Istwa nou

Hi there, A-peeps. For Addison’s Awareness Week, I thought we would share a little bit about our Addison’s journey.

It all started sometime in June 2018. Ghost wouldn’t eat, and for a Bully not to eat, something is definitely up. At first, it was thought he had a bad back. Five days on and he still hadn’t eaten anything, so it was time for a blood test. The blood test was going to take about 20 minit, so whilst we waited, we took Ghost for a walk down the street. When we got back into the vet’s, he pretty well took the lead out of my hand and said Ghost’s kidneys weren’t working. My world stopped there and then. I don’t have any 2-legged children, my 4-legged furry children have always been the centre of my world, so as you can imagine, this was devastating. Anyway, I will try and keep this as short as I can. I left him at the vets, got a phone call within the hour, and was told that it was likely he had Addison’s disease. I’m like WTF is Addison’s disease!!! Ghost’s breeder’s parents bred Bullies before her and she hadn’t heard of it, so this must be bad. So as is the way these days, straight onto Google. There was so much information to try and make sense of, it was pretty tough. Eventually, we were put onto the CARE Facebook group and as far as Addison’s goes, it was the best thing ever. We started on tablets, had another crisis, and eventually changed to the monthly injection and haven’t looked back. While I am still very vigilant about Ghost’s health, I am so much more comfortable with how Addison’s can be controlled with the right medication. I read everything I could get my hands on trying to understand how to make the most of my boy having this disease. CARE’s document page is THE place for all this information. Then, if I had any queries or questions, I would post it to the group, and what can I say about my Addison’s family, well words can’t describe how wonderful they all have been. This journey would have been so much harder and I am 100% sure we wouldn’t be where we are today if it hadn’t been for them and the low dose protocol. Se konsa,, the low dose protocol, well that’s a learning experience in itself but once you get your head around it, it is without a doubt the way to go in my opinion. Ghost started, according to his weight on 1.3 ml of Zycortal and is now on 0.45 ml. My vet has been awesome with coming to terms with this, and he says, “I know the manufacturer says that he should be on a higher dose, but I can see in his behavior and in his blood test that the results don’t lie.” If I had any advice for anyone new dealing with Addison’s, I would say go to this group with any questions you have, learn how to read the blood test results, and adjust the medication accordingly (if I can do it anyone can) and you’re A-dog will be back to normal in no time.

Speaking of back to normal, just before Ghost was diagnosed, he had just started to ride on the back of my Canam 3 wheeled motorcycle. Obviously, this stopped for a while during the first part of his diagnosis, but now there’s no stopping him. If it wasn’t for his medical tag and if you didn’t tell anyone, they would never know he has a disease. As well as our normal frequent rides, we have been on the Pink Ribbon ride, the Bikers against Bullies ride, and the latest was the fundraising ride for the Country Fire Service. As always, Ghost is a massive hit with everyone, takes everything in his stride, and laps up all the attention he gets. Late last year, we were also accredited with Therapy Dog Services as a Community Visiting Dog Team. At this stage, we have had half a dozen visits to a nursing home, but this year promises to be awesome and we can’t wait! We are anticipating on being used for some special visits, special events and appearances to places like Ronald McDonald house, The Cancer Council lodge, universities around exam times, the Youth Courts, and wherever else we can put smiles on faces. It’s a huge win for everyone involved from Ghost himself, the people who we come across, the Addison’s community, and the Bull Terrier breed (which is quite often and unnecessarily very misunderstood).

Ghost is very much a part of our family and participates in most things we get up to. We go up the river, which he absolutely loves, and he even gets invited to Christmas lunch with the rest of our extended family. He is such a sweet gentleman.

So on finishing up, I suppose my message is this, if you have a dog that’s been diagnosed with Addison’s, you will shit yourself at first, I know I did, but take a deep breath and with the right frame of mind, taking note of all the information available, trusting this wonderful group, asking loads and loads of questions, you WILL get through this and you and your dog can do anything and be anything that you want to be. Look at Ghost, a goggle wearing, community visiting Bull Terrier who rides on the back of a motorbike and puts smiles on the faces of everyone he meets. I reckon that’s a pretty good thing. A-dogs rock!!!

Anyways I hope this has put a bit of a smile on YOUR face and don’t worry, there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel.

Lots of love and big Bully hugs to you all.
Jarrod and Ghost

Ghosty Rider - Typical Addison's
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! Scroll down and you will also find her story auf Deutsch and en Español!

An fevriye 2016, I lived in Cholula, México, with my three Shepherds (German and Belgian, all rescued) when a friend called me that she had found a small puppy in a closed garbage bag, close to suffocation. Se konsa,, I went, picked the tiny bundle up, and presented her to my vet.
Four weeks old, something about one kilo. We immediately found a family willing to adopt her, so she just would stay some days until this family would go for her.

Yes…just that it never happened.

She adapted quickly to the life in between the large Shepherds and grew rapidly. My students named her ‘Piña’ and she won the hearts of everyone, but nobody adopted her. She was a really brave, fearless, and intelligent puppy, so I started her training. She was brilliant in obedience, and as small as she was compared to the Shepherds, she was brave and ‘strong’ in protection work as well. Apre 6 months with me, I declared her mine officially and we started her search and rescue training, as we had noticed her very capable of nose work.

She was the only cross-breed in the training but after some negative experiences, we finally found a trainer from the Red Cross who saw her potential. She grew stronger and demanded her a lot of skills. She learned quickly and we saw impressive results. After a heavy training session, at night I noticed that she was leaking urine and she appeared more tired than usual, so the next day I went to my vet to check her for an infection. Negative. We gave her some days of rest and she was back to normal. A week later, she got back to training and the same happened: tired, leaking urine. There, my vet noticed her heart rate was very low, so she asked me to go to a large clinic for a heart check. They did an echo of her heart, abdomen, blood work, the complete program.

When I went back to pick her up, the cardiologist said that her heart was heavily ‘overworked’, as well as her kidneys, so this would be the reason of her leaking urine and fatigue. She told me she was suspecting Addison’s, as her electrolytes were a little bit off, but not as strong as it could be. Piña had a shot of Dexamethasone two weeks ago because she got stung by some bees, so the definitive test for Addison’s we couldn’t do until four weeks later. But she was very sick and we decided we would try to stabilize her with IV fluids as long as possible to do the test.

After some days with the fluids, her situation got worse and all the vets at the clinic, together with my vet, decided to start treatment for Addison’s as Piña was weaker each day. When we started with the Prednisone and the Fludrocortisone (Astonin), she was herself few days later, with all the side-effects of the Prednisone, but active, strong heart rate, and her happy self.
Over the weeks, we reduced the Prednisone and she went back to the search and rescue training, happy happy happy. She was one and a half year old at that time. She got stable, I got used to managing her medicine, and finally, we had our first search and rescue events, where she gained attention because of her incredible happy nature and strong will to work.

We specialized in high mountain rescue and collapsed houses, where her weight (18 kilos) is a huge advantage compared to Shepherds or Labradors and their usual weight. Se konsa,, Piña and I learned rope work as well.

Last summer we moved from Mexico to Ecuador, where we kept training, but suddenly (and unexpectedly), I got the permission to work with my dogs at my college, with the students. Piña is a search and rescue dog, but not a therapy dog as two of my older ones, so she was just like a backup. But, due to a heat wave, one of the therapy dogs could not go to classes with me sometimes and we took Piña…and she adapted quickly. Koulye a,, some months later, she is adored by the students and a huge part of the college and a favourite on school excursions and events.

In the 2 years since her diagnosis we had to adjust her medication just twice, I always carry around Prednisone everywhere I go but besides of that she is a normal search and rescue and soon-to-be-therapy dog. In our free time we go hiking in the mountains, go swimming in the river, or just go around by bike. She does absolutely everything a non-Addison’s dog would do, just with an excess of energy.

My Ecuadorian vets use her as an example for their vet students as they have never seen an Addison’s dog before.

Deutsche Übersetzung

Im Februar 2016 lebte ich in Cholula, Mexiko, mit meinen 3 adoptierten Schäferhunden (deutsch und belgisch), als eine Freundin mich anrief, dass sie einen winzigen Welpen in einer geschlossenen Mülltüte am Straßenrand gefunden hatte, kurz vor dem Ersticken. Ich fuhr hin, holte das kleine Bündel ab und stellte sie meiner Tierärztin vor. 4 Wochen alt, ungefähr ein Kilo. Wir fanden ziemlich sofort eine Familie, die sie adoptieren wollte, sich aber noch ein paar Tage organisieren musste bevor sie sie abholen. Nunja, das ist leider nie passiert.
Sie gewöhnte sich rasend schnell an das Leben mit den großen Schäferhunden und wuchs fröhlich vor sich hin. Meine Schüler gaben ihr den Namen PIÑA (also Ananas), weil wir da gerade die Früchte durchnahmen. Sie gewann alle Leute für sich, aber niemand adoptierte sie.

Sie war ein sehr mutiger, starker und extrem intelligenter Welpe/Junghund, also begann ich, sie zu trainieren. Sie war großartig in Gehorsam/Unterordnung und —obwohl so klein im Vergleich zu den Schäferhunden— war sie auch sehr mutig und forsch im Schutzdienst.

Nach 6 Monaten bei mir wurde sie ganz hochoffiziell ‘meine‘ und schließlich begannen wir auch ihr Rettungshundetraining, da wir ihren hervorragenden Naseneinsatz bemerkt hatten. NATÜRLICH war sie der einzige Mix beim Training, und wir gerieten leider auch an einen Trainer, der sie für nicht fähig hielt, das können nur bestimmte Rassehunde. Schließlich fanden wir ‘unseren‘ Trainer, der ihr Potential sah und so ging es sehr schnell aufwärts und sie überraschte uns oft mit ihren Fähigkeiten.

