Testimonial Interview #4: Cheri Dempsey & Clover

About

Name: Cheri Dempsey

Dog: Clover, lived to 16 years old

Breed: Shih Tzu/Poodle

Was Eating: Raw Performance

Testimonial

"Clover was about 10 years old when she was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and failing kidneys, due to heart medication. We were told that she would have about a year to live. We were heartbroken. She was our baby. When we spoke to Rommel and Shelli [Tail Blazers in Barrie] about it, they recommended Adored Beast Liver Tonic. It would cleanse her kidneys and maybe buy us some time. We got almost six years from her date of diagnosis. We lost her a year ago. We are so grateful to both of them for that gift of time with our old girl. We have a few dogs and cats, and we ALWAYS go to them before we head to the vet. They are so knowledgeable, helpful and empathetic. They always treat our pets as they would their own. We're thankful to have them in the community!"

Read below for Clover's full story:

Interview

1. Tell me about Clover. What were some of Clover’s favourite activities?

She was born in June 2008 and brought home in September (our second dog after Willow). She was feisty, independent, and looked at everyone with contempt like 'what are you looking at?'. Everything Willow wasn't, but I loved her, she was my heart. She was never overly active; her favourite thing was to snuggle. She was never a chewer and didn't like to play with stuffies. She was also terrified of squeakers. She loved to sleep out on the deck in the sunshine where we would bring out the bed for her.

2. What led to her being diagnosed?

Around 10 years old she started coughing a lot. When she was younger she had a cold, which I didn't know dogs could get. She would take her blanket and jump up on the couch to cuddle. This time when she started to cough, it wasn't going away, and I recognized this was different. We took her to the vet and when they showed us the x-rays, her lungs were filled with fluid and they showed us her heart, she had stage 4 congestive heart failure. They gave her 1 year; I was devastated because I wasn't done loving her.

3. What was prescribed?

She started with enalapril (human grade pill) and furosemide (water pill) which causes them to pee a lot. We had to play around with the timing of giving the pills so she wasn’t up at night. We noticed some weight gain which was said would go away with the water pill (due to fluid in lungs). She ended up losing about 2 lbs which allowed her to became more active and feisty. Clover started slowing down again (about 2 years in) so we did more x-rays at a new vet (due to arguments about raw at the previous one) and they said the kidneys are being damaged because of furosemide. It's a vicious cycle because she needed it to prevent more fluid in lungs, but it was damaging her kidneys. The recommendation was to cut down the dose. It eventually got to the point where her kidneys were in such bad shape that she started having seizures (Aug 2022), she had 4 in one day. She went on phenobarbital temporarily to stop the seizures but was on furosemide until the end.

4. When did you visit Tail Blazers Barrie?

We already went to Tail Blazers for food but within a year of the diagnosis, I mentioned the situation to Rommel and he recommended Liver Tonic by Adored Beast, it's like a cleanse and supports more than just the liver (kidneys, pancreas, and gallbladder). I still tell them to this day that they're the reason I got those extra years with Clover. We used the tonic until the end, as well as the raw food.

5. Do you continue to shop at Tail Blazers Barrie?

To this day, for my 3 dogs and 3 cats, I always go to Rommel and Shelli first. I will message through Facebook and Shelli is so quick to answer. Rommel can tell me what's in ALL the foods and has the best recommendations but will always say Shelli is the smarter one. They always greet us by name. You feel like you are family there, they take the time to learn about us and know all about our life. They will always take their time as you're not just a number. When all of my dogs had kennel cough, they recommended Winter-Ease and it cleared them right up. I always talk to them about a natural resolution before going to the vet. They're very special people.

6. What pets do you have now?

Licorice (F)- born June 2016 - toy aussie/poodle mix
Rocky (M) - born Aug 2016 - shih tzu - rescue from Peru
Trooper (M) - born Sept 2022- labeled as shih tzu, maybe some terrier- rescued in St. Jacobs, body had neurological reaction to vaccine and spent first 9 months not walking, but he is now fully mobile
Smudge (M )- born March 2020 - orange tabby (littermates)
Gibson (M) - born March 2020 - brown tabby (littermates)
Nova (F) - born April 2021 - calico - broke hip at 7 months, fell off top of the cat tree. Rescued from hoarding situation.

7. Anything else you want to share?

No. I just love them!! They're a fountain of information and our visits are so valuable.

Clover

Send your stories on how we have helped your pet to info@tailblazerspets.com