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I posted to the raw feeding discussion about our dog's sudden vomiting of chicken. We soon discovered something more deadly was lurking within our young dog.
After a month long serious illness and not knowing what Barnum had, we got a diagnosis of Anaplasmosis Phagocytophilum, a tick borne illness. We had to find a new vet because our long-time vet referred us to a specialist, claiming our dog probably had bowel cancer. Instead, I trusted my gut feeling and found another vet about 45 minutes from our home. Barnum had all the symptoms of two conditions and the new vet knew this right away. He tested for Addison's Disease and Ehrlichiosis.
Barnum's first symptom was vomiting his raw chicken and therefore we believed he was allergic to chicken. Soon he refused all food except mackerel and tuna. And now he has not eaten in four days. Barnum has lost over 35 pounds from his illness. When he got sick he was about 5 to 8 pounds overweight.
He started Doxyclycine three nights ago and began to improve last night. Barnum continues to be a very sick dog and we have yet to see a full turn around from the Anaplasmosis. Our vet told us he is the sickest dog he has seen with a tick borne illness. On Friday, our vet told us to be prepared for Barnum dying from this. He was not certain our dog would make it through the night. We returned home with anti-nausea injections in addition to the antibiotic which was making him nauseous. With the two medicines, Barnum improved dramatically during the second day.
The next hurdle will be to get Barnum to eat. First cooked until he is better and then a return to raw food.
After a month long serious illness and not knowing what Barnum had, we got a diagnosis of Anaplasmosis Phagocytophilum, a tick borne illness. We had to find a new vet because our long-time vet referred us to a specialist, claiming our dog probably had bowel cancer. Instead, I trusted my gut feeling and found another vet about 45 minutes from our home. Barnum had all the symptoms of two conditions and the new vet knew this right away. He tested for Addison's Disease and Ehrlichiosis.
Barnum's first symptom was vomiting his raw chicken and therefore we believed he was allergic to chicken. Soon he refused all food except mackerel and tuna. And now he has not eaten in four days. Barnum has lost over 35 pounds from his illness. When he got sick he was about 5 to 8 pounds overweight.
He started Doxyclycine three nights ago and began to improve last night. Barnum continues to be a very sick dog and we have yet to see a full turn around from the Anaplasmosis. Our vet told us he is the sickest dog he has seen with a tick borne illness. On Friday, our vet told us to be prepared for Barnum dying from this. He was not certain our dog would make it through the night. We returned home with anti-nausea injections in addition to the antibiotic which was making him nauseous. With the two medicines, Barnum improved dramatically during the second day.
The next hurdle will be to get Barnum to eat. First cooked until he is better and then a return to raw food.
