Lucy's Legacy
Donation protected
On October 2, 2015 we lost our Border Collie, Lucy, to Blastomycosis. She was diagnosed with this horrible disease on Sept. 24, 2015 and was just not strong enough to fight any longer. She lost 8lbs. in one week and there was nothing more that could be done. I will always wonder if we caught it sooner if she would have at least had a fighting chance. She originally presented on Sept. 12th with a lame back leg. Not totally uncommon in such an active breed, so we just treated it with some baby aspirin at home. When it didn't improve after 2 days I brought her in to her vet. He could find nothing wrong at that time with the leg. The joints all seemed fine, and she only showed mild tenderness in the hip. He also thought she just must have twisted the leg and was just favoring it. She had a slight fever then, which he said could be caused from inflamation and he put her on an antibiotic. This was on Sept. 14th. After not seeing any improvement by Sept.19th, I brought her back for an xray of the hip and leg.
The veterinarian believed from the results of the xray that she had a partially ruptured ACL, which in dogs is referred to as a CCL. Since it was a Saturday, we had to wait for the technician on Monday to officially read the xray. He called with the results on Monday, Sept. 21st, confirming the results as Lucy needing knee surgery to repair the partially ruptured CCL.
I got an appointment with a veterinary orthopaedic specialist for the 23rd. We were lucky they had a cancellation, as they are generally harder to get in to see.
Sept. 23rd. arrived and her new vet also confirmed at her visit that it looked to be a partially ruptured CCL. We scheduled surgery for that afternoon. He said he would call prior to begining the surgery to update me on anything new.
I received a call at 2:30 that afternoon from him reporting that he did a pre-operative xray since he was unable to open the xray disc I brought him from her original vet, only to find a suspicious area on her shin bone that resembled either cancer or blastomycosis. He recommended a urine analysis to look for the blasto and a bone biopsy and a chest xray to look at her lungs. Since he was a specialty clinic, (VCA Animal Hospital), he also recommended we pick her up and have her regular vet do this....much less expensive.
We picked her up, made her appointment for the next day, Sept. 24th, and dropped her off for her testing the next AM.
When we picked her up after her testing was complete we met with her doctor. He told us that her chest xray showed massive involvment in the lungs of the fungal infection. He took the unine analysis to send in to the lab, but those results usually take about one week to come back. He wanted to start her on the Itraconazole immediatly because he said she didn't have the time to wait for the confirmation. We followed his advice and got her started that afternoon.
2 days in to the treatment she began to show signs of the fungus dieing off. She lost her appetite, and her breathing was begining to get labored. He presicribed prescription food and a steroid to start if we couldn't get her to eat. He said it would help with her breathing.
We had to force feed her the food twice a day, along with her pills. She was obviously not feeling well, but was still trying her best to be a Border Collie. Her favorite ball went everywhere with her, and we spent many hours just cuddling on the couch inbetween her force feedings.
We had our ups and downs over the next 4-5 days, but it was on Oct. 1st that things took a turn for the worst. She could no longer keep her food in, and though we kept trying, it was becoming quite clear that we were losing the battle. She did have a good night that evening, and we were so hopeful that she had made the turn for improvement, but on Oct. 2nd, force feeding was no longer working and I couldn't get any food in her. Looking back, I think Lucy had given up a couple of days earlier, and it was me that did not want to accept the truth. Blastomycosis had won. Lucy was holding on for us at this point. She could hardly breath any longer and we had no other choice than to bring her in to the vet. He took one look at her and we all knew at that point we had to let her go. We all held her, talked to her and she passed so quickly. She had no strength left. Her suffering had ended.............Ours has not. I promised her that I would not let her suffering be without a purpose, and that is why I am going to do all I can to bring Blastomycosis Awareness out to everyone I know. If only I had been aware of this horrible, horrible disease and how prevelant it is becoming in the midwest and it's symptoms to watch out for.
BLASTOMYCOSIS: Please become more familiar with this deadly disease becoming more prevalent in the mid-west area.
Blastomycosis is a systematic fungal infection commonly found in decaying wood and soil.
Blastomycosis occurs most frequently in male dogs, but female dogs are also susceptible. Dog breeds that are scent-oriented or low to the ground are also most susceptible.
The fungus thrives in wet environments, such as riverbanks, lakes and swamps, where damp soil lacking direct sunlight fosters growth of the fungus. It is also present in areas that are rich in decaying matter, such as wooded areas, forests, and farms.
Their is NO VACCINATION but knowledge is power.
Look for the signs and involve your vet as soon as you see the symptoms arise.
SYMPTOMS: fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, eye discharge, eye inflammation specifically the iris, respiratory issues (coughing, wheezing, unusual breathing sounds), skin lesions which are usually filled with pus and neurological issues such as seizures or mobility issues.
It may be mistaken for cancer and mistreated, or it may be mistaken for a lung infection of bacterial origin and treated with antibiotics, which puts your pet at greater risk.
If your pet has been in an environment where the Blastomyces fungus may have been present, at any time in the six weeks previous to the onset of symptoms, you will want to ask your veterinarian to test for fungal infection.
Even if your pet has not left your property, heavy rains, local flooding, gardening, landscaping, new construction, disturbing the soil, can be sources that could have exposed your pet to the fungal spores.
(SOURCE: http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/respiratory/c_multi_blastomycosis#)
The veterinarian believed from the results of the xray that she had a partially ruptured ACL, which in dogs is referred to as a CCL. Since it was a Saturday, we had to wait for the technician on Monday to officially read the xray. He called with the results on Monday, Sept. 21st, confirming the results as Lucy needing knee surgery to repair the partially ruptured CCL.
I got an appointment with a veterinary orthopaedic specialist for the 23rd. We were lucky they had a cancellation, as they are generally harder to get in to see.
Sept. 23rd. arrived and her new vet also confirmed at her visit that it looked to be a partially ruptured CCL. We scheduled surgery for that afternoon. He said he would call prior to begining the surgery to update me on anything new.
I received a call at 2:30 that afternoon from him reporting that he did a pre-operative xray since he was unable to open the xray disc I brought him from her original vet, only to find a suspicious area on her shin bone that resembled either cancer or blastomycosis. He recommended a urine analysis to look for the blasto and a bone biopsy and a chest xray to look at her lungs. Since he was a specialty clinic, (VCA Animal Hospital), he also recommended we pick her up and have her regular vet do this....much less expensive.
We picked her up, made her appointment for the next day, Sept. 24th, and dropped her off for her testing the next AM.
When we picked her up after her testing was complete we met with her doctor. He told us that her chest xray showed massive involvment in the lungs of the fungal infection. He took the unine analysis to send in to the lab, but those results usually take about one week to come back. He wanted to start her on the Itraconazole immediatly because he said she didn't have the time to wait for the confirmation. We followed his advice and got her started that afternoon.
2 days in to the treatment she began to show signs of the fungus dieing off. She lost her appetite, and her breathing was begining to get labored. He presicribed prescription food and a steroid to start if we couldn't get her to eat. He said it would help with her breathing.
We had to force feed her the food twice a day, along with her pills. She was obviously not feeling well, but was still trying her best to be a Border Collie. Her favorite ball went everywhere with her, and we spent many hours just cuddling on the couch inbetween her force feedings.
We had our ups and downs over the next 4-5 days, but it was on Oct. 1st that things took a turn for the worst. She could no longer keep her food in, and though we kept trying, it was becoming quite clear that we were losing the battle. She did have a good night that evening, and we were so hopeful that she had made the turn for improvement, but on Oct. 2nd, force feeding was no longer working and I couldn't get any food in her. Looking back, I think Lucy had given up a couple of days earlier, and it was me that did not want to accept the truth. Blastomycosis had won. Lucy was holding on for us at this point. She could hardly breath any longer and we had no other choice than to bring her in to the vet. He took one look at her and we all knew at that point we had to let her go. We all held her, talked to her and she passed so quickly. She had no strength left. Her suffering had ended.............Ours has not. I promised her that I would not let her suffering be without a purpose, and that is why I am going to do all I can to bring Blastomycosis Awareness out to everyone I know. If only I had been aware of this horrible, horrible disease and how prevelant it is becoming in the midwest and it's symptoms to watch out for.
BLASTOMYCOSIS: Please become more familiar with this deadly disease becoming more prevalent in the mid-west area.
Blastomycosis is a systematic fungal infection commonly found in decaying wood and soil.
Blastomycosis occurs most frequently in male dogs, but female dogs are also susceptible. Dog breeds that are scent-oriented or low to the ground are also most susceptible.
The fungus thrives in wet environments, such as riverbanks, lakes and swamps, where damp soil lacking direct sunlight fosters growth of the fungus. It is also present in areas that are rich in decaying matter, such as wooded areas, forests, and farms.
Their is NO VACCINATION but knowledge is power.
Look for the signs and involve your vet as soon as you see the symptoms arise.
SYMPTOMS: fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, eye discharge, eye inflammation specifically the iris, respiratory issues (coughing, wheezing, unusual breathing sounds), skin lesions which are usually filled with pus and neurological issues such as seizures or mobility issues.
It may be mistaken for cancer and mistreated, or it may be mistaken for a lung infection of bacterial origin and treated with antibiotics, which puts your pet at greater risk.
If your pet has been in an environment where the Blastomyces fungus may have been present, at any time in the six weeks previous to the onset of symptoms, you will want to ask your veterinarian to test for fungal infection.
Even if your pet has not left your property, heavy rains, local flooding, gardening, landscaping, new construction, disturbing the soil, can be sources that could have exposed your pet to the fungal spores.
(SOURCE: http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/respiratory/c_multi_blastomycosis#)
Organizer
Karen A Hanisch
Organizer
Roselle, IL
