Saturday, April 25, 2009

hello Tick Fever

Took our dog, Henry, to the vet today, to get checked out because he's been dropping weight, has become somewhat lethargic and is refusing to eat most of what we give him.

A friend of mine, some two months ago, told me that it could very well be tick fever. Her family adopted a dog from the BSPCA (where we got Henry) and he came down w/ the same symptoms... but it was too late in their case. They lost him. If not caught in time, dogs can die from it. The parasites attack the bone marrow and internal organs, and once this happens it's pretty much too late.

So... I've been wondering, since talking to her, if this is what Henry is suffering from... but another friend asked if he had bleeding gums - he doesn't - another sign of tick fever, so I wasn't sure. Needless to say, his symptoms have continued to get worse, which happens - they come and go - and we decided to take him in.

Dr. Brown was the vet on duty today. A first for seeing him... and I liked him. Very nice and gentle w/ the animals. They're all kind there, actually. I like them. The first dr. that we took our cats to, in the beginning, and have been using for spaying/neutering and such - come to find out - sees ppl who fight their dogs and I can't stomach the thought of it... the rage I feel.... He's a nice man, ok vet, but I can't allow myself to support/pay someone who involves himself in such practices w/out trying or saying something.

Poor Henry.... he was nervous, but brave. They had to draw his blood to which he made not a sound. He didn't move and let the dr. press around on him. After waiting for about 15 mins, the dr. called us back in and gave us the news.....

Henry has tick fever.

My heart sank for fear that I had waited too long before bringing him in... but the dr. is optimistic. For anyone who doesn't know, it can't be transferred from animal to animal, we can't get it, and once they're cured of it, the parasites don't come back.... now... it's a waiting game to see if the medicine works. He's on the pills for a month... two every day, at the same time. He took them today w/out any trouble... I feel as though he knows that we're trying to make him feel better. The dr. said it should only take 2-3 days before we can tell a difference. He'll start eating again and will get his spunk back..... so hopefully it'll do just that.

Poor thing. Here he's been living in a shelter for more than a year and now has to deal with this. He's such a good boy and deserves a happy life.

Update: Seems that Henry threw up the pills we gave him last night and I only found out this afternoon while cleaning... so he got no meds in him yesterday, and this morning he threw one up and I had the hardest time getting it back down his throat... since I'm a little afraid of putting my hand in his mouth... he has such BIG teeth and they're dang sharp!! There's a bump thing in his tongue and the dr. said you had to get the pills behind that... and I now understand why... coz if you don't they spit them right out... so Mr. Henry is very clever in that he puts his tongue to the roof of his mouth or refuses to let me open his mouth and trying to pry his mouth open is just too difficult... but... I did get it in today and he didn't throw up again.

His gums are bleeding now... saw that yesterday evening and again today. He's been sleeping all day. I feel worried and sad. Naief so loves him, I'm really liking him too and I think Hashim is pretty keen of him.... and I really think he likes being here with us.... I just wish he'd eat so that he wouldn't have dry heaves... and I just wish he wouldn't throw up this medicine!!


Here's to hoping/praying that he gets better with the medicine. Love you Henry.

11 comments:

Christopher said...

:( I know exactly how you are feeling. Good thing you caught it and the babe is going to be ok...Sending warm wishes...when he starts eating and what not, help restore some balance by adding a couple teaspoons of plain yogurt on some brown rice with warmed chicken broth (no onion or garlic products allowed! Read: TOXIC!)

He'll be up to playing soon...just give him lots of extra love and kisses, he will remember you for it for the rest of his life.

xoxo

Um Naief said...

christopher, you're so sweet and thanks for your good thoughts. i do so hope he'll feel better soon. i was cleaning this morning and found the two pills we gave him last night... he obviously got sick and threw them up... and this morning did the same, so i had to force them down him, since he refuses to eat peanut butter and the hotdog i put one of them in... all came up.

his gums have started to bleed.... so i do so hope that we've caught it in time. he's been under our bed all morning and is still there now. makes me really sad to see him so sick. but... God willing, he'll be fine.

good to see you here... i was wondering about you my friend.

i've been looking around for vogue's and whatnot, but do you know there aren't any foreign mags here.. or i haven't found them yet... but i'm gonna ask around. the bad thing is.. we don't have any really good places to buy mags... which sucks. just know, i haven't forgotten ya!

The Moody Minstrel said...

That's very sad. I'm glad to hear you're taking good care of Henry, though. There seem to be lots of people who treat their pets like disposable conveniences and just toss them out when they get "broken". I'm glad you're not one of them. Henry is in good hands!

Warm thoughts and best wishes!

Puppy said...

That is very sad to hear. I hope he will be better soon.

How is everything? I am being so busy lately, i wish this would finish, so i can relax a bit.

Rock Chef said...

So sorry to hear this. It is heartbreaking to see them like this.

I hope the meds start to work now. I think one of the most fruistrating things about it is that they sometimes seem to fight you all the way.

Hoping there is good news soon. I will and you and Henry to my prayers.

Um Naief said...

moody, yes, i agree... there are a lot of ppl who just dump the animal w/ the first signs of illness or problems. i would never do that. the way i look at it, once they're in the house, they're part of our family. that's one thing that i really loved about that book 'marley and me'... he said the same thing and felt that.... even w/ his wife wanting to and demanding to get rid of the dog....

thank you for your kind words.

puppy, thanks my dear...

everything's pretty good here... other than henry.

chief rock chef, yes, you are so right. he's still getting sick and throwing up everything. today, after giving him the pills, he threw up about 30 mins or so later... i went thru it w/ a fork... looking for the pills but didn't see anything. am wondering now how long it takes for pills to be digested in a dog's stomach. tonight i fed him tuna w/ rice and veggies.. he ate it all.. but 3 hrs later... threw it all up. we've now given him some beef that i fixed yesterday... he ate it all... but i'm very worried that he'll throw it up again. he's scratching like crazy, pawing at his eyes... and seems to be giving up in a way. i pray that he's not... but i'm very worried about him.

thank you for your kind words... and prayers.

Rock Chef said...

Any more news?

Olivia said...

Ohhh I hope Henry makes it through, he's such a good pup and deserves a happy life with you guys, specially for Naief to grow up with a dog.

One Wink at a Time said...

Aw, poor thing. I hope he has a quick recovery.

Christopher said...

Let us know how Henry is doing!

Unknown said...

As a owner, taking good care of your pet is very necessary. There are diseases of a pet that can be transmitted to the owner like this tick fever.

In order to know if you acquire this fever, you have to test yourselves by using elisa kits. These can determine anti bodies and many kind of diseases.