Im August 2017, nach einem sehr intensiven Training, bemerkte ich, dass sie deutlich erschöpft war, ein bisschen undicht und einfach nicht die fröhliche Wildsau wie sonst. Ich ging am nächsten Tag zu meiner Tierärztin mit dem Verdacht auf eine Blasenentzündung, negativ. Sie bekam ein paar Tage Pause und war weitestgehend wieder normal. Beim nächsten Training passierte dasselbe: totale Erschöpfung, Urininkontinenz. Diesmal bemerkte meine TÄin eine extrem niedrige Herzfrequenz und überwies uns an eine Klink zum kardiologischen Check. Dort machten sie einen Herzultraschall, Bauchultraschall, Blutbild, EKG usw., das volle Programm. Als ich sie dort nach der Arbeit abholen wollte, sagte mir die Ärztin, dass Herz und Nieren total überlastet seien, das sei der Grund für die Erschöpfung und die Inkontinenz. Die Ärztin vermutete Addison wegen einer leichten Elektrolytverschiebung, aber auf Grund einer Bienenattacke knapp 2 Wochen vorher konnten wir den ACTH-Test nicht machen, wir müssten 4 Wochen warten…also beschlossen wir, sie soweit mit Infusionen zu stabilisieren um den Test machen zu können. Leider ging es ihr trotz der Infusionen zunehmend schlechter, so dass alle beteiligten Tierärzte beschlossen, dass sie auf Addison behandelt würde. Wir begannen mit Prednisolon und Fludrocortison (Astonin) und nach wenigen Tagen war sie wieder fast die Alte. In den Wochen darauf reduzierten wir das Prednisolon, dadurch verschwanden auch die Nebenwirkungen, aber das Herz war stabil und sie wieder aktiv. Ich gewöhnte mich ans das Medikamentenmanagement und lernte, selber ihr Herz abzuhören und schließlich kehrten wir zum Rettungstraining zurück und hatten bald unsere ersten Einsätze, wo sie immer im positiven Sinne Aufmerksamkeit bekam, weil sie so fröhlich ist aber zeitgleich auch extrem professionell und zuverlässig bei der Arbeit. Wir spezialisierten uns auf Hochgebirgsrettung und Trümmerarbeit, wo ihre kompakte, aber sportliche Statur (18kg) ein großer Vorteil gegenüber größeren und schwereren Hunden wie DSH oder Labradoren darstellt. Also lernten wir gemeinsames Abseilen, Aufstieg in Seilen, Seilbahn fahren und vieles mehr.

Sommer 2019 zogen wir von Mexiko nach Ecuador, wo wir weiterhin trainieren, aber sehr plötzlich bekam ich von meiner Schule die Erlaubnis, mit meinen Hunden an der Schule mit den Kindern und Jugendlichen zu arbeiten. Nun ist die kleine Wildsau ein Rettungshund, aber kein Therapiehund, und so war sie erst nur als Reserve gedacht, falls einer meiner richtigen
Therapiehundesenioren ausfällt. Bei einer extremen Hitzewelle, wo die beiden Senioren nicht arbeiten konnten, kam also ihr großer Tag, und wie vorher bei allem anderen auch, sie lernt rasend schnell. Jetzt, ein paar Monate später, wird sie von den Schülern (und Kollegen und Chefetage und Service- und Sicherheitsleuten der Schule) angebetet und wir werden zu jeglichen Events und Exkursionen eingeladen, führen alle ihre coolen Tricks vor und lassen sie mal einen Schüler suchen…

In den knapp 2 Jahren seit ihrer Diagnose mussten wir ihre Medikation nur 2mal anpassen, einmal fiel sie aus uns unbekannten Gründen in eine Krise und musste einige Tage in der Klinik am Tropf bleiben, aber davon abgesehen ist sie ein normaler Rettungshund und ein baldiger Therapiehund. Das einzige, was ich beachten muss, ist, immer Prednisolon dabei zu haben, weil sowohl Sucheinsätze als auch Arbeitstage an der Schule stressig sind. Im positiven Sinne, aber eben dennoch stressig.

In unserer Freizeit wandern wir im Hochgebirge, gehen schwimmen oder fahren auch mal Fahrrad. Sie macht absolut alles (oder noch mehr), was ein nicht-Addison-Hund machen würde, nur mit einem Überschuss an positiver Energie.
Nebenbei: meine ecuatorianischen Tierärzte benutzen sie als Beispielfall für ihre Vetmedizinstudenten, da die allermeisten nie zuvor einen Addisonpatienten zu Gesicht bekommen haben.

nan lang Panyòl

La historia de Piña
En febrero de 2016, vivía en Cholula, México con mis tres pastores (alemánes y belgas, todos rescatados) cuando una amiga me llamó que había encontrado una cachorra en una bolsa de basura cerrada en la banqueta de la calle., a punto de asfixiarse. Entonces fui, recogí la cachorra y le presenté a mi veterinaria. 4 semanas, alrededor de 1000gramos. Inmediatamente encontramos a una familia que le quiso adoptar, solo que necesitaban organizarse antes de llevarla. Pero…nunca pasó y se quedó conmigo más tiempo que esperábamos.

Se adaptó rápido a la vida entre los pastores grandes y creció sanamente. Mis alumnos le llamaron PIÑA porque en ese tiempo estuvimos viendo las frutas. Ella enamoró a todos pero nadie la adoptó. Estaba una cachorra muy valiente, segura e inteligente, así que empezamos a entrenarle. Brillaba en obediencia, trucos y –a pesar de ser chiquita comparada con los pastores– aún se lanzó a guardia y protección. Cuando llevaba 6 meses conmigo le declaramos ‘mía’ oficialmente y también empezamos su entrenamiento de búsqueda y rescate, como le notamos muy apta para trabajo de olfato.

Claro que estaba la única cruza callejera y a principio nos encontramos con un pseudo-entrenador que dijo que no sirviera y blabla, pero por fin encontramos a un entrenador que vio su potencial y pronto vimos resultados impresionantes.

En agosto 2017, después de una sesión fuerte de entrenamiento, ella pareció exhausta, triste y le salió orina cuando durmió. El día siguiente le checamos por infección de las vías urinarias, era negativo. Le dimos algunos días de reposo y pronto estaba como normal. Cuando volvió al entrenamiento pasó lo mismo: cansancio extremo, incontinencia. Esa vez mi veterinaria notó su frecuencia cardíaca muy baja y nos mandó a una clínica para un chequeo cardiológico. Hicieron un eco cardíaco, sonografía de corazón y abdomen, tomaron la presión, análisi de sangre…todo. Cuando fui por ella, la cardióloga me dijo que tanto el corazón como los riñones tienen una sobrecarga y por eso estaba tan cansada. La doctora sospechó Addison por una leve desbalance de los electrolitos y el problema cardíaco. Por un ataque de abejas dos semanas antes Piña había recibido una inyección de cortisona, así que no pudimos hacer el test de estimulación del ACTH. Los doctores dijeron que se tendría que esperar 4 semanas para poder hacer el test, a lo mejor se podría estabilizarle con sueros de cloruro de sodio por algún tiempo y finalmente hacer el test.
Desafortunadamente, aún con los sueros su situación empeoró y después de algunos días todos los veterinarios involucrados decidieron juntos empezar el tratamiento por Addison. Empezamos con Predisona y pastillas de Fludrocortisona (Astonin) y en pocos días estaba fuerte y alegre como antes. Su frecuencia cardíaca se normalizó u poco a poco pudimos bajar la dosis de la Prednisona, con eso desaparecieron los efectos secundarios.

Piña tenía un año y medio cuando le diagnosticaron.

Ella estaba estable, yo me acostumbré a manejar sus medicinas y por fin pudimos volver al entrenamiento. Pronto tuvimos los primeros operativos de búsqueda y rescate y ella ganó los corazones con su carácter amigable y alegre y su profesonalismo en cuanto al trabajo de búsqueda. Nos especializamos en rescate de alta montaña y escombros/estructuras colapsadas donde ella por su estatura compacta y atleta (18kilos) tiene ventajas con los pastores o labradores más pesados. Así, aprendemos hacer rappel, subida en cuerdas, andar en teleféricos y cualquier tipo de vehículo.

En verano de 2019 nos mudamos a Ecuador, donde seguimos entrenando, pero de repente recibimos el permiso de mi colegio, a trabajar con los perros en el colegio. Piña como perra de búsqueda y rescate solo era planeada como reemplazo para mis dos perros de terapia. En una fuerte ola de calor, cuando los dos perros de terapia por su edad no podían trabajar, llegó la hora de Piña y…aprendió rapidísimo. Ahora, meses después, es adorada por todo el colegio (alumnos, colegas, jefes, padres de familia, empleados) por su alegría permanente, por saber hacer tantos trucos y por brindar seguridad a excursiones.

En los dos años de su diagnosis solo dos veces tuvimos que ajustar sus medicamentos, siempre llevo algo de Prednisona conmigo (tanto la búsqueda como el trabajo en el colegio le exigen mucho y tengo que darle más Prednisona en los días de trabajo) pero al lado de eso es una perra de búsqueda y rescate normal y perra de terapia futura.
En nuestro tiempo libre hacemos senderismo, escalamos montañas, andamos en bici o vamos a nadar. Piña hace absolutamente todo (o más) que hace un perro sin Addison, solo con exceso de energía.
Mis veterinarios ecuatorianos le usan para enseñanza de Addison a sus estudiantes de medicina veterinaria como la mayoría nunca ha visto un caso de Addison antes.
Por ganar tantos corazones, mis amigos me regalaron un tatuaje en forma de Piña y la mitad de mi casa tiene decoración en forma de Piña. Su apodo es “la cola inquieta” por ser tan alegre, y cuando la ven, nadie sospecha su enfermedad.

