The story of Mikey highlights the importance that real food can make for the health and well-being of our pets. Mikey is a 7 ½-year-old neutered male King Cavelier Charles Spaniel. The first time I saw Mikey was December 27th, 2018. He was brought to me for a third opinion about his condition. He had been diagnosed with severe Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Beginning about 6 months prior, he started to have bloody diarrhea, 5-6 bowel movements per day, was losing weight and was eating his own stool. On December 27th, 2018, he weighed 13.7 lbs. He had been on Hill’s Z/D ( a prescription diet ), prednisone ( a steroid), atopic ( an immuno- suppressive drug), and a probiotic. From a Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine perspective, I diagnose him with both Spleen and Blood deficiency. I did not take him off any of his current medications but added slippery elm, Wei Ling Tang, and injectable Vit B12.
Three days later, on December 31st, 2018, Mikey was brought back to the clinic because he was now vomiting in addition to having bloody diarrhea, and was extremely lethargic or weak. After running additional diagnostics, I diagnosed him not only with severe IBD but also suspected pancreatitis and protein-losing enteropathy.
Mikey was gravely ill and the owners were considering euthanasia. We agreed to start aggressive treatment and re-evaluate along the way. We began by weaning him off the Hill’s Z/D and feeding him boiled chicken and rice. Over the next several months, his diet was completely transitioned to a balanced home-cooked diet while all traditional medications such as prednisone and Atopica were stopped. One year later, on December 23, 2019, Mikey weighed 21. 6 lbs.
It took a year to detoxify Mikey’s body. There were at times some setbacks as we adjusted medications, but we could all see that Mikey was getting stronger and healthier. Today, Mikey lives with his Italian “grandmother” who cooks all his meals. He is not on any medications, he is currently 24.1 lbs, and he looks fantastic.