Sechelt’s Marilyn Veenhof wants to educate people about a canine disease she has dealt with called megaesophagus because “it doesn’t have to be a death sentence.”
Megaesophagus (ME) causes the esophagus to become enlarged with a decreased ability to contract and move food down into the stomach. It can also cause the esophagus to develop pockets where food and liquid can collect. The disease can be found in cats as well as dogs.
Animals with ME often regurgitate their food and liquids and can suffer complications or starve because of it.
“They eat, and if not elevated for gravity to do the work for them, they will regurgitate the food and can suffer from aspirated pneumonia, which can kill them if not caught and treated,” Veenhof said.
Other common symptoms of ME are coughing, nasal discharge, increased respiratory noises, weight loss, excessive drooling and bad breath.
Veenhof first learned about ME when her chihuahua Boo developed it as a pup in 2011. “He was probably three or four months old and sound asleep and all of a sudden he just sprung awake and his body was all rigid and his head was up. It’s hard to explain but he looked like a little baby bird waiting for food,” Veenhof said. “He had fluid coming out of his nose and his mouth was open because he couldn’t breathe.”
Veenhof was concerned, but the episode passed and things seemed to calm down. “There was nothing for several weeks and then I saw it again,” Veenhof said.
After visiting two separate vets on the Sunshine Coast and in Vancouver, Boo was diagnosed with ME.
The treatment was both simple and time consuming. Boo would have to be elevated each time he ate for about half an hour to ensure gravity could help work the food down into his stomach. He’d also have to be elevated while sleeping.
Veenhof found a made-to-order chair for dogs with ME called the Bailey Chair out of California and ordered it for Boo.
Each day during feeding he’d gladly sit in his chair and stay for the half hour needed. “It was like he knew what had to happen,” Veenhof said.
The unusual chair and special feeding routine brought up lots of questions among Veenhof’s friends, and she found herself constantly educating people about the disease. “I think probably more dogs on the Coast have it and people just don’t know,” Veenhof said, noting that’s why she wanted to share her story.
“Dogs can die from ME if not diagnosed and treated properly, but the disease can be managed. It doesn’t have to be a death sentence.”
She noted there’s a K9 Megaesophagus Facebook page for people wanting to connect and know more.
Veenhof’s beloved Boo died on Sept. 4 at the age of five due to a pancreatitis attack, unrelated to ME.
She hopes that by sharing his story other pet owners will become educated and more pets will be diagnosed and treated.