Piña - Typical Addison's
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This is Ozzie! We adopted him as a 6-month-old rescue. Border Collie/Australian Terrier mix according to the DNA test. His weight is 48 liv. We started noticing changes in him when he was about 3.5 ane fin vye granmoun (early 2016). The first indication (missed by me as a medical issue at that time) was a drastic change in his coat. His hair grew longer and turned from black to brown. He looked like a little bear!

Then in June, we went camping and I noticed he was peeing a lot. Copious amounts and very dilute. Then also occasional diarrhea.

Still energetic, we continued agility all this time. Then one morning, he didn’t want to eat. That was my indication that something was wrong. He always loved food. I also noticed that he would pant a long time after playing ball. Too long.

To the vet that day in June 2016, just before his 4^th anivèsè nesans. They asked me what his symptoms were because he looked like such a happy camper. I told him about the not eating and the panting. I could pick him later that day and was told to give him chicken and rice. They had taken blood and results would be back the day after.

I just went to agility training that next morning, and when I came back the vet had called to bring Ozzie in ASAP. They suspected Addison’s disease. They did the ACTH test and he didn’t stim at all. Diagnosis was in!

He was on fluids for a day, was given Percorten (1.75 ml at regular dose), and Prednisone. I soon learned about low dose; I did learn so much in just a few days. It was worth my time, because I have been able to lower his Pred to only 0.25 mg per day and we went with low dose of Percorten (0.6 ml) for his second shot. Li te pran 3 months for his K level to go up to 4.9! Then after several months of electrolyte tests, we have him now on 0.25 ml of Percorten every 28 jou. That is lower than many other dogs, but he does really well on this.

Then the best part: after three months of healing, I went back to Agility, Treibball, started Nosework, and started Trick training. I had my sweet boy back. Like nothing happened. He still runs Agility at the highest levels, received his Excellent Treibball title plus his Trick Dog Champion and Stunt Dog Professional title in 2018. He is close to getting his Masters Jumpers and Standard titles in AKC agility and I hope to attend the Nadac Championships in September this year. He earned his Nosework 2 title a few months ago. Going for level 3 this year!

I am so proud of this boy; he really loves life and he keeps me busy! Here is a link to one of his Treibball runs he so loves: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTC1jBJR_jM

Ozzie - Thyra P.
Typical Addison's
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Stirling is my sweet, amazing Border Collie. His fancy AKC registered name is Premiere’s Stirling Status, UD, P-UTD, FDC. From the start, I believed he was supposed to be my dog. I have been training and showing dogs in competition obedience for nearly 20 years and I was ready for my first Border Collie. I drove out to California to pick up my black and white ball of fluff. The puppies were running about like little chickens, this way and that. Since they were interested in running about the room, the puppies were not paying much attention to the new stranger (me). Then the puppy pack ran past me and one scooted to a stop and attempted to jump right on me; he was enthralled with me. He was adorable and I loved him at very first sight, but this puppy was already promised to another home. I was a bit disheartened but trusted our breeder and her matching of the dogs. She picked up this other adorable puppy and placed him in my lap; this was the puppy picked for me. He was cute and wiggled directly out of my arms to go play. The breeder put the puppies in the crate and we chatted a bit. She took the puppies out at least four more times. All the puppies would run directly past me to play and this one little puppy would run past me and put on the brakes to try to jump in my lap, as I said earlier, he was enthralled and I was starting to have heartbreak as this was not my puppy. Finalman, the last time the breeder took the puppies out and they all ran past me but the one, she picked him up and shared she’d not seen anything like this, and well; he was my pup. That puppy, as you likely guessed, is my amazing Stirling.

Stirling and I went off to enjoy our busy, active life together, training and running. I loved having my first border collie.

Around the time he was a year old, I noticed he seemed to have periods when he did not feel well. He would have loose stool and seem tired; not as active. I would take him to the vet and he would get some medicine to calm his stomach. His labs were fine. I would notice he would have loose stool after a training session. The next symptom Stirling demonstrated was a full body rash. Stirling had pus like lesions all throughout his body. It was so scary! Off to the vet we went. At this point, as I am a nurse, I started to put together this seemed like an autoimmune or autoinflammatory condition. As quickly as the rash developed, it went away. From there, Stirling would go on to have periods of loose stool, lethargy, and high fever. I would rush him to the vet for treatment and part of the treatment was steroids. After treatment, Stirling would be back to his amazing self and off we would go running and training until the next episode. There were a number of these episodes. Finalman, after one of the episodes, we saw a different vet as we were on holiday. I shared our story and I was so upset. She blurted out, “I think he has Addison’s disease!” She ran the tests, gave him steroids, and fluids to stabilize him. For this final episode, Stirling’s blood glucose was low; he had an atypical presentation of Addison’s. At least now we knew! Stirling’s presentation of Addison’s was an atypical presentation making an already challenging diagnosis even more challenging. We returned to Arizona, ran more tests to discover Stirling has primary Addison’s disease, but remains with glucocorticoid deficiency —or with Atypical Addison’s disease. Stirling has remained in Atypical Addison’s since 2012. Since he tested for primary Addison’s we follow his labs every 4 mwa.

After the initial stabilization period, which was hard, Stirling has been feeling wonderful, running and competing. Our team for Stirling is amazing. Our Vet is very supportive of our treatment and we work together for the best treatment plan for Stirling. She is supportive of low dose prednisone and our feeding plan.

For brags, Stirling and I run together and recently we ran a 6-minute mile! We show in competitive obedience and are almost always in the ribbons. The UD (Utility Dog title) is one of the top obedience titles. Stirling is my first obedience dog to achieve the UD title. I adore every minute we have together. Strangely enough, I believe we enjoy a stronger bond because of the Addison’s.

Outside of the difficulty of diagnosis, and the initial stabilization period which was scary; we have an amazing life together. I am forever grateful for our medical care and our Canine Addison’s Resources & Education group (C.A.R.E). I do not believe I would have gotten through this without the expertise and guidance of our C.A.R.E group. The support and knowledge C.A.R.E provides is critical. I cannot count how many times I have reached out for guidance and support. The group also brings friendship and encouragement. I remember second guessing if I should be running and showing Stirling. Then I saw dogs in our C.A.R.E group doing agility. I was touched by a wonderful Border Collie named Idgie in our group. Watching Idgie’s brags gave me the encouragement I needed. At that moment, I decided Stirling was always supposed to be my dog and we would live the life we were intended. You will see me singing Team Stirling’s praises occasionally, in case someone needs just a little encouragement.

Stirling is well loved by both me and my wonderful, supportive husband who is also critical in supporting Stirling in his care. Our Addison’s dogs rock and can do it all!

Stirling - Candice V.G.
Atypical Addison's
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Time to tell our story, and to share some good news. When we joined the CARE Facebook group, it was following a suggestion by a friend in another Facebook group about the Belgian Shepherd breeds. I had no idea that we needed help and that I could improve Ali’s care. Ali had her Addison’s crisis over 5 years prior, and she had been stable with 2.5 ml of Prednisolone daily and a monthly shot, at the vets, nan 2.5 ml Percorten – carefully calculated according to her weight (which I later discovered is not the way to adjust the medication).

My husband and I more than once had ‘that talk.’ Were we really doing the kindest thing treating her illness, keeping her alive? Bless, she was so ‘wired,’ jumpy, and nervous of everything. My brave fearless girl no more. She was ravenous! Starving hungry the whole time. It was painful to see. I was so sorry for her I used to buy her big shells of lettuce leaves to try and fill her up. Anything to put something in her stomach without fattening her up. She wolfed them down.

Despite giving her cranberry capsules everyday, she had countless bladder infections. Seemed like she was never clear of them and was constantly getting antibiotics to control them. Her fur had gone very sparse and coarse. Belgian Shepherds have a double coat, but she no longer had any soft warming undercoat of fur. Just the outer fur, with bald spots even in that. Neither of us ever got a full night’s sleep. Every night she needed to go out twice, some nights as many as three times.

But then I read the documents here and the advice which was helping others to reduce their dogs from the therapeutic dosage level which Ali was on to the biological replacement level of both Prednisolone and Percorten V. I’m a life scientist by training and it all made such good sense that I decided to give it a try. I just quietly got on and reduced Ali’s prednisolone, gradually and gently. And what do you know, she did great. It took a while, but she is now stable on 0.5 ml daily – one-fifth of her original dose!

As soon as I could see that she was doing better on a reducing dose of Prednisolone, I started telling our lovely veterinarian I wanted to reduce her Percorten and to base her dosage on her electrolytes, not her weight. We had quite a tussle to start with, but once he realized I wanted her treatment to be based on the results of her ‘lytes, he was fully supportive. We’ve been gradually reducing her dosage, and her last shot was 0.5 ml Zycortal (we switched from Percorten). Maybe down to 0.4 ml this time, but we’ll soon know. A few months ago, I started doing her shots myself. Partly to mitigate the additional costs of the monthly ‘lytes tests, but more to avoid Ali having to go to the vets so often. She’s very brave, but she’s been to the vets far too often in her little life.

Why am I telling you this now? Oke, we’ve just come back from Ali’s 28 day ‘lytes blood draw and our vet proudly told me that he has convinced the owner of another Addison’s dog in his care to start the same reducing treatment regime. And, bless him, he has suggested that they could start doing the monthly shot themselves to help offset the initial costs, citing me as an example.

Se konsa,, apart from being chuffed to bits that another dog will soon be feeling a lot less wired, I’ve learned another lesson. In convincing our veterinarians to treat our dogs the way we have learned is what they need, with just a replacement dosage, they will then take that knowledge and use it with other Addison’ dogs in their care. Having said it, that seems blindingly obvious that they would do so, but it honestly had not occurred to me.

Update: Another two years have passed since I wrote this. Thank you to everyone here at CARE for all they do to help our precious A-dogs and us, their anxious helicopter pet parents. I’m honored to have been asked to update it for the Canine Addison’s Awareness Week 2020.

