15 Month Old Greyhound Is Very Sick`~update Post #99

[ghhelp1]

Lindsay and Joanne:

All of us from Halfway Home are very upset about Becky. We had no idea that she was sick. We are sending mega-doses of white light and prayers.

 

Leslie Lingle (the farm that was holding her for us) said she had a dime-sized lesion on her rump when she left Oklahoma. Nothing was noted by the vet when she was spayed two weeks before she went on the haul. Leslie sends good thoughts for Becky too.

 

My husband asked me if it could be a spider bite. He had a foster GH who had been bit by a spider and ended up with an amputated leg.

 

We'll be sending a box of items for the auction for Becky's medical bills.

 

I'll send a PM with Dr. Linda Blythe's cell phone number, she has access to all the vets that wrote the Care of the Racing and Retired GH. Maybe they can come up with something. I know it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

 

Donna

Sad Cheerleader for Halfway Home

 

[Guest Mom2Shiloh]

I'm really glad Dr. Couto's going to be contacted. There isn't anyone better. The videos were so sad... made me think that when I had the really bad flares when I had Lyme the only thing that helped me with the intense pain was crushed ice packs, or in a pinch... ice-cold water on a bath towel. That might give her a bit of relief.

 

It's also good that all seem aware that any one of the tick-bornes can initiate an auto-immune disease. I got Rheumatoid Arthritis after my two instances of Lyme and my husband died of his one encounter with Babesia--- I will be praying hard for this little girl.

Edited September 6, 2008 by Mom2Shiloh

[Guest Carla]

Sending tons of prayers, mega doses of white light and positive energy to Becky.

 

[Guest crazy4greys]

Here is an update on Becky's last vet visit.....

 

Dr. Oswald aspirated the abscess. Lancing wasn't necessary since it was filled w/serum. While there is no initial sign of infection, they will request a cytology report since this is the 2nd go around.

 

Blood drawn for another CBC, and also requested testing for ANA and RA. Dr. Oswald wanted to be sure we understood these tests are rarely conclusive in animals, but possibly a piece of the puzzle.

 

She x-rayed 3 joints (pasturn, knee, elbow), but only 1 view each. Tufts or Angell will very likely do multiple views, but that's very manipulative and she'll probably need to be sedated. Dr. Oswald is focusing on the joints & wanted to get a sense of their condition. There are some mild irregularities in each joint.

 

She's on combination of Panacure and Metronidizole for the giaria. Dr. Oswald suggested finishing the 10 day course of Doxcycline as it does have some anti-inflammatory benefits and will continue with the Rimadyl.

 

 

Becky was bright, and very interested in all going on around her. She has gained a pound.

Edited September 6, 2008 by crazy4greys

[Guest PiagetsMom]

Sending good thoughts for Becky and hoping they'll get some answers for her very soon!

 

 

Edited September 6, 2008 by PiagetsMom

[Guest greytbookert]

I'm glad to hear that Becky was alert and interested in her surroundings! I'll be thinking good thoughts for her and hope that they find what's ailing her and are able to fix her up!

 

 

[Guest LindsaySF]

Just a little bump. Hoping someone out there might have more advice for us. (Prayers and white light are good too of course). We are rooting for Becky.

[fourofem]

That wagging tail got me...she's a sweet little thing despite whatever is going on with her. I don't have any advice but am sending positive thoughts her way. C'mon Becky....you can do it!!!!

[Batmom]

Wouldn't hurt to check for the fungal diseases (blastomycosis, histoplasmosis) if that hasn't been done. Poor little peanut -- sending lots of prayers.

[Guest Vinnie]

So glad to hear about the meds for giardia - that should knock that part out right away and then maybe her body can fight off the rest of what is attacking her. How soon did they think the test results might be back? How is her sister doing? Keeping her in our thoughts and prayers and sending more hugs and scritches to a very brave and spunky girl. Keep fighting Becky!

[seeh2o]

Poor sweet little thing. She had the energy to be bright, interested and wag her tail. We're rooooting for you little girl.

Edited September 7, 2008 by ckruzan

[Guest crazy4greys]

I think her energy is the one thing that is keeping her going. I think if she wasn't a happy girl, she would be doing much worse.

 

We are working on geting her an appointment at Angell in Boston. The vet sent a referal, so we should be able to get her in soon.

[Guest MyHoodies]

I didn't read all the post but wondering about Cushings?? (not a good speller). I knew someome several years ago who's older grey had it; he was weak and wobblely whe he tried to walk.

 

Jif had erlichious (spelling again) and was on Doxy for almost five months before it cleared up; didn't really have other listed symptoms but just wanted to mention that it took awhile to clear up.

 

Sending love, prayers and positive thoughts for you all; hope the mystery illnes will be found.

