Test Scores

Our lives are punctuated by test scores. I remember taking a weird test in kindergarten that I later realized was an IQ test. Then there were the spelling tests and the math tests and the science tests I dreaded so much. My score on the all-important driver's license test showed deductions for driving our whale of a Mercury Grand Marquis too slow - yes, too slow - on the road section of the test, and then came what felt like the most important test of my life - the ACT college entrance exam.

Now that I'm older, cholesterol, gum health, and vision tests have become the barometers of my well-being; early in life, it's all about the mental fitness tests, but later in life, our test scores more often reflect our physical fitness - or lack thereof.

I didn't imagine I'd be checking my phone and the answering machine several times each day, waiting for test scores from Texas A&M to determine the health of our foster Pointer's pancreas, but I did. Pen's first test for pancreatic insufficiency was low-cost and fast - a measurement of the impact of the enzymes in her stool according to their ability to dissolve geltain on unexposed X-ray film. The poor results of that test were pretty conclusive, but I wanted more, so we had her blood drawn and sent to Texas A&M, the only lab performing blood-based EPI testing.

A healthy dog's pancreas scores between 5 and 45, and Pen's came back...(drumroll)...8. Her score is low - in the healthy range - but low, but it's high enough that Texas A&M does not consider her to be a dog with clinical exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.

So, where do we go now? Well, our vet and I think there are two issues at play here - food allergies and a depressed pancreas. So, we're feeding a hypoallergenic food but cutting back on her enzymes, and I'm happy to report excellent results. So, the good news is that Pen may not need medication for the rest of her life after all and may be fine with good digestive supplements in time. The bad news is that we'll have to do some experimenting to figure out what her food allergy is, whether it's a certain kind of meat, wheat, gluten, or something else. But with today's excellent foods and the success of raw diets, I'm confident we'll get it figured out.