Katara was the smallest in a litter of six puppies born in the Nursery at our Pet Health Centers on Christmas night in 2020. While her siblings took to nursing immediately, Katara did not, and she seemed lame and lethargic. While the staff opted to bottle-feed Katara, she soon started to gain weight. However, she did not seem to be progressing in other areas – such as standing or walking.

Eventually, Katara began having seizures and was diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy, a disorder caused by a liver shunt that allowed a portion of her blood to bypass the liver and not get filtered properly, resulting in a build-up of dangerous toxins. Katara was then placed in an oxygen cage, which seemed to work well for a short time, but Katara would need to have surgery to correct the liver shunt if she was going to survive.

To add to her challenges, Katara also developed a carpal (wrist…