All True Stories
Our beloved beagle, Otto, was diagnosed with Hyperparathyroidism in March 2021. April was a blur of tests, appointments, consultations, love, crying, and hard decisions. We ultimately decided to take Otto to a Specialty Vet 2+ hours away. Logistically, this was challenging with Covid and we also had to plan on staying in the area for at least a week while he recovered in the hospital. Surgery went well; they successfully removed his parathyroid gland and bladder stones that developed consequentially. He then stayed in the hospital while they ran frequent blood work and tests to make sure his calcium regulated (google hyperparathyroidism, calcium is really high and then drops dangerously low after surgery). In the meantime, I was buying him toys, bones, treats, and anything I could find to spoil my best boy when he got home, which is when I came across parmesan pecks. Finally , a week later, we were able to bring Otto home! Being a Beagle, Otto always had a large appetite, but when we got him home nothing seemed to interest him. Not even cheese or peanut butter. We took him back to the vet for more testing. Unfortunately, the elevated calcium took its toll on his kidneys and we got the awful news that he was in kidney failure. We took him back every day for weeks to receive fluid therapy to try to flush his system. During this time, nothing seemed to appeal to Otto except for the Parmesan pecks I picked up at the store. It�s the only thing that got him through- I would give him the entire pack if he was willing to eat it. For weeks, all he would eat was parmesan pecks, up until a couple days before we were forced to make the tough decision for our sweet Otto. To this day, we primarily use Honest Kitchen products for our beagles, Nora and Reg. They love the treats, food, toppers, broth, and goats milk.
Otto
Beagle — Age 10
Me and my best boy, Otto.
Otto the day we brought him home in August 2010.
Otto hiking and relaxing by the river.
Otto the day we brought him home from surgery, rolling in his own yard.