Going to take a break from Elsie today to talk about something very important and life threatening in most of the United States, and I'm talking about Lyme Disease.
 |
| Gratuitous Elsie Picture |
We woke up yesterday morning to something pretty scary. Our Fox Terrier Maddy wasn't right. Now every pet owner knows what I mean by "Wasn't right". We KNOW our pets behaviors and attitudes like we would our children's, because they ARE our children.
 |
| Probably my favorite picture of her.... she looks so smug. |
A little background on Maddy. She is a four year old Fox Terrier that was part of an alleged puppy mill. She was rescued by Happy Valley Animals in Need (HVAIN) and we were asked to foster her. She was underweight. It looked like she had just had a litter, and her skin was red from laying in her own urine.
 |
| This is what she looked like when we got her |
We were told by the Vet that treated her, that she did test positive for Lyme Disease, but didn't need treatment for it because she was asymptomatic. That was a slight warning sign to us, but we just figured they were right. After about 2 months, it was time for her to be adopted out. After how broken mentally she was when we got her, and how wonderful she was 2 months later, we didn't want her to experience anymore trauma by us abandoning her to someone else. (Yes, I know that isn't quite how it works, but for her... It was different.) All we had were Chihuahua's, so Maddy is considerably larger in frame (but not in weight) to most of our dogs. They all get along... Sometimes Dixie (More on Dixie and Jiggy in a future post) and Maddy bark and growl at each other.... mostly for territory... Dixie has issues with ANYONE who tries to sit on the couch without her express approval. By and large, Maddy has fit in to our family perfectly
We discussed Lyme Disease again early this summer while watching, of all things, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. One of the stars, Yolanda Foster has been dealing with Lyme Disease, and it showed what she was going through.
 |
| "My husband is a creative genius" |
While we talked about it, we decided to bring it up to Doctor Herring on her September checkup we had scheduled. We wanted to see if he felt there was something we should/could be doing for her.
 |
| GET ME CHECKED OUT DARNIT!!! |
Well, yesterday morning, Maddy's legs started to lock up, and her lower torso seemed to be paralyzed. We went into "Crazy Panic Mode" We called Herring's Veterinary Services in Clearfield, PA, and they said they would see her as soon as we got her in there. No showers, just throw on clothes, and go!
Now Maddy is always perky, peppy, and energetic... I don't think she had much of a puppy life, so we let her act like one. It's endearing and fun to have a pup that loves to roughhouse a bit. So when we saw her acting like she was almost dead it was horrible!
When we pulled into Herring's everyone was wonderful, they got her in, and within a minute, had her weighed and drew blood for the Lyme Disease test.
 |
|
The P.A who saw us said that she does indeed have Lyme Disease, and it was easily treatable in dogs. Its rare in cats, and very complicated in humans, but with dogs, its an easy fix. They, being professionals didnt say anything negative about Maddy not getting care for this by the prior vet, but did say that Dr. Herring says that "Lyme Disease is like being pregnant. You either are, or you're aren't. You can't be a little of either."
So, Maddy is now on antibiotics, and a mild pain reliever. She is close to being like her old self, but still is slower, and sleepy, which is a good thing.
What I want people to take from this, is the importance of getting your pets checked out, and treated. Had we known that this would have happened, we would have had her on an antibiotic months ago. So even though your pet maybe perfectly normal, if they have Lyme Disease, its just a matter of time before they start hurting.
As always, thanks to
www.petscomefirst.org
www.happyvalleyanimalsinneed.com and at @HVAIN on twitter
and
http://www.herringveterinaryservice.com
See you soon!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment