Dog Kept Losing Weight Until One Vet Solved the Mystery
When a Weimaraner named Harlow kept losing weight despite eating, her family grew very concerned. When she stopped eating entirely, they grew desperate to find out why. Alana, Harlow’s mom, explained that it didn’t matter how much they fed Harlow—she continued to lose weight. She dropped from around 24 kg (52 lbs) to 13 kg (28 lbs).
This prompted emergency visits to the vet two or three times a week. But none of the tests done showed anything wrong with Harlow. Her family felt completely helpless and the spark of life that had always been in Harlow’s eyes began to dim. Then they got a call from their vet Dr. Amy saying, “I think I’ve figured it out.”
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Dr. Amy suspected that Harlow had a very rare condition that made her allergic to animal proteins. She had been diagnosed with Chronic Neutrophilic Enteritis, a rare inflammatory disorder that affects the intestines.
So, they switched Harlow to a special vegetarian diet supervised by the vets, and as soon as they offered this to her, she ate it straight away. Over time, and under the watchful eyes of her family and Dr. Amy’s team, Harlow’s symptoms improved and she began regaining weight. Now Harlow is living her best life and it’s amazing to see!
It should be noted that Harlow’s medical issues involved more than simply an allergy to food. Prior to losing weight, she had experienced ongoing stomach and intestinal issues and had developed a life-threatening condition called gastropexy. “A GDV essentially is a condition where the stomach fills with gas and causes bloat, which then causes the stomach to flip and compress against vital organs,” Harlow’s vet team at SASH (Small Animal Specialist Hospital) in Sydney, Australia explained in a Facebook post. Harlow pulled through that and later was diagnosed with Chronic Neutrophilic Enteritis, the rarest form of chronic enteropathy – inflammatory bowel disease (CE-IBD) – which likely was the root cause of all her health issues.
They added, “Harlow is living proof that an Internal Medicine Specialist working closely with dedicated owners (like Alana) can really help the sickest of animals. Dr Amy is very proud to be a part of ensuring that Harlow can live her best life again. We love you Harlow!”