Ozzie was a normal puppy, but as he got closer to his first birthday I noticed he was cold a lot and didn't have the energy I thought a young dog should  have.  Since Ozzie is a yorkie, I knew his chances of having a liver shunt were a lot higher than other breeds, but his symptoms didn't match what I had researched about liver shunts.  I felt like something was not right and took Ozzie in for a complete blood workup.  My vet thought I was just being overprotective, but the next day his tests confirmed that he definitely had liver issues. 

      I contacted the Liver Shunt and MVD Support group immediately since I had learned about them from Yorkietalk.com.   It was there I found tremendous knowledge and advice.  I can not tell you what a comfort it has been to have them there all the time to advise me, and most of all, to comfort me and help me learn that this could be managed.  I made the appointment at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and three weeks later Ozzie had his liver shunt repair surgery.  Even though Knoxville was nine hours away from where I lived, I knew they were the best and I wanted nothing less for Ozzie.