2hounds

I will never forget when we first brought Iceman home, he was my first male dog EVER and I called my friend Cynthia all in a panic because he was very...EXCITED...and I thought maybe the vet didn't actually neuter him.

Gabe... And congrats on your new chip, Diamond is GORGEOUS!!!

Looking forward to pictures here too!

I remember that waiting, it was torture but SO worth it!

I am sorry to hear about Lindy, you will find many here who have shared your losses. Big hugs to you and your next perfect hound will find you when the time is right.

The link won't open for me, I can't wait to see Miss Bella!

Awww, congrats! And welcome back!

Your girl is beautiful, I look forward to seeing more pictures of her!

I don't have a dog door, our hounds just tell us when they need to go potty. I work from home so I figure it is a great time for me to take a break, get some fresh air and clear my mind while they do their business.

I am so sorry for your loss I am not a good one to give you advice because I have only positive things to say about greyhounds. They are different from IGs in many ways, but they are like them in many ways as well. Greyhounds are what I call the closest you can get to a cat in a canine body.

Can't wait to see pics!

Love that nose!

I'm no expert but that is a really low dosage of pred to be immunosuppressant. Fingers crossed it is something easily treated!

9.6.07 update Thanks for checking in on my Meemers, she has perked up amazingly today. The specialist told us the new medication would take up to 2 weeks to reach full potency, but even Cynthia remarked today that Mia is brighter and bouncier than she has been ALL SUMMER!! She is on 20mg Pred twice/day until the new meds are up to full potency so the potty accidents have begun again, you have about a 10 second window to get her outside once she tells you it is time, but that is ok because I have a steam cleaner and I know how to use it!

For me personally it is essential. We drive 45 minutes to our vet's office because we know, love, and trust them.

More good thoughts coming your way

To you AND your gorgeous babies!

Oh my gosh, she is stunning! Congrats!

Suzie, Lupus was one of the things mentioned. We are still working with the same specialist who saw her when she was Very Very sick in June and she was even mentioning the possibility of this happening back then and Lupus came up then as well. Basically what the vet said was despite the name we give it, the treatment is going to be the same, so she didn't recommend doing all of the testing to find out if it is lupus or some other name. I can ask about the Cyclosporine once we have the final test results back, we went ahead and started Mia on azathroprine, which from the tiny bit of research I have had time to do is an immunomodulator (non steroid). The plan is to take her completely off of the prednisone once the azathroprine is at the right level in her system.

We are doing a PCR test now to make absolutely sure about the Erlichea. The tests from NC State were definitely negative for everything except erlichea and we treated with doxy for 10 weeks at the higher dosage. The PCR test is to try to make absolute sure the erlichea is gone, if it is then this is probably an immune mediated response and she will likely be on medication long term and possibly for the rest of her life, according to the specialist.

9.6.07 update Thanks for checking in on my Meemers, she has perked up amazingly today. The specialist told us the new medication would take up to 2 weeks to reach full potency, but even Cynthia remarked today that Mia is brighter and bouncier than she has been ALL SUMMER!! She is back on the higher dosage (20mg Prednisone twice/day) until the new meds are up to full potency so the potty accidents have begun again, you have about a 10 second window to get her outside once she tells you it is time, but that is ok because I have a steam cleaner and I know how to use it! 9.4.07 We are back from the vet. Again. We have been sloooooowly (like snail's pace) backing down Mia's pred dosage. We had a checkup appointment last Tuesday and backed it down to 20mg once per day and this weekend she started slowing down and acting like she didn't feel well. Last night her fever spiked up to 104, so this coupled with feeling lethargic, moving slowly, etc, this morning we took her to the vet. The pain and swelling is back in her joints and it looks like she has an immune mediated disease caused by the Erlichea. We are sending her blood off to be cultured to make absolute 100% certain that the Erlichea is completely gone, but the vet really feels like this is her immune system attacking itself. As of right now, she is back on an increased dose of Prednisone and she is starting on a new medication, azathroprine (? I haven't looked it up online yet) that is supposed to suppress the immune system better than pred with less side effects for long term use. So if you can spare any good healthy thoughts for my Meemers, she and I would both greatly appreciate it. I so want my little girl to be healthy!

Your Lima is beautiful!

Wow, your Frida is stunning!

You have come to the perfect place for research while you wait for your perfect hound to find you!

Your Sheba is beautiful!