Woohoo! more good news!

Went up to the vet today to get the rabies vaccination (with all the excitement of the last few visits, we kind of overlooked that!) Ruby has gained another 1/2 a pound so she is up to 41.4- great victory for her! She is looking pretty close to where she needs to be, maybe another 3 pounds or so.

Her lungs were clear, and there was no murmur in her heart, so she is still doing well in that department too! On New Years Day she will get her first treatment of heartgard- we are doing half of the normal dosage for the first two months, and will go from there to a normal dose in March. We have also noticed that her dry cough is now almost gone... we very rarely hear her cough anymore!!

Ruby has such a beautiful attitude... what a joy to have in our home. She has really made her own way into all of our hearts, and we just can't imagine what it was like before she came to be with us. Ok, maybe we can, but she has such a happy go lucky outlook on life that all of us smile just to see her! She even spoils our big pointer boy Rugby, by taking naps with him.

Everyone at the vets gave her special attention today, and told her what a good girl she is. We will have to give her a little talk on how not to let things go to her head!!!

Ruby stats: weight: 41.4, lungs: clear, heart: normal beat, continuing on her doxy treatment. Attitude: positive, energy level: normal. Miscellaneous info: No/rare dry cough, hair loss almost normal, new growth coming in well, and SHINY!

It was the Friday before Christmas....

Ruby started her treatment with doxycycline on Wednesday. We will be doing that alone til the first of the year and we will start her on the treatment with heartguard. She seems to be suffering no ill effects at this point (not expected) and is as happy as ever.

One of the things we first noticed about Ruby when we went to see her at the shelter was that she had massive amounts of hair loss. Not typical for a vizsla. She still has that somewhat, and we figure it is due to the stress her system is under. I am hoping the seameal supplements and premium food, plus the raw foods will help with that. The places that were shaved for her spay and IV during her spay are slowly growing back. People have asked if she has mange- last I checked mange didn't happen in squares!!

Ruby starts her day with a little love from everyone... then she waits patiently for her breakfast of dry kibble with seameal gravy, and a little desert course of a "meatball" This is a great treat for your dogs... it makes a HUGE batch!!

The following recipe was sent to Wellpet by Diana Carreon, R.N.,C. It quickly became one of the most requested posts on Wellpet.
Ingredients
10 pounds hamburger meat [the cheapest kind]
1 lg. box of Total cereal
1 lg. box oatmeal
1 jar of wheat germ
1 1/4 cup veg oil
1 1/4 cup of unsulfured molasses
10 raw eggs AND shells
10 envelopes of unflavored gelatinpinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together, much like you would a meatloaf.
Divide into 10 quart freezer bags and freeze.
Thaw as needed and feed raw!

December 17, 2007

Ruby went to the vet today for her blood draw. She had gained two pounds since the 12th, for a grand total of 40.9! The food, supplements, and raw diet are helping her so far!! The blood work came back pretty good... no sign of trouble with the kidneys or liver, and the only elevation was in the eosinophils count. They weren't surprised at this as it is typical to see an elevation here in a dog with allergies or parasites, so they expected to see that with her heartworm.

My vet called and spoke with Merial (the manufacturers of heartguard and Immiticide) in reference to the doxycycline treatment. She has also consulted with the staff at Iowa State because they were not familiar with that treatment either. We should know more tomorrow- she (my vet) is taking home the information from Merial, as well as the bloodwork, to study and see how we should progress from here.

Another hurdle crossed!

Ruby's New Life

At the end of November 2007, a young female dog was reported running loose on a local golf course. The county shelter went out to pick her up and found a severly underweight Vizsla. The staff could count the vertabrae in her back, and the skin was sagging between her hipbones, but she was happy. This being the midwest, and having had snowy weather, and cold during the time she was running loose, she was very lucky.

They immediately gave her a boaratella immunization, and a few days later she was spayed. I saw her for the first time on December 6th. She was very happy, excited and looked to be in good condition, with the exception of being a few pounds underweight, and she seemed to be shedding profusely, which is odd for a vizsla, but being in a shelter environment isn't exactly a walk in the park. I told them I would take her, and pick her up the following Monday. She was given immunizations and wormer on December 7.

I picked her up on December 10, and found her with a slight dry cough. The staff at the shelter had started her on an antibiotic for the cough, in case it was kennel cough, even though she had been immunized against it. She was not tested for heartworm, and did not receive a rabies shot, but I had already made an appointment for her at my vets.

Wednesday December 12 was the day that Ruby would start a whole new chapter in her life. We found out she was heartworm positive... high positive on the antigen test, meaning she had adult heartworms present. They did a radiograph, which showed an enlarged right ventrical, enlarged pulmonary artery, and inflamed lungs. Some of the inflamation of the lungs could have been due to her coughing. My vet did not feel that she was a candidate for successful imiticide treatment, which is the traditional route for HW+ dogs. She thought she wouldn't survive treatment, and we thought the only solution at that time was to euthanize. So I took her home, and we cried over her, and let her do whatever she wanted, thinking she was only going to be around a couple of days.

However, this dog has too much life left to live. She wants to play, she wants to run, her eyes glow with adoration at anyone who will love her. She responds to her name, sits, and gets along with everyone and everybody. We had to give her another chance... after being out on her own and making it, after being put under anesthesia and making it, I wanted to give her a chance to be a Heartworm survivor. So we made calls, to our vet, to other rescue contacts, asking for anything we could get to help her.... to make the most of the life she had left, be it days or years.

We found several people who recommended what is known as the "soft kill" treatment using invermectin/heartguard as a monthly treatment. While it doesn't immediately kill the adult heartworm, it does weaken them, and prevent the development of the microflaria. I found several people who have had success with this method in both minor and serious cases of heartworm infestation. I also found some documentation that encouraged a 30 day dose of doxycycline to kill the wolbachia bacteria, which is a simbiotic parasite to heartworms. My vet was not familiar with that treatment, but is willing to try it.

So, next week we will begin our new chapter. Ruby will be on an special diet, including premium dry food, raw fresh food (handmade by me!) to boost proteins and increase her weight, and also dietary supplement which in the beginning will be Solid Gold Seameal. The Seameal does various things, but the most important are boosting the immune system, and acting as a dietary enzyme to help with food digestion. It contains minerals, vitamins and amino acids. It will help with her hair growth, and has anti oxident properties to support the heart and circulation. We may change her supplements as we go, depending on her needs and her responses. She will also start her doxy dosage, and we will have a CBC and profile to see what else we are dealing with.

As this goes along, I will be providing regular updates.

Ruby Stats as of 12/12/07 weight: 38.9# attitude: positive, appetite: good, energy level: med high (short bursts of normal activity(for a vizsla) followed by periods of rest). Misc info: still having some hair loss, dry coughing, mostly in the am, and usually one other incident mid afternoon. Does not seem to be related to activity level.