| TYLER'S STORY |
Before I got Tyler, I must have spoken to every breeder in the northeast because I was totally paranoid
about Liver Shunt disease. I was looking for a good breeder so I could get another Yorkie. I lost my
Timmy in 1999, and he too was a Liver Shunt dog.
I wasn't educated enough to know what a Liver Shunt was, and after seeing many vets, neither were
they. I found a breeder that lived here in NJ that I felt I could trust, and we kept in touch on a regular
basis. I saw a few different litters she had, but didn't connect to any of the puppies. Then I got a call from
her months later, and there were two little male puppies. The female died at birth, and so I had two
males to choose from. I knew when I saw Tyler, I found my puppy.
From the first day I brought him home he started vomiting.
The breeder blamed me and said it was something I was doing.
For several weeks after Tyler came to me, he would vomit a few
hours after eating. Tyler showed no signs of anything wrong, other
than the vomiting. Eight vets later, and no other signs of anything
wrong, I met a woman in my development that told me about her
dog that had bladder cancer. She told me she was going to send
me to her internist and if anything was wrong, she would find it.
Well, Thank Goodness I met this woman, because this vet turned out to be the best thing that could
have ever happened for us. She suspected a Liver Shunt, even though Tyler's signs were normal, other
than the vomiting, but she did a bile acid test anyways. His post bile was 501. We were then given an
appointment with a surgeon who told us Tyler had a 50% chance of survival. After losing my Timmy, and
then finding out my 9 month old puppy had a Liver Shunt, I really fell apart. Whatever it cost, we were
willing to do to save his life. The breeder begged me to give him back, so she could destroy him and
she said she would give me two puppies for him. Needless to say, I no longer have a relationship with
this breeder.
We had the surgery within a few weeks, and Tyler almost died in recovery, because his body was
rejecting the Ameriod Constrictor used to fix the shunt. He was in the hospital for 5 days, and we went
to visit him twice a day. I got a call at 2:00 a.m. from someone at the hospital telling me to go to sleep
because my prayers were answered and Tyler would be OK. That week was one of the toughest weeks
I could remember.
Tyler came home, and did great for almost two years. Then we noticed he was drinking and urinating
everywhere. We took him back to the hospital, and his bile acids shot way up. A kidney function test
was performed and it came back showing he had 24% use of his kidneys. I was told he had a year to
live from an emergency room doctor that saw him. My world crumbled, and that is when someone I
helped with her Liver Shunt dog, told me of a "wellness coach" that helped her after her dog had the
surgery. I contacted this woman, and she gave me hope, and it changed Tyler's whole life.
We started doing home cooking of all organic foods, and he takes several supplements a day in his
food; acidophilus, bifidus, organic blue green algae, coenzyme Q-10, organic sprouts and enzymes. It
has been three years since we found out about his kidneys, and now all blood work, including his bile
acids, are normal. We go for quarterly blood tests, and they continue to stay normal!
Tyler is my Special Little Angel. I have four dogs, and love them all to pieces. But Tyler has a special
place in my heart that is just for him alone. I can only compare my love for him like the love a mother
feels for a child, and the never ending lengths you will go through to help them. There isn't a day that
passes where I take his life for granted, and I just pray that he will grow old with us.
Jayne Cohen
Manalapan, NJ
about Liver Shunt disease. I was looking for a good breeder so I could get another Yorkie. I lost my
Timmy in 1999, and he too was a Liver Shunt dog.
I wasn't educated enough to know what a Liver Shunt was, and after seeing many vets, neither were
they. I found a breeder that lived here in NJ that I felt I could trust, and we kept in touch on a regular
basis. I saw a few different litters she had, but didn't connect to any of the puppies. Then I got a call from
her months later, and there were two little male puppies. The female died at birth, and so I had two
males to choose from. I knew when I saw Tyler, I found my puppy.
From the first day I brought him home he started vomiting.
The breeder blamed me and said it was something I was doing.
For several weeks after Tyler came to me, he would vomit a few
hours after eating. Tyler showed no signs of anything wrong, other
than the vomiting. Eight vets later, and no other signs of anything
wrong, I met a woman in my development that told me about her
dog that had bladder cancer. She told me she was going to send
me to her internist and if anything was wrong, she would find it.
Well, Thank Goodness I met this woman, because this vet turned out to be the best thing that could
have ever happened for us. She suspected a Liver Shunt, even though Tyler's signs were normal, other
than the vomiting, but she did a bile acid test anyways. His post bile was 501. We were then given an
appointment with a surgeon who told us Tyler had a 50% chance of survival. After losing my Timmy, and
then finding out my 9 month old puppy had a Liver Shunt, I really fell apart. Whatever it cost, we were
willing to do to save his life. The breeder begged me to give him back, so she could destroy him and
she said she would give me two puppies for him. Needless to say, I no longer have a relationship with
this breeder.
We had the surgery within a few weeks, and Tyler almost died in recovery, because his body was
rejecting the Ameriod Constrictor used to fix the shunt. He was in the hospital for 5 days, and we went
to visit him twice a day. I got a call at 2:00 a.m. from someone at the hospital telling me to go to sleep
because my prayers were answered and Tyler would be OK. That week was one of the toughest weeks
I could remember.
Tyler came home, and did great for almost two years. Then we noticed he was drinking and urinating
everywhere. We took him back to the hospital, and his bile acids shot way up. A kidney function test
was performed and it came back showing he had 24% use of his kidneys. I was told he had a year to
live from an emergency room doctor that saw him. My world crumbled, and that is when someone I
helped with her Liver Shunt dog, told me of a "wellness coach" that helped her after her dog had the
surgery. I contacted this woman, and she gave me hope, and it changed Tyler's whole life.
We started doing home cooking of all organic foods, and he takes several supplements a day in his
food; acidophilus, bifidus, organic blue green algae, coenzyme Q-10, organic sprouts and enzymes. It
has been three years since we found out about his kidneys, and now all blood work, including his bile
acids, are normal. We go for quarterly blood tests, and they continue to stay normal!
Tyler is my Special Little Angel. I have four dogs, and love them all to pieces. But Tyler has a special
place in my heart that is just for him alone. I can only compare my love for him like the love a mother
feels for a child, and the never ending lengths you will go through to help them. There isn't a day that
passes where I take his life for granted, and I just pray that he will grow old with us.
Jayne Cohen
Manalapan, NJ