 

[4greyhounds]

We are still praying and thinking about her. Bless her heart, but it is some good news that she was alert.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Wouldn't hurt to check for the fungal diseases (blastomycosis, histoplasmosis) if that hasn't been done.

We'll add that to the list, thank you. We haven't tested for those yet.

 

Can a dog be infected with one of those systemic fungal diseases without pulmonary symptoms like coughing?

[Batmom]

You would usually see coughing or some form of respiratory abnormality, but not 100% of the time. It's a longshot, but probably worth investigating. I suppose something else you would have to consider would be Alabama rot.

[Guest BillF]

I'm going through something similar with Annabel. I adopted her from the Birmingham AL race course in March. She's 5 years old.

 

I've been meaning to post, but life has a way of getting in the way.

 

I came home from work one day in mid-June and Annabel was very lethargic and moving stiffly. We took her to the emergency vet. Her temp was 104. The vet found some soreness in her joints. He gave her a steroid shot to control the pain and fever. Over the next couple of hours her temp came down. I took her to her regular vet the next day.

 

The blood work showed a raised white blood cell count. We also wondered if the limping was a physical injury. Annabel was having some SA issues. I baby gated her into part of the house. I was also taping her. A few days before this she met me at the door when I got home. The tape showed her trying to jump over the baby gate. She tried to push off the top with her feet. The gate collapsed. That's why we suspected a physical injury was part of this.

 

We spent about a month with the regular vet. She tried different antibiotics with various results. She did tick titers and an auto-immune arthritis test. They came back OK. X-rays looked fine. She would have good days and bad days. Bad days were marked by high temperature and joint swelling and soreness.

 

After that we decided to take her to Dr Milton at the Emergency and Specialty clinic here in Birmingham. When we got her to him her temp was 106. She stayed there for a week. He found a combination of antibiotics that have been working.

 

She's on -

Doxycycline 100mg - 2 capsules twice a day.

Clindamycin 300mg - 1 capsule twice a day.

Previcox 227mg - 1/2 tablet once a day.

 

He draw fluid from her front joints. He said it was infected, but the lab never could get anything from it.

 

She was discharged on 8/20. She's been doing great on these drugs until this weekend. The swelling returned to her joints and she was haing trouble getting up and down. One odd thing is this time her temperature has not gone up. It's stayed in the normal range. She spent the night at the clinic. Dr Milton will be in this morning and will call me after he sees her. They gave her some pain meds and said she could get up and down on her own.

 

My girlfriend has Labs, and is active in field trials and hunt tests. She and her field trial friends are big on tick diseases. We talked to Dr Milton about these and she had a laundry tests of different things her friends told her about - Babesia being one of them. Dr Milton was very tolerant of our attempts to tell him how to do his job He said Babesia was covered in the tick titers and that some of the symptoms didn't match. But he did go look some things up and spoke to other vets at the clinic.

 

Hopefully this is just a setback. Until this weekend Annabel was becoming her old self. She stated playing around the house more. She lost 11 pounds during all this. At her worst points she just wouldn't eat anything. Lately she's been eating like a pig and has gained back most of the weight loss.

 

I watched the videos. I don't think Annabel had it as bad as Becky.

 

I'll post later today or tomorrow when I hear from Dr Milton.

 

Thanks

Bill & Annabel

Edited September 7, 2008 by BillF

[Guest LindsaySF]

Thank you for your reply Bill. I hope you find out what is wrong with Annabel soon. Good luck.

[Guest argolola]

Checking in for a pupdate.

[Guest Winterwish]

Hoping so much for good news for Becky here too.

[Guest crazy4greys]

Here is an update from her foster mom.....

 

Becky is doing pretty good the last few days. As of yesterday, she's able to go down the deck stairs by herself & explore in the yard, which is a big improvement. She seems to enjoy laying in the sun ~ and snack on grass when she thinks you're not looking. She also tried very hard to wriggle out of my arms on Saturday when she spied a squirrel on the fence.

 

 

Becky has an appointment at Angell Memorial in Boston on Friday.

 

Keep those good thoughts and white light coming!! They seem to be working!!

 

[Guest Winterwish]

Will do!!! keep getting stronger and getting well sweetheart!

 

Crazy4greys and LindsaySF,you guys at WAG have been doing such a great job of helping her recover!

Edited September 9, 2008 by Winterwish

[patricia]

Thank you for the update. Sending more prayers.

[Guest KRKWMU]

Yippee! Glad she's doing better. Hopefully, all of you can get some more insight on Friday.

 

We'll still be thinking about this girl.

[Guest Vinnie]

WooHoo Becky! Sure sign of good things if you are going after those evil squirrels! Hope you feel better soon. Continued good thoughts and prayers and more hugs and scritches.