"I have bad news for you. The results showed that Pru has an insulinoma."
"Okay, what exactly does that mean? I don't understand."
"This means he has a pancreatic tumor, which is very rare and 100% fatal."
This was a conversation I will never forget between me and my vet when I learned that Pru was suffering from a malignant tumor. The picture you see was taken in the vet's waiting room while we awaited the results.
You're probably wondering what this has to do with the whole Apipet business. Who am I and who is Pru anyway?
Before I continue, I'm Ivan, one of the co-founders of Apipet, who is part of my family business, and Pru is someone very important to us! Pru is our mascot, our family member, our reason why we dedicated ourselves carefully and actively to Apipet, Pru is our inspiration but also our pain.
We owe all our successes and all the changed ones to Pru Lives of the owners and their pets.
We are a Croatian company that manufactures and sells food supplements for pets.
Our entire production takes place in Croatia and is based on 100% natural ingredients.
In Croatia we have 4,000 satisfied customers and Apipet is now available almost all over Europe.
If you have any questions or comments, you can contact us by email (apipet@apipet.shop) or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ApipetShop).
But to continue where we left off...
I'll tell you right now that news like this really isn't easy to hear.
My dog, my Pru, my best friend for 9 years has 6 months, maybe 1 year left to live, because that's how long life expectancy is with such an illness.
Lots of things went through my head, all the trips, all the walks, all the games, all the little things that under normal circumstances you can't appreciate because you just accept them and find them normal. Luckily, Pru kind of had it the easiest, she didn't know it was happening and her life hadn't changed that much at that point, maybe she just didn't realize that all of us around her were so sad. Since there is no such thing as mourning, we decided to fight. We are adhering to prescribed corticosteroid therapy but we will also be using high daily doses of Apipet which would then be much less exposed and even less well known and our product In addition, we will celebrate each new month of defeated disease as a birthday. We were certain that this would defeat the 1 year diagnosis.
But to continue where we left off...
I'll tell you right now that news like this really isn't easy to hear.
My dog, my Pru, my best friend for 9 years has 6 months, maybe 1 year left to live, because that's how long life expectancy is with such an illness.
Lots of things went through my head, all the trips, all the walks, all the games, all the little things that under normal circumstances you can't appreciate because you just accept them and find them normal. Luckily, Pru kind of had it the easiest, she didn't know it was happening and her life hadn't changed that much at that point, maybe she just didn't realize that all of us around her were so sad. Since there is no such thing as mourning, we decided to fight. We are adhering to prescribed corticosteroid therapy but we will also be using high daily doses of Apipet which would then be much less exposed and even less well known and our product. In addition, we will celebrate each new month of defeated disease as a birthday. We were certain that this would defeat the 1 year diagnosis.
Pru has always been one of those dogs that has broken down stereotypes and prejudices against dangerous breeds. People who were afraid of Staffords or Pitbulls would change their minds if they met Pru.
We always knew she was special, and then she found a way to prove it to us all over again.
As time went by and the projections of 6 months to 1 year didn't seem realistic, Prue decided to beat those diagnoses and so the first year passed. Big birthday, big day, big win. Pru 1, tumor 0!
In the meantime, Prue got her roommate, a wildcat - Kru (cruella in Spanish - cruel), and like a real Stafford, she liked her immediately and was hit by her regularly.
As time went on, we entered a critical phase, or so we thought. Pru is still on standard therapy but even with large doses appetite and there are no major changes. She gained weight, but it was a small price to pay for time and happiness with her.
Not to make this blog a novel, it has been more than 2.5 years today since the diagnosis was made. Our vet Martina claims that Pru is a world record holder and that there is no dog that has lived longer with such a diagnosis.
When we found that our therapy was changing relative to all the other dogs that had similar or the same diagnoses, except for Apipet, I realized one thing
It is my moral obligation as a pet owner to tell you my story.
If I have something that can change your life as it has changed mine, it would be very selfish and ungrateful not to share it. From that moment on, my focus in life has been Apipet.
How do you tell someone about nature, science, knowledge, technology, love of pets who has never heard of Apipet.
For 1.5 years we have been actively telling the story of Apipet, for 1.5 years we have been changing and influencing the lives of owners and their pets for the better.
That's why I find all our success, motivation and inspiration in Pru, because without her there would be no Apipet. Thank you Pru.
When we worked hard for Apipet, few people knew about it, today it has changed the lives of over 3500 pets, over 3500 families.
Ivan Radić
Due to their condition, Prue uses 2 Apipet products .
Apipet Immuno - due to the medication (corticosteroids) she takes daily, it is very important for us that her immunity is strong so that she can tolerate this therapy.
The effect of the corticosteroids is also better when using Immuno than when they are used alone.
Apipet Flexi - due to the fact that the cortices influence water absorption, weight gain also occurs. Pru is still a lady of her age and it can never be good for her joints, so it's important to us that her legs serve her as long as possible.
She's still waiting for us at the door trying to pounce on us - so it's working for now.