Ellie

Ellie is an 8.5 - 9 year old mixed breed dog and we live in Tempe, AZ. She looks a lot like a small Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, at only 26 lbs! Ellie hikes with me nearly every day during the winters here in AZ and she is very active. She has never really had any symptoms of health issues, but we discovered that she had elevated liver enzymes during routine blood work for a dental about 4 years ago. She was eating a raw diet and was immediately put on liver supplements. Her enzymes never really went down until we did a liver biopsy and got her a diagnosis of cholestasis. This means that for some reason, physiologically, her bile flows through the liver too slowly, causing bile particles as well as bacteria to become trapped in the liver. This in turn causes infections in the liver and elevates the liver enzymes. We have her on the exact right medication that aids in moving the bile along faster, as well as a whole host of liver supplements. She can no longer safely eat a raw diet, and because I care about the quality of a company and the food they produce, I put her on The Honest Kitchen. She primarily eats the two base mixes with turkey, eggs, and cod mixed in. These foods are all very gentle on the liver and doesn't add any extra stress on an already compromised organ. I feel very confident feeding Honest Kitchen products and Ellie enjoys them too! Additionally, she has had normal liver enzymes, again with no symptoms, since her liver biopsy nearly 2 years ago!