
Cooper while
still very sick.

Cooper this weekend.

Cooper out for
a walk this past weekend with his sister Maggie
(far left) and friends (in the middle).
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Cooper
"Let
me start by saying that Cooper our 16 month old male
Rottweiler has to be tranquilized (either via pills
at home or a shot at the office) and muzzled before
ANY and EVERY regular or emergency vet appointment
per the vets request. This has become a living hell
for us and we have been through 2 local vets for this
reason. Cooper is a good boy but he sometimes can
be difficult and most people are afraid of him solely
because he is a 120 lb Rottweiler. Actually, he is
not a dog to be feared and is actually very loving.
About 2 weeks ago we noticed he had a lack of appetite.
He would still eat and drink some and he was going
to the bathroom as normal. Cooper has a habit of eating
EVERYTHING and ANYTHING he can get his mouth on. Early
on Monday morning he regained a slight appetite and
ate breakfast and shortly thereafter started projectile
vomiting, thinking he had a possible obstruction we
rushed him to the vet. The vet suggested an x-ray
of his stomach to rule out an obstruction, the x-ray
came back with no obstruction and the only finding
being that the lining on his stomach wall was slightly
thickened. At that time the vet suggested performing
an exploratory laparotomy. The surgery was completed,
no blockage was found and Cooper remained overnight
for IV fluids. Subsequent to the surgery Cooper continued
declining and his blood work showed that liver enzymes
were elevated. His projectile vomiting continued along
with the decreased appetite and he refused to eat
all week. By this time Cooper had lost a total of
12 lbs, we were bringing him home nightly and driving
him back to the vet each morning in order to administer
IV fluids to keep him hydrated, along with his multiple
injectable medications daily. By this time Cooper
was becoming quite depressed. We had tried EVERYTHING
to get him to eat and drink and he continued to refuse
all food and water. He continued vomiting a mix between
bile and saliva. We had him tested for Addison disease,
Lyme and heartworm (he has been vaccinated and is
on Heartworm preventative) all testing was negative.
My vet recommended a specialist to see Cooper, additional
bloodwork was completed along with an abdominal ultrasound
and x-rays of the esophagus, lungs and chest, all
of which were normal. By now it was Friday and Cooper
was no better and we were preparing ourselves to spend
the weekend at the Emergency Clinic with medical records
in hand.
I was referred to Dr. Scerba by a rescue associate
and frantically called at 7:00 am on Friday morning
crying and begging for someone to help me and help
my dog. I received a call back from Sue and then Dr.
Scerba and was immediately seen that day. Cooper vomited
repeatedly in the waiting room and also her treatment
room. Dr Scerba completed a very detailed exam and
reviewed what medical records I provided. Dr Scerba
then performed acupuncture on Cooper and started him
on Stomach Harmonizing Formula and told us to let
him rest and start him on Slippery Elm Cocktail. The
vomiting stopped, he slept well until the next afternoon
and the turn around started (within 12 hours). There
was no going back, he started drinking small amounts
of water and eating small amounts of baby food. We
went back on the following Monday with a dog with
a ferocious appetite who was eating and drinking and
holding everything down. The treatment has continued
and he is well and back to normal. Now we are working
on centering him and what a change in Cooper! Also
of note NO TRANQUILIZER or MUZZLE! Yes, this wonderful
Holistic Vet is putting needles in my dog and he loves
it and her. Our only problem is keeping him sitting
up and not rolling onto his back because he is so
happy to be there and absolutely loves the Acupuncture.
I have learned a lot about this treatment and medicine.
Dr. Scerba was very thorough and explained who Cooper
is overall and what organs effect him and also provided
fascinating information about his personality and
various herbs and treatment's that can help further
him become a very well rounded dog. Dr. Scerba has
also taught us about diet and what foods to feed to
maintain a physically and mentally healthy dog. For
some this story may be very hard to believe and honestly
unless we had experienced it personally we would have
doubt also.
Dr. Scerba saved our dog's life and we will forever
be grateful to her. We also commend her on the care
from her practice. We received follow up calls over
the weekend from Sue and Dr. Scerba both. That truly
meant the world to us because somebody understood
how much we loved this dog and how critical his situation
was. If you have an animal who is suffering for any
reason, this is the place you should immediately head
for treatment. We are believer's. It really works!
Thanks Ladies!"
Forever grateful, Tina Hudson and John Cummings
from Clifton Park.
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