My darling Ali continues to flourish. For over 2 years now, she has been stable on 0.5 ml of Prednisolone daily. I continued reducing her monthly Zycortal, guided by monthly ‘lytes tests, until we reached the level that kept her stable for 28 jou. My poor girl, who had been given 2.5 mls of Percoten V every month for 5 years only needs the tiny monthly dose of 0.3 ml.

Last year we got a male Belgian Shepherd puppy. I thought Ali might appreciate not having the responsibility of being top dog in our little pack of two. What did we know! Having just celebrated his first birthday, Shadow is now a strapping big boy, taller, and heavier built than Ali. But my darling brave fearless girl is still determinedly top dog. Her coat is full, soft, and shining with health. I have to admit that she still bolts her meals, but that desperate hunger resides only in my memory. We both sleep through most nights. Nowadays, it’s me who needs to get up, not her. And she’s happy. Bright eyed and bushy tailed. She’s beside me now, cuddling up on the sofa, making typing very difficult.

Even I forget she’s ill. It’s just part of my routine to give her meds with her breakfast, quick, easy, and not a big deal at all. Her monthly shot is now routine. Collar off the night before. Draw up her meds into the syringe while she’s elsewhere, and then quickly give it to her while she’s enjoying her breakfast. But let her get sick, with anything, and I’m immediately that anxious A-dog mom again. Some things never change!

Ali - Shirley C.
Typical Addison's
Klike sou imaj elaji

 

Senba te fèt sou Feb 23, 2007. He was trained as a Service Dog for an autistic boy and was loved very much by his “brother.” Just before his 2nd birthday, li lage kò l desann kèk mach eskalye. Li te fini nan veterinè a, dekri kòm trè letarji ak kapab mache. Bloodwork mennen nan yon dyagnostik nan "sipoze Addison a" (pa gen okenn tès ACTH). Yo te ba li yon piki nan dèksamtason ak kèk likid IV, Lè sa a, voye lakay yo pran Florinef, "Pou 2 mwa, Lè sa a, sispann ak kenbe Prednisone sou men si li kòmanse aksidan nan kay la. "dosye medikal li li tankou yon istwa laterè. Nan mwa novanm nan 2010, li te gen yon "posib" kriz Addisonian, ak potasyòm li nan 5.6 (varye jiska 5.8). Senba aparamman te gen yon manm nan 3 kriz pandan y ap ak premye fanmi l ', ak Lè sa a soufri yon 4yèm nan moman an nan rann tèt nan Standard Poodle Sekou a.

A laj de 6, Senba te rive nan sekou a & akèy familyal. Sekou a ak manm nan kominote Addison a te ede jwenn senba sou chemen ki dwat, oblije chanje l 'soti nan Florinef Percorten epi li te kòmanse sou faz nan pwochen nan lavi l', ki se pi pi kontan!

Keith ak mwen te kap chèche yon frè ak sè pou River nou an, ki absoliman pa renmen ke yo te yon "sèlman chen". Mwen te swiv yon anpil nan chen yo ki disponib nan sekou a, ak Lè sa a senba parèt. Li te tankou yon script nan larivyè Lefrat nan aparans, sèlman menm plis bèl. Mwen jis pa t 'kapab pran je m' sou sa a ti gason bèl. Nou te jis pèdi 2 chen nan yon koup nan ane, yon sèl soti nan kansè nan, lòt la akòz konplikasyon nan inutilizabl chent fwa miltip. Kontak mwen nan sekou a te eseye pale m 'ale soti nan senba, di nou merite yon sèl ki pa gen okenn pwoblèm, men yon jan kanmenm nou te santi nou te moun yo dwa pou senba ak li te bon pou nou. Senba te rive nan fanmi nou sou Mas 23, 2013, anivèsè nesans 6th l 'pa lontan apre, ak yon varyete de Des, grenn, ak enstriksyon. Tèt mwen te bondi. Mwen te konnen pa gen anyen sou Addison a, eksepte ke li te yon mo trè pè. Manman adoptif li, Katey, asire m 'ke nou ta gen sipò plen l' ansanm ak sa yo ki an kominote Addison a. Mwen ansanm yon gwoup sipò san patipri byen vit men tann yon ti moman anvan afiche. Pou ou kab vin yon moun timid, li te difisil yo pale soti nan yon pakèt moun sou moun lòt nasyon, menm si yo te sèlman sou entènèt. Oke, li te pi bon bagay la mwen te fè. Pou senba, li te bon paske mwen te resevwa èd enstantane fè fas avè l ', epi pou m 'li te bon - Mwen te fè anpil nouvo zanmi ki gen anpil valè, moun ak ki moun mwen gen yon bagay an komen - nou tout renmen chen Addison nou an. Senba te "pibliye" tout lòt peyi sou kontinan an e menm nan UK a, Se konsa, li te vin ak gwoup pwòp tèt li nan admirateur, ak Keith ak mwen glise nan gwoup la avè l '.

Nan fen mwa Jen an 2013, jis 3 mwa apre nou te adopte l ', Senba vole soti nan kamyon an Keith nan garaj la epi yo kraze janm li. Ki sa ki pwochen pou sa a ti gason cheri! Se te yon trè move ti repo ak li te fini ak yon plak asye nan bra l 'plis fil vlope tout otou ponyèt li. Nou te di ke li te yon 90% chans ke li te kansè, se konsa yo te prepare pou anpitasyon posib ki te swiv pa tretman chimyo. Senba te gen chans ak anfòm nan la 10% klè! Li te tankou yon troope ak kask l ', li mete "Bonnet li,"Ak Lè sa a, jis lè li te geri, te gen yo ale tounen 6 mwa pita yo te plak la retire.

Se konsa, nou ap vini jiska 2 ane depi nou te adopte senba - li te tankou yon kè kontan. Li se "moun pwòp tèt li,"Pa renmen lòt chen. Li nan yon solitèr, epi li se "fè egzèsis entolerans." te lis li nan med prèske disparèt - yon fwa byen medikaman, pwoblèm po anvan disparèt, koule sispann. Senba gade lòt chen jwe men pa janm reyèlman te aprann kouman yo patisipe lè li te pi piti. Li te bay moute yon anpil nan li "plezi jèn" pa te yon chen Lapòs Autism, ak pa yo te tèlman malad anpil. Men, gen tan li vini - li te gen yon anivèsè nesans 8th sou rive - ak li te gen yon manman an & Papa ki renmen l tendres e yo ta fè anyen pou l ', yon River frè ki jwi gen l 'isit la, ak yon nouvo pino sè ki pa te byen bliye ke li gronde nan li premye jou a li te isit la, men li te detachman moute. Senba vle di "Prince" ak sa a, se sa l 'se!

Pino se yon Cocker Spaniel / mini poodle melanj, fèt sou Me 4, 2009. Li te viv pou 5 ane nan yon fanmi ki gen ki mwen pa konnen anyen. Men, jis anvan li 5^th anivèsè nesans, li te mennen l 'bay klinik la Ijans ak blokaj pipi ak yon fwa yo te resevwa fò li ase, li te gen yon cystoscopy urin. Li te voye lakay men retounen nan yon jou osinon de jou nan kriz. Veterinè a te vle teste pou Addison a men pa Lè sa a te fanmi li rive nan pwen kraze yo epi yo mande ke li dwe mete nan dòmi. Veterinè nan ranje yo gen l 'remèt l' epi li te dyagnostike ak yon ACTH nan kòmansman an nan mwa me. Lè sa a, Li te viv pou pwochen an 4 mwa nan klinik la. Nou te nan klinik la ak larivyè Lefrat yon sèl jou epi yo te di nou sou pino li mennen l 'nan vin jwenn nou. Li bòne nan, rebondi moute sou ban an, ak jis pa t 'kapab kontwole enèji li. Li te yon boul nan duve ak intelijans. K ap deplase ansanm, SPIN (Poodles Standard Nan Bezwen) te pran kontwòl nan li yo ak Keith ak mwen favorize l '. Pino se briyan! Premye jou li, li literalman fèmen sou tou de Keith & River, ak nan jou sa a yo, yo toulède yo peze pens prensipal li. Nan klinik la, yo te bay li 1.0 mg nan Prednisone chak jou epi li te peze sou 14 liv. Se konsa,, Pino te gen pwoblèm enkonvenyans grav. Nou te travay nan bese Pred li yo, men menm lè li te desann nan 0.2mg, li te toujou koule. Nou te eseye bay Propalin li (Microwave) ak sèlman kèk siksè. Men, yon fwa li te kòmanse pran stilbestrol (DES) chak jou, li te gen fin chèch nèt.

Ou ka imajine ke SPIN pa te egzakteman kouri nan pye yo ak moun ki te vle adopte sa a bèt absoliman cheri. Gen kèk te enterese ase yo aprann sou Addison a & konsidere l ', men koule a se te yon brekè kontra. Tout tan tout tan an, Mwen te ekri sou ki jan bèl bagay li te, Mwen te tonbe pi plis ak plis nan renmen ak li tèt mwen. Nou pral deplase yon ti tan ki pral mande pou yon 7 vwayaj wout jou epi depi nou te deja gen 2 poodles estanda, nou pa t 'panse ke nou te kapab adopte yon 3^rd. Nou finalman deside nan "zèl li" - pino te twò lwen espesyal kite nenpòt lòt moun jwi li. Li fè pati avèk nou, epi nou fè pati avè l '. Ak san konte, ki jan nou menm panse a pran l 'ale soti nan larivyè Lefrat! Se konsa,, sou Dec. 21, 2014, Pino te vin nou pou tout tan. Li se tankou yon plezi. Li lonje ou yon soulye lè ou vini nan, Malgre ke li pa pouvwa gen pou ou, men li se prezante ak tankou yon branle cheri bom ke ou jis gen yo pran l 'de tout fason. Li se totalman dejwe egu jwèt - pi gwo a ak squeakier nan pi bon an - sa a se yon dejwe ke li pataje ak larivyè Lefrat epi yo fè gen yon kerèl kèk sou "pi bon" yon sèl nan. Pino te kaptire kè nou epi yo pral kenbe yo pou tout tan.

