June 17, 2022
Elsa Update
Elsa Update: As some of you may know, for the past 2+ years our beloved Boston Terrier, Elsa, has been experiencing health issues that we have been tirelessly trying to resolve without much luck. As to not illicit unwanted advice from the internet we have not shared much online, however, we feel it’s time to let everyone know where we are at with the Queen’s health.
It all began with a sudden weight gain and extreme lethargy that quickly turned into a decrease of appetite and extreme weight loss. We treated things like Addison’s disease, dental problems, IBD and allergies to try to understand why our treat loving, crazy Boston no longer wanted to eat or engage in life. It was a year of heartbreaking trial and error with our vet recommending euthanasia because it would be too difficult and costly to continue to figure out what was wrong. While he was right about the difficulty and cost, there was no way we were going to put Elsa down without a proper diagnosis. We moved states shortly after that conversation and hoped that seeing a new set of vets and specialists would help- it did not. As she has continued to deteriorate, we’ve continually checked in to ensure she is not suffering, and we are not making her hold on for our own selfish reasons and we’ve continually been told that she is fine. In our hearts we knew it wasn’t true, so we kept pushing for a diagnosis.
As her mobility decreased, we were told to see the orthopedic surgeon. While I knew she wasn’t healthy enough for surgery I just wanted her to be seen by as many doctors as possible. At first look the surgeon knew this dog’s issue is not her knees there is obviously something else going on here. After a brief look through Elsa’s vast medical history, she said she read about pituitary adenomas in vet school, and they can present like this. The only way to know for sure was by doing a CT scan. We scheduled the scan, and the good news/ bad news is she was right.
Elsa has a tumor in her brain. The relief we feel to finally have an answer is bittersweet, but we’ve been told these types of tumors respond well to radiation and Elsa can potentially have her life back, with many years to come. We are cautiously optimistic and will meet with oncology specialists next week. We want to keep you guys posted on this process and possibly give hope to other pet parents who are dealing with mystery illnesses in their pets.
It all began with a sudden weight gain and extreme lethargy that quickly turned into a decrease of appetite and extreme weight loss. We treated things like Addison’s disease, dental problems, IBD and allergies to try to understand why our treat loving, crazy Boston no longer wanted to eat or engage in life. It was a year of heartbreaking trial and error with our vet recommending euthanasia because it would be too difficult and costly to continue to figure out what was wrong. While he was right about the difficulty and cost, there was no way we were going to put Elsa down without a proper diagnosis. We moved states shortly after that conversation and hoped that seeing a new set of vets and specialists would help- it did not. As she has continued to deteriorate, we’ve continually checked in to ensure she is not suffering, and we are not making her hold on for our own selfish reasons and we’ve continually been told that she is fine. In our hearts we knew it wasn’t true, so we kept pushing for a diagnosis.
As her mobility decreased, we were told to see the orthopedic surgeon. While I knew she wasn’t healthy enough for surgery I just wanted her to be seen by as many doctors as possible. At first look the surgeon knew this dog’s issue is not her knees there is obviously something else going on here. After a brief look through Elsa’s vast medical history, she said she read about pituitary adenomas in vet school, and they can present like this. The only way to know for sure was by doing a CT scan. We scheduled the scan, and the good news/ bad news is she was right.
Elsa has a tumor in her brain. The relief we feel to finally have an answer is bittersweet, but we’ve been told these types of tumors respond well to radiation and Elsa can potentially have her life back, with many years to come. We are cautiously optimistic and will meet with oncology specialists next week. We want to keep you guys posted on this process and possibly give hope to other pet parents who are dealing with mystery illnesses in their pets.