I spent the grand total of one night in the crate. A small panic attack at being placed in there on the second night was quickly resolved and resulted in my bed being placed just outside the human's bedroom door. By hanging out of my bed and twisting, I could see their feet! I was content and also suspected that the 'no bedroom' rule that had been presented to myself and the female human had several potential loopholes.
The next few weeks consisted of dealing with and conquering the stairs and elevator. I was taken to the dog park and got to play, was fussed over and generally had a pretty awesome time in my new world.
Then I started to get sick.
It started with a few itches here and there, which was put down to living indoors and changes in environment. The itches led to biting myself.
The humans (OK, let me call them Mum and Dad) took me for a check up, there was nothing nasty in my coat but the vet gave me some medicine, just incase it was something he could not see.
I lost my appetite.
All varieties of food were bought, I was hand fed, bribed, praised, rewarded, things were added to make it more appealing....but I just didn't want to eat, so I ate the absolute minimum.
Things were starting to go downhill very fast.The Vet confirmed that I had Red Mange.
This mite is a mite that all dogs have present. It is normally a fairly harmonious relationship between canine and mite. (Humans even have their own version - living in eyelashes and skin, they can cause things like Rosacea). They are passed onto puppies very, very soon after birth - through feeding. Normally, they cause no problem. If Mum is sickly or if pups have a bad start in life, then it can begin to cause problems. It is, effectively, due to a weak immune system. The mite takes control and the pup just cannot fight it. They mate, burrow into the hair follicles, have babies that then eat their way up to the surface of the skin, as well as dying, pooping etc. on the way. The result of this is infection, inflammation, a lot of pain and horrendous itching.
For most dogs, treatment just lasts a few weeks with the use of a topical chemical cocktail. Unfortunately, this would not work for me.
The Vet gave my parents the stuff to put on, neither were too happy about it as it was very toxic and I was already pretty sick, but they did. I hyperventilated all night.
My treatment continued. I was moved onto stronger medication, was still not eating and I was still hyperventilating after each application. The only option the Vet could give us was a Dip - like the sheep and cow dip. Poison... He was a great Vet, still is, but he had never seen a case like me before and was desperate. He researched it, ordered the newest medication, gave me lots of cuddles. The Dip would be a last resort to him and for my parents.
I could not sleep because of the itching. I did find a little relief by being outside, so Mum took me out all through the night, slept upside down in her bed (I had been moved into their bedroom...see, it was easy!) and held me, supported my head and did TTouch and Reiki on me to try help me sleep. I remember once that I was just so tired, I rested my chin in her hand and cried. Lots of tears were spilled during this time.
The outbreaks got worse and moved down my body towards my tail. My immune system was practically non existent, I had huge bald patches, was covered in stinky, pus filled scabs and still I managed to look beautiful. It's quite a skill to manage that, I tell ya...
I was bathed daily, soothing herbal salves and compresses placed all over me and still I was getting worse.
The Vet told my parents that some dogs just cannot get over it and prepared them for the fact that this could be true for me.
Why I showed no signs of it until a few weeks into being rehomed is unknown, the parental units suspect that I was given steroids to temporary eliminate them. Sadly all this did was lower my immune system even further and before long it gave the mites an even bigger advantage over me. Makes sense. I did have a few bald patches when I first arrived in their life.
I could no longer play with other dogs, sadly they sensed my illness and most just wanted to attack me. I became fearful of them.
Anyway, I was too itchy to play, and too tired! These weeks of being sick had turned into months and still I was not eating.
I scratched and bit myself so much - I wore shoes to minimise the damage. They had reflective stripes on them. They were pretty nifty :)
In addition to the mites, I developed a habit of biting and scratching myself until I bled whenever I faced an uncertain/unusual/scary situation. Separation training proved to be traumatic for the whole family, I guess coming back from a very hurried grocery shop and finding pools of blood everywhere couldn't have been very nice for Mum, I kept her from working and being out the house for a long time. I even managed to find ways to my skin around the Elizabethan Collar that was placed on me. I am quite smart :)
The parents studied and researched. A lot. Deciding that they were not happy with the drug cocktail and my response to it - it did seem to have a more negative effect on me instead of on the mites! They went down the natural route, focusing on building my immune system and not the mite.
I was given raw meat and bones to eat. It still took a while for me to want to eat, but we got there.
They began using Neem Oil on my coat, mixing it with Almond Oil and a little Lavender Oil. They also added Neem to my shampoo. The change was significant, astounding and it was so worth smelling very bad and covering everything and everyone in gunk.
So what is Neem Oil? It is Indian and it is their 'go-to' tree for human, animal and garden ailments. It affects the central nervous system of biting, aggressive 'things'. It will not harm anything beneficial. With their CNS affected in this manner, the biters will forget to eat/mate and if they do lay eggs, the eggs do not hatch. A whole blog could be dedicated just to the benefits of this stuff. The downside is the smell, as mentioned. It is heavy and nutty. Here, have a read: http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-oil-for-dogs.html
It took a further 6 months of Neem and BARF diet (raw food), but the Vet finally had a negative skin scrape..(we need 3 in order to be classed as disease free)
Things were getting better. My hair was growing, I was growing. I was playing, eating, sleeping.... everyone involved with me couldn't quite believe I was getting better!
And then......
Hello Hormones!
I was pregnant!!!! Well, no I wasn't really, but my body thought I was. Yep, pseudo-pregnancy We had to let it run it's course before spaying, I didn't use my toys as pretend babies, that would just be silly. My Mummy's feet were my babies. I admit it, I was completely obsessed with them....
When I eventually got through this, I was getting ready to be spayed and I came into season. Oh boy.
My parents had been waiting for me to be healthier before spaying me. Surgery with such a weak immune system is not so wise.
Why spay? Well, responsible dog owning for one thing. Not many male dogs are castrated over here, so that's another reason, plus the main one being that it is really not a good idea for a bitch to have puppies if she has had a bad case of Red Mange. Being in season/pregnant sadly labours the immune system. I would risk constant relapses with every season I had....and sadly I did suffer a relapse at this time.
It was four months after my season finished, the perfect time for spaying. The Neem oil treatment and diet were slowly boosting my immune system. I was getting there!! We were now presented with a window of opportunity for spaying, I wasn't as healthy as we would have liked, but we couldn't risk another season.
My parents had added Colostrum to my diet and that seemed to be the missing link. I had been, after all, taken from my mother far too early before being thrown into the Killing Station, so I never did get to benefit from her milk.... I was healthier than I have ever been and it was time for a wee sleep at the Vet's - incidentally, it was just as well I was spayed. My bowel was wrapped around my uterus, so that could have posed a problem if I were pregnant.
It took until early 2012 for me to be disease free. What a battle.
BARF diet, Colostrum, Neem Oil. They all saved my life.
I still have a tick - If I am confused or scared I will scratch/bite myself - but there is no blood and it only takes me to hear Mum or Dad's voice to break out of doing it.
There was one last surprise for us all, in this health battle. Nobody could ever have guessed how hairy I had the potential to be! Check me out :D
Here I am having some fun - until next time!
