Advice & Suggestions please - Page 2

Hi Penny I have just found your thread. I lost a male adult to liver failure some years ago, and what you are describing sounds frighteningly familiar. My dogs was caused as a side effect of treatment for what is now known a MRSA, back then little was known of this disease, but I suspect we were dealing with an underlying cause which had depleted his immune responses. I would advise you to seek help immediately from either a more thorough vet, or one of the vet. hospitals, as in my experience the dog could go downhill rapidly, and this needs to be investigated quickly. Good luck Carol

Penny, this sounds very similar to a dog for that I asked a question about a few months ago. This particular dog was about one (1) year older and suffered similar sympthoms. He was taken to a veterinarian who magically through a simple blood test diagnosed the dog as having leukemia due to the high white blood cell count and the fever. I did not accept the veterinarian's diagnosis as it was too quick and simple, and the veterinarian suggested a steroid treatment. The dog had a fever and was jaundiced as well. His stools were normal, dark, and firm so it was probably not a pancreatic disorder. The lady who owns him doesn't have a lot of money to pay veterinarian bills for multiple tests, etc., so I urged her to place him on a broad-spectrum antibiotic for as many as eight (8) weeks to see if he made improvements. My reasoning was that if he really had leukemia that it probably would not cause further harm. His fever disappeared and he finally began to eat and drink on his own and has begun to gain some weight. From the Pedigreedatabase there were suggestions for the condition known as Babesiosis as well as Lyme's disease. The dog had the vaccination for Lyme's disease as a puppy, but we know that it does not "take" 100% of the time and there are strains of the disease for that the vaccine is ineffective. I suspect the dog incurred a tick-bourne disease that progessed to the end that his liver is damaged. I asked her to have a full-spectrum blood test done as soon as she could to see what is REALLY going on inside him and whether there is a particular organism at work that a broad-spectrum antibiotic can keep in check but possibly not eliminate. So far the dog is doing well and slowly improving. He may require some maintenance for the remains of his life which I hope will be as normal as possible. Bob-O

I would agree Time is NOT on your side here. full panel blood work Liver is in distress to cause jaundice. this is commonly known, Why this vet is waiting is beyond me. Highly encourage her to seek another vet in this matter and do not have mercy on her feelings for her current vet, don't trash on her current vet, But don't allow her to feel comfortable with this 10 days of waiting thing. 10 days could further dammage this dogs future.

I had this happen to my Fero son! DO NOT DELAY!!! GET THIS DOG TO AN INTERNAL SPECIALIST AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! My Fero son had liver cancer and passed away with in a month! SEEK HELP NOW!! Vickie

Babesiosis is almost 100% of the time a disease that only affects Pit Bull Dogs. I didn't know this untill I attended a "Tick" seminar put on by a drug company! Vickie

If a dog shows jaundice you always should also check for leptospirosis!! Full blood work is absolutely necessary!!

I agree get this dog to a vet now, I lost one to liver failure and a vet that told me he is just fat and needs to go on a diet. His stomach was growing towards the ground with no weight showing around the middle. I knew something was wrong and this dog was not FAT. This vet had the "best" reputation in the area, so I kept taking him back until I was so frustrated, he saw the vet then went to the groomers in his office and the groomer saw what I saw and she got the other Dr. in the office. I do not know if I could have saved him if was diagnosed earlier, but he could have least been made more comfortable. The urine was thick, did it stink and he would have accidents in the house, he would feel so bad about that, he was a very clean dog. You keep fighting, even if you are wrong, you are right, when it comes from the heart.

Powerhaus wrote: "Babesiosis is almost 100% of the time a disease that only affects Pit Bull Dogs. I didn't know this untill I attended a "Tick" seminar put on by a drug company!" Vickie, I must ask you what company this was, because this information is 100% *false*. For a pharmaceutical company to dispense such faulty knowledge is heinous, and I'd like to keep an eye on whatever company would perpetrate such a falsehood. Babesiosis affects any dog which becomes infected with the organism, with no regard for breed. Might Pit Bull Dogs be more susceptible to the effects of the infection? Possibly...it's been shown that GSDs suffer greater consequences when infected with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, for example, so perhaps the same goes for Pits when it comes to babesiosis. Anytime a dog shows signs of illness that would be associated with liver and/or kidney function impairment, time is critical; leptospirosis, viral or bacterial hepatitis, obstruction of the bile duct, exposure/ingestion of toxic substances, the tick-borne diseases, neoplasia and trauma can all cause such symptoms, and none of these offer the luxury of waiting to see if a medication is effective is stemming the progression without any diagnostics being done first and foremost. Penny's friend needs to have this dog seen again immediately, and must insist that full bloodwork be done--and some abdominal x-rays wouldn't be a bad idea, either.

Hexe, I think it was Pfizer. Not sure, that was about a year ago. They said that Babesia (sp?) was a disease that mostly only affects the Pit Bull. They also said that the German Shepherd dog brought eurlichia back from Vietnam and that they are more prone to that disease than anyother breed. They went on to say alot of military shepherds were left over in Vietnam because of the disease. Vickie

Hexe, Here is a link with some info that was written by a vet that I found. http://www.2ndchance.info/babesia.htm I will look further also. Vickie