts as a muscle and pushes food down into the stomach. With megaesophagus, the esophagus is enlarged and does not push the food down. The food doesn't enter the stomach and often stays in the esophagus and can eventually be regurgitated, enter the lungs when breathing (causing aspiration pneumonia), or even decay there. Simba was regurgitating so often, he couldn't absorb enough nutrition and fluids to maintain a healthy weight and became very dehydrated. At one point, it was even suggested that he be euthanized. That's when his owner called us, and together we came up with a plan to help her with treatments at home and get Simba through this. So far, he's done well- his last weigh-in showed he gained more than a pound. Hopefully he'll keep improving, and live the life he, and his owner who adores him, deserves.
