As long as Harlow still had a spark in her eyes, owner Alana and her partner vowed to “do everything we could” to get the sick pooch back to good health.
But after the nine-year-old Weimaraner‘s weight rapidly dropped to 13kg and she couldn't stand or keep any food or water down, they realised it was time to say goodbye.
At the same time, vet Dr Amy Lam from SASH (Small Animal Specialist Hospital) Sydney made a life-saving discovery.
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She realised why Harlow wasn't responding to any typical inflammatory bowel disease treatments and what they could try instead.
“She said, ‘The last thing we're gonna try here is this vegetarian diet' and we said, ‘Yep, absolutely. We'll do anything, we'll try it',” Alana tells 9honey Pets, explaining Dr Lam figured out Harlow was reacting to the proteins in meat.
“It was a real struggle to try to get her to eat anything for probably a week and a half to two weeks leading up to that. I'd sit there in front of her in tears, just crying and begging her to eat something or anything.”
The moment Harlow started eating a plant-based diet, her special spark returned as did her strength and weight gain.
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A few years on, things are pretty much back to normal for Harlow, but her near-death experience has been life-changing for Alana.
After seven years as a teacher Alana made the big decision to change careers and pursue veterinary medicine.
“As we went through this and I saw the impact that both our regular vets and our specialists had in saving her life and changing our lives as well in the process, it really hit me. I thought I would really like to be able to make that impact one day.
“But then going through all of this I got into reading a lot about veterinary nutrition and internal medicine, gastrointestinal disorders and it just really sparked my interest in the area.”
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Alana's potential as a veterinary nutrition specialist was spotted by Dr Lam during the consultation process for Harlow's condition.
Dr Lam was impressed that the research Alana did to find out more about Harlow's condition had a scientific basis rather than just whatever came up in a Google search.
“That phrase of ‘you are what you eat' actually does make a lot of sense, and I feel like Alana's really taken that on board and she's gone 10 steps ahead in trying to understand the type of nutrition that she's giving to Harlow, and making sure that it's doing what she wants it to do,” Dr Lam tells 9honey Pets.
“So we're wanting to make sure [Harlow's] gut microbiome and her gut health is optimised, we're wanting to reduce the pro-inflammation in the gut. Alana has gone and done little bits of research to try to understand those concepts, but gone an extra step ahead in trying to make sure that other people can also understand why it's important to look after those components of health in your dog as well.”
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Alana is currently in the honours year of her undergraduate degree. From there she'll need to complete a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and do a residency programme to specialise in veterinary nutrition.
Of course, when it comes time to intern Alana will be doing so at SASH under Dr Lam, who has been mentoring her throughout her studies.
“[Dr Lam] has also been a fabulous mentor for me, she's taught me so much. She's always open to whenever I'm intrigued on a topic or have questions about something. She's always open to having discussions and conversations about that.
“She's been a really fantastic support throughout this new journey.”
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The experience has been equally rewarding and inspiring for Dr Lam.
“It's really amazing when we can connect that well with our clients that we can inspire someone else to be a vet like this. It would be absolutely incredible for Alana to be a vet,” Dr Lam says.
“I've seen a lot of people go through this pathway of becoming a vet through my career, but I don't think I've ever been as convinced about someone's ability to go into our field and provide exceptional patient care [as Alana].”
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And without the harrowing experience Alana went through with Harlow, she may never have discovered her calling.
“Well, you know, they say sometimes the universe works in mysterious ways because this situation was horrible to go through but had it not happened, I wouldn't actually be here and I wouldn't have decided that this was the career that I wanted to embark on and that this is what I wanted to do,” she says.
“I've never been happier pursuing this, it just, it feels right.”
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