 

Klara te fèt sou 12yèm la nan mwa Out 2009. Li te toujou yon ti chen kè kontan ak vivan, yon tomboy ak yon gwo kiryozite pou tout bagay nouvo. Chanjman te vin apre chalè premye li. Li te vin yon Manjè serye, ki mwen te panse te ki gen rapò ak chanjman yo ormon. Li te vin trankil ak te reyaji agresif lè chen te vin twò pre, menm pi bon ami chen li. Fouri nwa a sou pye devan l 'yo te tounen gri.

Lè sa a, ankò yo te peryòd long lè tout bagay te sanble yo dwe oke. 3yèm anivèsè nesans li Yon ti tan apre, tout bagay pi mal. Li te gen yon enfeksyon zòrèy trè move ak bakteri milti-rezistan. Pou jwenn enflamasyon an kontwole, kannal yo zòrèy yo te netwaye anba anestezi jeneral. Yon glisman tè a te kòmanse. Li te kòmanse yo refize manje l '. Pafwa, li te manje pa gen anyen pou 3 jou. Pafwa, li te gen dyare oswa vomi. Nan lafliksyon, nou te kòmanse blag ke byento nou ta jwenn antre pwòp nou nan klinik la. Enfeksyon an zòrèy te toujou sa ki lakòz pwoblèm ak Klara te resevwa netwaye dezyèm zòrèy li anba anestezi jeneral.

Pandan se tan, li repete te gen dyare, vomisman, ak konstipasyon. Nou te pase Èv Nwèl ak New Year a nan klinik la. Tès pou parazit yo te negatif. Bloodwork a te ekselan. Enfeksyon an zòrèy kenbe vini tounen.

Winter 2012/2013, nou te gen move tan bèl bagay. Lots nan nèj ak solèy. Chen mwen renmen nèj ak Klara trennen tèt li nan nèj la. Li pa te gen okenn plezi. Ou te kapab wè ke li pa te ap fè byen. Pifò nan tan an li mouri. Veterinè yo te jwenn pa gen okenn kòz.

An fevriye 2013, li te menm vin pi mal. Dyare, vomisman, li te sanble yo dwe nan doulè, refize manje l ', men bwè anpil dlo. Veterinè yo te di, "Nou ta dwe rete tann. Li ta ka paske nan chalè li. "Nan denmen lè m 'rive lakay, Mwen te gen yon santiman etranj – yon bagay ale trè mal isit la. Mwen te kondwi ale ankò nan lopital la epi veterinè a te vle voye m 'ale, “Nou can not jwenn anyen. Mwen panse ke li chalè li!”

Sa a te twòp. Mwen te fache ak mande envestigasyon pi lwen. “Yon bagay ki mal ak Klara. Mwen pa pwal ale!! Fè travay ou!” Yo te fè yon tès san konplè ak Lè sa a,, veterinè yo te trè enkyete. Potasyòm li te 7.6 nan yon ran de 3.5-5.8. Sodyòm li te 139 nan yon ran de 144-160. Bloodwork a te di nou lavi li te an danje. Li te konplètman dezidrate. Finalman, yo gade pou kòz la. Entoksikasyon ak, ren ultrason, lèptospiroz. Li te bay yon IV ak sak perfusion. Mwen te kapab pran Klara kay. Nou te ale chak jou nan klinik la e yo te plis tès. Yo te pale de malfonksyònman ren men yo te jwenn okenn rezon. Valè san Klara a yo te fèt sèlman pa perfusion yo men menm ki pa t 'ede anpil. Valè yo san yo te vin pi mal. Pou jou, li te fòs manje, men li te pèdi pi plis ak plis pwa. Li te pran nan ICU a epi nou te prepare a pèdi l '. Veterinè yo te di yo te vle teste yon dènye bagay. Yo te di li te kapab fè Maladi Addison's e yo te vle fè tès la ACTH. Kòz la te dekouvwi. Klara te gen Addison a ak tretman te kòmanse. Nan denmen, Mwen te kapab pran lakay li.

Li refè byen vit ak tout bagay te sanble yo dwe amann. Sepandan, li pa t 'osi fò ke chen an sante. Se poutèt sa mwen te chanje soti nan Florinef Percorten.

Avèk èd la nan gwoup la, nou te travay yo jwenn pi bon dòz Klara's. Koulye a,, li peze 27 kg ak resevwa 0.40ml nan Percorten chak 28 jou ak 1mg nan Prednisone chak jou. Pou m ', li se tankou yon mirak yo wè ki jan li jwi lavi li san yo pa nenpòt restriksyon. Koulye a,, prèske 2 ane pita, Klara santi l pi bon pase tout tan tout tan. Oblije chanje nan Percorten te pran desizyon an pi byen tout tan. Klaraismentallybalanced,kè kontan, fonse, ak vanyan gason. Apre yo te fin ansanm jou nan travay(li se asistan antrenè m ', Mwen se yon antrenè chen) li te toujou te enèji kite yo jwe kè kontan totalman ak frè l 'ak m'!

I am Annet and I live in The Netherlands. We have 4 chen, two English Cocker Spaniels, a Boomer and a Belgian Griffon. One of the cockers – his name is Flip and he is 4 ane fin vye granmoun – has Addison’s since April 2014.

He drank tons of water and wasn’t his exciting self for a few weeks. So when the dogs had to have their annual shots, I asked if the vet could check his total bloodwork, because he was not well. When we got home, Flip disappeared under the table and stayed there, he didn’t even come out for a treat. And that is something that is completely NOT Flip…. After a few hours the vet called and said that his potassium was dangerously high and his sodium very low. So he said I suspect he has Addison’s disease. After travelling in ‘Addison’s world’ for almost a year now, I know that my vet did wonderful by diagnosing it this early! He wanted to confirm with the ACTH test, but it turned out that the test was not available in Holland at that time, not at a vet nor at a veterianarian school! So Flip was never definitively diagnoses with the ACTH test because it simply wasn’t possible. He got fludrocortisone and hydrocortisone and after a little while in ‘Addison World’ I weaned him off of the hydrocortisone completely. The Dutch protocol for Addison is ‘Fludrocortisone and high dose of hydrocortisone for the rest of the dog’s life’. My vet said Okay to wean him off the hydro, but afterwards he said to me that he feared it, because of this protocol. Addison’s is of course a rare disease so that is what he knew and never questioned.

But it went very well so Flip only had fludrocortisone. The only thing is that Flip didn’t do his best on it and we ended up adjusting his dose almost every two weeks. Flip weighs 18 kg and he had 0.8175 mg fludro. He had too much glucocorticosteroids in his medication, that was for sure! He has always been an outgoing dog, but this was ridiculous, whining when he got a little bit excited (so by going out for a walk, getting a treat, getting dinner, thinking we were going out etc), poor Flip…….
Luckily I found a person who could provide Percorten (or rather that person found me) and this resulted in a memorable event on 5 January 2015: Flip was the first dog in Holland to get an injection of Percorten!

He is doing great on it, his personality is normalising, his hair is becoming red again (instead of becoming blonder and blonder) and it is growing again.

Mwen renmen yo ekri, men mwen chita isit la fikse nan yon ekran vid, pè ke mwen pa ka fè istwa jistis pèpsi la. Mwen pataje istwa sa a avèk nou tout nan espwa ke li pral ede yon lòt moun. Nou te adopte pèpsi lè li te sou 6 mwa fin vye granmoun nan mwa desanm nan 2003. Li te tankou yon chen inik ak etonan, men yo pa yo tout nan pwòp fason yo espesyal?

Pèpsi te gen yon sitou nòmal puppy-kapo, men t 'soufri soti nan plis pase sa pifò maladi chen fè. Apre li vire twa, li devlope maleng nan vulv li. Apre plizyè vwayaj nan veterinè a, ak Lè sa a oblije chanje veterinè, ak ap kèk opsyon plis, nou te konsidere operasyon rekonstwi vulv li. Sepandan, li te kòmanse ale desant byen vit. Li te pèdi pwa, souke, ak pi fò nan tout, Mwen jis te konnen yon bagay te mal. Nou te ale nan veterinè veterinè apre kote yo tout ranvwaye m 'ki di ke li te "jis ap resevwa ki pi gran ak rezoud desann." Nan tan sa a mwen te gen l' nan biwo veterinè a chak semèn pou mwa. Nou menm te eseye oblije chanje veterinè yon fwa koup. Enèji li te diminye byen vit. Byento, li pa t 'kapab menm mache soti nan lakou a san yo pa gen t' ankò kouche epi pran repo. Li te gen pwoblèm li te gen yon mouvman entesten. Mwen te pran l 'nan biwo veterinè a ankò, kote yo dyagnostike l 'ak kolit. Nou te rive lakay, epi li pa t 'kapab jwenn soti nan machin nan.

Mwen te konnen sa a te li, Se konsa, mwen jis te tounen nan machin nan epi te kondwi nan Chicago - vil la gwo. Nan 10 minit nan nou k ap antre nan lopital la pou ijans nan Chicago, li te preliminè dyagnostike ak Maladi Addison a, epi mwen te di li pwobableman pa ta fè l 'yon lòt nwit san tretman. Li rete la 3 oswa 4 jou pandan ke yo te resevwa l 'likid moute, ak fòs l 'tounen. Li te yon tès ACTH fè konfime Maladi Addison li a. Kòm soulaje jan mwen te chwazi l 'leve soti nan lopital la, Mwen te tou devaste yo aprann ke tretman l 'ki ta koute prèske $400 yon mwa. Mwen te gen okenn lide ki jan mwen te ale nan peye li, men nou te ale nan figi konnen yon fason.

Sa a lè mwen te kòmanse fè rechèch sou tèt mwen, epi li te jwenn yon gwoup K-9 Addison a ki mwen dwe lavi pèpsi nan. Yo te ede m konprann maladi a, ki jan ka esplike nou rèv tès li, epi pou yo jwenn li sou dòz la dwa nan medikaman. Apre sa, nou pa janm gade dèyè.

Anplis de sa nan 1.4 ml Percorten-V chak 28 jou ak 1 mg nan Prednisone chak jou, Pèpsi tou te pran plizyè sipleman. Li te fini k ap viv 7 plis ane bèl bagay sou dòz yo kòrèk la nan medikaman li ki, nan chemen an, sèlman koute m 'mwens pase $80.00 pou chak mwa. Pèpsi te rete yo dwe 11 ½ ane fin vye granmoun, ki se trè gwo pou yon 130 Pound chen. Pèpsi te mouri nan kansè jou a anvan Jou Aksyon de Gras nan 2014.

Lè w yon dyagnostik pou maladi Addison a ka pè ak pè, men pèpsi te prèv ke ou ka viv yon lavi kontan serye avèk medikaman yo kòrèk. Paske nan pèpsi, tout moun ki manyen l 'te aprann anpil sou lavi ak lanmou ak amitye. Li pral anpil rate.

 

Valentino te antre nan lavi m 'nan Feb 2007 lè li moute adoptif mwen apre yon apèl fèmen nan yon abri touye segondè. Li te yon demi èdtan nan men yo te etanazye. Li te gen yon ki pèdi amegri manke pi fò nan cheve l 'sou kote sa l' (po l 'te yon klere klere woz!) ak yon teren nan cheve blond tankou yon Mohawk desann do l ', peze apèn 30lb – li se kounye a yon 55lb sante. Li te pran 3 mwa retabli l 'nan sante, ak pran pwa. Pa lè sa a, Mwen te vin yon echèk adoptif, ak Valentino te tout m '! Li mouri pi fò nan moun premye 3 mwa ant repa ak ale deng anvan li te sanble ke yo te refè. Li te kòmanse gen sentòm letaji, mank enèji ak enkapasite yo jwenn nan / soti nan machin nan pou yon koup nan mwa epi pandan ke li te pa janm pèdi apeti l 'konplètman, li te kòmanse davwa a manje l 'ap eseye manje manje, Mwen te konnen yon bagay te mal, men veterinè nou an nan moman an (dènye fwa a!) ranvwaye konpòtman li kòm “mime”. Apre sa, li tonbe plat atè nan Dec 2007 ak vwayaj nou yo ak Maladi Addison a te kòmanse. Veterinè li pa t 'kapab “anfòm” Valentino nan pou yon lòt semèn epi nou te ale nan veterinè yon zanmi an ki moun ki jere nan anfòm nou nan. Li difisil yo konnen si ta ka AD li te épilation ak diminisyon anvan jan l 'te te tèlman malad lè m' premye te resevwa l '. Tonbe li te sou Dec 19, li te pase 2 jou nan lopital la espesyalite, ak pa Dec 25, te santi byen ase pou yo eseye catcher ak kanna nan Nwèl ki te seche nan koule nan kwizin – Chans pou li te nabbed en flagran ak kanna nan siviv yo dwe sèvi pou dine Nwèl kòm gen entansyon!

Valentino was started on Florinef/compounded fludrocortisone at .4mg (pi ba pase rekòmande pou pwa l ') ak 2.5mg Prednisone nan 12/07 – men elektwolit l 'yo te pafè (!) pou yon ane. Apre yon lane, elektwolit l 'al soti nan kontwòl, and he had weekly increases in his Florinef, jouk li rive nan 2mg men elektwolit l 'yo te toujou pa anba kontwòl.

Nou jwenn yon veterinè 1.5 èdtan lwen ki moun ki te vle travay avèk nou epi kòmanse Valentino nan 1.8ml, ki te konsidere kòm nan “ki ba dòz” nan 2009, dòz la estanda te yon ti jan plis pase 2ml (Mwen sonje panse mwen pa ta menm jwenn 2 dòz soti nan chak ti poban nan yon pri chak mwa nan sou $100 jis pou Percorten-V la!) Pandan ane yo, nou tou dousman redwi pa 10-20% nan yon moman. Nou te kòmanse nan 1.8ml nan 7/09 epi yo pa t 'menm ale nan 1ml til 9/10, .75ml nan 6/11, .5ml nan 10/13, .4ml aktyèl nan 9/14. Nou tout te yon anpil plis konsèvatif tounen Lè sa a epi nou pa t 'gen ase enfòmasyon sou ale nan pi ba dòz………eksepte nan eksperyans yo nan lòt manm nan gwoup la. Li te tout nouvo teritwa! Si te etid la dòz ki ba te disponib nan 2009, nou te ka genyen te kòmanse nan .95ml ak vinn pi ba efikas dòz Valentino a ki pi bonè ak sove yon anpil nan lajan sou Percorten-V ak elektwolit chak mwa tès kòm yon bonis. Mwen pa ka di ase sou diferans lan ke yo te sou pi ba dòz te fè nan ki jan Valentino santi l pandan tout mwa a ak elektwolit li rete trè fèmen nan seri a mitan-ant dòz. Li te pase ane ap fè “ok” – mopey, letarji pou 2 semèn apre chak piki, santi yon ti kras pi plis arrogan sou yon semèn avan piki pwochen l 'yo te dwe, Lè sa a, santi letarji ankò lè li te resevwa yon lòt piki – men kounye a li ap fè “gwo” tout mwa long sou yon dòz pi ba anpil nan Percorten-V! Ansanm ak ki pi resan rediksyon nan Percorten-V, Mwen te tou yo te kapab diminye Prednisone l 'yo .5mg – li ta te elikopte ant .75mg nan sezon fredi a 1.25mg nan sezon lete an pou ane. We have also switched to liquid Prednisolone as his liver enzymes became elevated and he was shedding a lot……….

PS – Konba Valentino a kòm yon malad, vle pèdi te enspirasyon an pou gwo twou san fon angajman m 'ak patisipasyon nan pwoblèm byennèt bèt nan San Antonio! Konbyen chen jis tankou Valentino te mouri paske pa te gen okenn youn a mete kanpe pou yo anvan obligatwa a 72 peryòd ki pèdi kenbe hr ekspire?

 

Sekou a te tout pups yo spayed oswa neutered avan ke yo te pran lakay. Argus te neutered nan de mwa, epi nou mennen l 'kay pita jou sa a. De jou apre li te glas frèt ak frison trè difisil. Nou te gade sit coupure li pou siy enfeksyon, li vlope l 'nan dra pou yo eseye chofe l'. Sa apremidi nou te pran l 'nan veterinè a ki te fè operasyon an (45 minit lwen). Veterinè a te di li te gen yon reyaksyon a operasyon an ak ta dwe amann. Li te ba l 'yon piki ak lage m' kèk grenn bay pou jou kap vini yo. Nan maten ki anba la a, li te pi bon. Nou te ale nan wè veterinè pwòp nou pou nouvo chèk la puppy. Yo imedyatman te pran grenn sa yo ke nou yo te ba li di yon ti chen pa ta dwe janm dwe bay sa yo. Mwen pa sonje ki sa grenn yo te, men piki a te dèksamtason e mwen kwè kounye a ke se sa ki rale l 'soti nan sa ki te pase.

Li te gen yon pup trè diferan pase nenpòt nou te gen devan l '. Li te pi mellower pase nenpòt pup mwen te janm li te ye. Gade dèyè, li te klè li te montre siy nan Addison l 'soti nan yon sèl jou. Li vin ak dekline pou prèske de zan. Pandan tan sa a, nou pèdi "gwo, frè li,"Favorize de puppies pou yon koup la semèn chak, ak Lè sa a te fè yon lòt ti chen nan kay nou an. Sou Desanm 6, 2010, Argus kite manje. Chak jou ap pwogrese nan yon lòt sentòm (feblès fen dèyè, frison, frèt glas, elatriye). Veterinè nou te di li te bakteri nan vant li – li pral jwenn sou li - ba l 'manje diri bouyi (pa gen okenn tès yo te kouri). Yon jou koup pita, nou te ale nan yon veterinè diferan ki te di ògàn li yo fèmen desann ak li te mouri – kite l 'ale!!!! Kòm mwen te pote argus, anvlope sou bra mwen bay twazyèm veterinè a, Mwen te panse mwen pa ta janm pote l 'lakay. Veterinè a te ba l 'likid, li kouri al yon tès san, tès poupou, radyografi, travay yo antye, ak kenbe l 'la. Jou lannwit sa a li rele, li di, “Mwen sispèk yon bagay ke mwen vle fè tès pou nan maten an.” Pa Jou lannwit sa a li eksplike tout bagay la fè m '. Li te rete sou likid ak te resevwa piki premye l '. Jiska pwen sa a, pandan y ap mari m ak mwen te pran tou chita avè l ', li te ban nou ti kras repons. Veterinè a pa t 'vle kite l' ale lakay paske li toujou pa ta manje. Jou ki anba la a, Mwen te mache nan ak te di l 'mwen te vle pran l' lakay. Li finalman te dakò si mwen te pwomèt yo pote l 'nan si mwen pa te vinn l' yo manje nan pwochen an 12 èdtan. Lè li fè l 'soti, li vole tout lòt peyi sou nou ak veterinè a te di, “Oui, li te bezwen ale lakay!” Se konsa, li tou dousman bò kote manje ak nou te deplase Nwèl selebrasyon nan kay sè m 'lan epi yo te trankil ak atansyon ak tout sa nou te fè. Koulye a, sa a veterinè te di m 'yo pote l' nan chak 28 jou pou piki l ', ba l 'Prednisone li chak jou, epi l'ap viv yon lavi nòmal.

Argus se 60 lbs, e li te bay 2ml nan Percorten chak 28 jou pou nèf mwa pa teknoloji a veterinè. Li te resevwa 5mg nan Prednisone pou yon koup nan mwa. Premye bagay mwen te jwenn te enfòmasyon sou Prednisone. Nou te bay li nan mitan lannwit ak mwen te jwenn li ta dwe jwenn li nan maten an, se konsa nou chanje ki. Lè sa a, mwen li yon atik konsènan yon dòz la ak nou te resevwa ki desann nan 2.5mg. Pa wityèm mwa a mwen te wè ke lavi argus 'te pa nòmal. Li pa te gen okenn aktivite mete. Li te sanble letarji. Li te gen plis nan yon egzistans pase yon lavi! Sa se lè m 'finalman jwenn yon gwoup Entènèt. Tès san ak elektwolit - KISA? Okenn nan sa a te ke yo te fè. Li te tan pou yon lòt piki ak mwen te ale nan pou pale ak veterinè a (moun mwen pa t 'wè nan plizyè mwa). Li te deplase moute nan nò yo louvri pratik l poukont li. Mwen te mande pou pale ak youn nan lòt veterinè yo. Veterinè a ki posede etablisman an te di m 'tès sa yo yo fè yon fwa chak ane ak dòz la nan Percorten ta sèlman chanje si pwa l' chanje ak mwen pa janm te ka fè piki a tèt mwen. Li pa t 'koute yon mo mwen te di ni gade nan info a mwen te eseye prezante l'. Atitid li te di m 'mwen te gen yo ka resevwa fòs ak kòmanse fè apèl nan telefòn. Telefòn mwen entèvyouve plizyè veterinè sou koup la pwochen nan jou. Yo tout te konnen tout bagay sou Addison a. Youn veterinè finalman rele m 'ak mwen anvan m' te kapab mande anyen l ', li te mande m 'lè elektwolit yo (“Lytes”) te pase a teste. Lè li te di m 'ke nou bezwen fè ke premye yo wè si li te pare pou yon lòt piki epi si li bezwen yo dwe bese, Mwen te konnen sa a te veterinè a mwen te bezwen eseye. Apre jwenn lytes yo rezilta veterinè a te di m ', "Nou gen yon rete tann lontan, li pa sezi li pa te te santi byen, se li ki trè sou medikaman. "Little li te konnen jis ki jan long nan yon rete tann! Nou teste lytes l 'yon fwa yon semèn pou plis pase twa mwa. Se te yon ti kras plis pase 100 jou lè l 'K finalman te resevwa jiska yon ti jan pi wo a mitan-ranje. Li te kòmanse l 'nan 0.5ml nan tan sa a ak pou pwochen mwa yo plizyè, li te bese jouk nou rive 0.3ml. Apre plizyè mwa, nou bezwen pote l 'tounen jiska 0.32ml. Dòz Sa ki te travay gwo pou plizyè mwa kounye a. Veterinè Sa a te gwo ak Percorten la, men pa t 'reyèlman panse Prednisone a yo ta dwe bese. Mwen te mande li si li ta kite m 'eseye, konnen ke mwen ta gade l 'ak anpil atansyon, epi li te dakò. Li se kounye a ap resevwa 1mg chak jou.

Epi, koulye a, isit la nou yo, ak medikaman yo optimisé, nan prèske 6 ane fin vye granmoun, nou gen ti chen an ke li ta dwe te an plas an premye!

 

Nou te adopte Lexie soti nan abri lokal nou an Jiyè 2010. Li te estime yo dwe sou 4-5 mwa fin vye granmoun nan moman an. Mari mwen ak mwen pote lakay li sou yon “jijman” pandan y ap nou an 2 pitit fi yo te ale nan kan ete, kòm mari mwen an gen alèji ak bezwen wè ki jan li ta reyaji. Oke, Mwen te konnen moman sa a nou te gen Lexie nan swen nou an ke li pa te ale tounen nan ke abri – bonom ta jis oblije ap viv avèk alèji li!!

Nan dezoutwa jou pou yo te avèk nou, Lexie te gen yon Episode nan vomisman ak dyare, ak yon vwayaj panik nan veterinè la kote li te teste negatif pou parvo e li te voye lakay ak enstriksyon yo kenbe manje pou yon jou ak Lè sa a kòmanse yon rejim alimantè afab. Li rebondi tounen amann, ak sou pwochen an 2 ane ta ka ale sou yo gen epizod okazyonèl nan vomisman ak dyare men li pa t 'sanble yo gen anyen twò grav. Li te kontan ak aktif, ak te sanble yo dwe sitou an sante. Pandan sezon prentan an ak ete nan 2012, nou remake lòt sentòm, ki gen ladan je goopy, enfeksyon nan zòrèy, ak po ak fouri pwoblèm. Li te kòmanse LICKING grif li twò, nan pwen nan inyorans. Pwoblèm yo nan vant kontinye epi yo te vin pi mal. Li fatige fasil ak fè egzèsis ak ta dòmi nan pandan maten yo, pa menm trakase yo ka resevwa jiska manje manje maten. Youn Samdi nan kòmansman mwa Desanm, 2012, nou te ale nan parad nan Nwèl lokal yo ak Lè sa a, te fè yon vizit nan pak la chen. Lexie jis mete gen kòm lòt chen te vin ozalantou yo ak sniffed nan li – se konsa kontrèman ak Lexie. Pi ta ke aswè, Mwen te fè yon vizit nan veterinè a ak apre-èdtan l ', kòm li te souke ak pran sant komik (tankou amonyak). Veterinè a egzamine li yo ak pa t 'wè anyen evidan ki konsène, li di jou kap vini an ap vini tounen pou bloodwork si li te sanble yo dwe vin pi mal. Oke, Jou lannwit sa a te terib, ak Lexie souke nan pye m 'menm jan nou te eseye dòmi. Retounen nan veterinè jou kap vini an pou bloodwork. Erezman, veterinè mwen sispèk Addison a lè l 'wè bloodwork la. Nan tan sa a, Lexie te malad anpil e li te admèt nan lopital pou likid ak tès la ACTH, ki te vini tounen pozitif.

Davwa Lexie jiska pote lakay li te yon etonan, tan emosyonèl, kòm li te kouri al nan nou ak kè kontan sa yo ak te gen pa yon je sèk nan klinik la veterinè!! Nan tan sa a, Mwen te jwenn èd nan kominote a sou entènèt Addison la ak te gen yon gwo veterinè ki moun ki te vle eseye yon bagay nouvo – Low Dòz Percorten. Jodi a, Lexie se 70 lbs e li pran 0.4 ml Percorten, ansanm ak dòz chak jou li nan Prednisone.

Mwen kwè ke Lexie te antre nan lavi m 'pou yon rezon. Rete nan ki abri ta gen te vle di sèten lanmò pou l ', Mon konvenki, ak fanmi nou an, se kapab bay l 'ak swen an espesyal li bezwen. Paske nan l ', Mwen gen nouvo “zanmi” nan tout mond lan. Mwen ka onètman di ke Lexie te janm gen pi bon – Dyagnostik Addison a te pa gen okenn vle di yon santans lanmò, men olye te yon kontra-lwaye nouvo sou lavi!!

 

Mwen te adopte darma soti nan abri a konte lè li te 8 semèn fin vye granmoun. Li te youn nan 7 puppies, k ap viv nan yon kay adoptif. Mwen te rele l 'pou l' nati sonjer; je l 'reflete dlo gwo twou san fon. Mwen souvan blag li gen yon pèsonalite sèlman yon manman te kapab renmen; li se jis pou ... uh, enpè. Li nan opoze a nan tout bagay sa stereotipe chen. Lè li te 5 ane fin vye granmoun, M 'te vin lakay sòti nan travay, sou yon Mèkredi, jwenn 7 vomi, ak 4 dyare. Mwen te pran li nan veterinè a nan denmen maten. Plis pase pwochen an 3 semèn(ak kèk santèn dola), veterinè mwen an 10+ ane kouri tès san ak, finalman, voye nou lakay li avèk yon dyagnostik pou kansè (ki baze sou "25 ane nan révisions"), yon boutèy 20mg prednisone tablèt, ak yon ti tap leje senpatik sou tèt la. Mwen te ale pou yon opinyon 2. De semèn ak plizyè santèn dola (plis) pita, nou te ateri nan yon lopital plen nan espesyalis. Apre travay, sou yon jou lannwit Mèkredi, Yo te fè yon sonogram. Toujou pa gen repons; kòm "ekspè nan" ta dwe nan jou kap vini an. Yon moun mansyone tès pou Addison a (pou yon lòt $250). Sonogram a te $500+, ak mwen admèt, Mwen te nan fen konprann mwen an, mande ki jan mwen te kapab kenbe peye pou tès kontinuèl ki pa gen okenn repons. Mwen te di yo mwen ta dòmi sou li, epi rete tann pou plis entèpretasyon nan sonogram nan, jou kap vini an.

Maten ki anba la a, nan 4:20 a.m., Mwen te santi m yon sansasyon enpè sou kou m. Li te souf darma a, apèn. Tèt li te sou zepòl mwen, epi li te pran m 'yon ti jan yo reyalize ke te pou l respire li fèb ak iregilye. Menm lè, Mwen reyalize te kò l 'contorted oribleman, tankou yon brètzèl. Je l 'yo te konplètman vid. Mwen sote soti nan kabann, jete sou rad, scooped l 'ak yon dra, li kouri al nan machin nan. Mwen te kouri atravè vil, nan plas la nou ta te nwit lan la anvan. Erezman, Mwen ta rive remake yo te yon 24 etablisman èdtan. Mwen te fè a 45 minit vwayaj nan 25. Kòm mwen sprinted nan pòt la ak darma nan bra mwen, kè li sispann. Se konsa, te fè pou l respire li. Mwen lage li nan asistan an, li di, "Tanpri ede l pou l".

Veterinè nan ijans nan sèvis fè yon mirak, li mennen darma tounen nan lavi, san yo pa nenpòt domaj pèmanan. Men, nou toujou pa t 'konnen sa ki te mal ak li. Te fè tès nan ACTH fèt, men rezilta yo ta pran 24 èdtan. Yo pa t 'si li ta dire ki long. Yo te fè operasyon eksploratwa, ki baze sou sa yo te wè nan sonogram nan. Yo sispèk yon blokaj. Tout sa yo te jwenn te yon fason ki anòmal ti glann adrenal. Mwen pa konnen ki jan li siviv operasyon an. De mirak nan yon sèl jou.

Next, nou tann. Mwen te di ke, si li pa t 'Addison a, Lè sa a, te gen nòmalman pa gen anyen yo ta ka fè, kòm nou ta deja fè tès pou, ak chirurgie fouye pou, tout men ki pi fènwa a.

Nan denmen, lè mwen te resevwa apèl la di m 'li te, an reyalite, Maladi Addison a, Mwen t'ap rele byen fò dlo nan je enkontwolab kontan. Nan moman sa a, antye a nan estrès la ak kè sere nan apwè move moman nou an lave sou mwen nan yon gwo inondasyon dlo nan sekou. Li te finalman sou. Nou finalman te gen yon repons.

Mwen te depi reflete sou ki sekans evènman. Kantite lajan an fou nan lajan li koute pou li ale nan dyagnostik la (kite yo jis di tally final la te pi plis pase mwen te pase sou machin mwen an) se ase yo lakòz nenpòt moun ki reflete. Sèlman regrèt mwen se soufrans la terib ki darma andire. Sèlman defi mwen se padonnen veterinè orijinal la pou voye nou desann ke chemen. Eksperyans sa a te anseye yon manman de timoun grandi sou yon nouvo kalite renmen. Youn ki Vanport, menm si li pa nesesèman gen yo.

 

Gracie is a 10 year old 134 pound English Mastiff. Gracie was abused until she was 6 months old. At that time she then went to a loving family. Unfortunately, that life ended all too soon with the tragic accident. The husband and the child of her family were killed in an automobile accident. Gracie comforted the mother for the next 6 mwa. The mother then had to move and could not take Gracie with her. This pained her so much. She looked into a rescue group.

The foster mom promised her that she would wait for the perfect family to adopt Gracie. Gracie stayed in foster for much longer than normal.

I had a mastiff who was diagnosed with Addison’s at 7 months old. She was the runt of her litter and was on death’s door when I rescued her. Once we found out she had Addison’s, she lived to 4 ½ ane fin vye granmoun. Her kidneys, which were never formed correctly finally gave out on her. She was my first mastiff and I fell in love with the breed despite the issues she had. I decided that I needed to rescue another one.

I found Gracie on the website of the rescue group I had started helping with. I was just drawn to her and her story. I talked to her foster mom for hours about her. We both knew that she was going to come to her forever home with me. She was several hours away so the foster mom and I met halfway.

Right away Gracie came up to me and my daughter and she leaned on my leg and sat on my foot. The lean is everything for a mastiff. If they lean on you they like you. It was love at first sight for me and my kids.
Fast forward to 7 months later, Gracie crashed and could not get up my stairs. My son carried her up and into the car and we rushed her to my wonderful vet. I will never forget that day. Gracie was on IV’s and in a kennel with me sitting on the floor next to her. My vet walked in and sat on an empty kennel. He told me that he was going to do the test for Addison’s or that she could have some type of cancer.

The next day all four of my vets came into the room and told me that she indeed did have Addison’s. One of them said he stayed up half the night looking for mastiffs with AD and there just were not too many (at that time he could find none). They told me they were sorry that I now had my second Addisonian Mastiff.

I told them I was happy that it was indeed Addison’s. I already knew Addison’s was manageable and a dog could live a full and normal life with it. I even had some meds left over from my first girl. My first girl took .8 mg of Florinef 2 times a day. We started Gracie on that dose and kept playing with it over the next year. She finally ended up on 1.5 mg Florinef 2 times per day. She has been on that dose for 7 years now.

No one can tell me that this girl was not meant to come to live with me. Her foster mom had turned down other potential adopters because of the promise she made to Gracie’s owner former owner to find the perfect family.

When Gracie was 4 she somehow got out of my yard by going under my fence. I never thought a 134 pound dog would go under my fence but she did. She got hit by a car and Animal control had to get her by the pole neck chain because she was being aggressive. My neighbor saw animal control with her and told them that she lived with me. They knocked on my door on this Sunday. They had her good side facing me so I did not know she was hit. Then they turned her and she had a deep gash in her chest. My car was in the shop and I had no way to get her to the ER vet. Animal control drove me.

I went running in the door screaming that she had Addison’s.

The vet on call was the husband of one of my vets that cared for Gracie. Gracie was on death’s doors; she went gray and limp. They dosed her with high amounts of prednisone and put in a chest tube. She had air around her lungs. Since the ER vet could talk to my vets that night, the plan was to Gracie to my vet in the AM for surgery. The ER vet was just not comfortable working on a dog with Addison’s.

The next day my wonderful, amazing vets waited until their lunch hour to do her surgery so all four of them could be in there and monitor her. Her sternum was broken and they could not do anything about that. They were able to close the wound and keep her safe. She recovered from that.

I fixed all of my fencing however, from that day forward she is very scared of cars on the roads.

About a year after that, Gracie started to gain lots of weight. My wonderful vets (have I mentioned how much I love my vets) did a thyroid test and sure enough she had low thyroid. The weight came off as soon as she was put on meds and she was back to her happy healthy self.

In 2011, tragedy struck my household. My children’s father was killed in a car accident. Gracie is the kind of dog who reads people so well. She comforted me and my children the same way she did with her first owner.
Gracie continues to be by our side whenever we are feeling down. Once again, no one can tell me that this girl was not meant to be in our lives.

About a year ago Gracie developed acute onset glaucoma and went blind in her left eye. My vets were able to shrink her eye so she would no longer be in pain. She could lose her other eye at any time, but so far the drops I put in her good eye are working.

Gracie also has chronic subcutaneous cysts all over her body. She has two that keep popping and becoming infected. She now takes antibiotics every 30 days for 10 days and that is working well. Because of her age and her Addison’s, the vets and I have chosen not to remove the cysts.

Through all of this, Gracie has always been a fighter and a champion. Nothing gets her down. My vets continue to be amazed by her.

Gracie turned 10 on Feb. 5, 2015.

No one thought she would live this long. She is still a happy girl, gets around great and is the love of my life. She is truly my heart dog.

This is more than a story of a dog with Addison’s; this is a story of a dog that was put on this earth to comfort her families though the good and the very bad times.

Addison’s is just one part of her story but it also shows that a dog with AD can live life to its fullest and get through the tough times also.

 

Kindle is a grey Belgian Shepherd (Tervueren) born in 2007. She was always (hindsight is a wonderful thing) a fussy puppy with food but otherwise normal for the first few years of her life and excelled both in the breed show ring and in her first agility competitions.

In August 2011, she started to appear a little lethargic – seemed fine otherwise but just didn’t have her normal drive in training and was just a bit quiet. A week later, she threw up a whole chicken neck which she had been given for dinner 2 nights prior so off to the vet we went. By this stage her litter sister had just been diagnosed as Typical Addison’s so I made the vet aware but as her sodium and potassium readings were normal, the vet dismissed this possibility. He did pick up an issue with her heart so we had a full heart test done which did show some anomalies in the rhythm. We were referred to the National Veterinary training facility who listened to our story and the first they did was run an ACTH test and bingo we had our answer. Kindle had Atypical Addison’s.

For the next 18 mwa, she was maintained on Prednisone alone and got her drive back, continued to compete in agility and was very well indeed. We had moved cities and really fell on our feet finding a relatively young vet who had been really involved with a few Addison’s cases during his first couple of years in practice.

In the December of 2012, we were out of town at a show and she just didn’t seem “right” on the Saturday morning. We whipped her to the vet who did bloods and told me she was in full renal failure and would probably not last the night. Sepandan, one look at her sodium and potassium levels told me she was in an Addisonian crisis and I convinced the vet that this was what was going on. It is often hard to get out of town vets to listen to you as he did not know her history and also happened not to know anything about Addison’s either. He was great, however, and went along with the mad woman who insisted he write a script for Florinef which I grabbed from the local pharmacy. He looked up starting doses and she stayed at the clinic overnight. I will always be grateful that he listened and tried for me as the prospect of driving around a strange city on a Saturday afternoon trying to find someone who knew about Addison’s really did not appeal.

He rang first thing in the morning to say that she was bouncing around the cage, had ripped out her drip line and was generally being a pain in the butt. He could not get over the difference to the very sick dog who had arrived the previous afternoon. They ended up keeping her in for 48 èdtan, at the end of which I think they were well pleased to get rid of her 🙂 . She was “helping” in the kennels and getting cuddles from everyone.

Like most, I have learned a lot about the disease in the years since her diagnosis. She is now a happy, healthy, energetic, nearly 8 year old who screams around like a puppy with absolutely no side effects at all. She is the biggest gannet around food and will eat anything – we now have to be careful she doesn’t get overweight – what a difference!

She retired from agility at 7 years only because she had broken her leg as a 2 year old (she really has been my problem child) and I wanted her to stop before it caused a problem for her later on.

Her medications are just part of our everyday life and you would never know she has the disease. Her Florinef dose is pretty high but it is what it is and she is fine on it. Those out there promoting information and assistance to people with Addison’s dogs are amazing. Thank you all!

 

Skye is a beautiful Tervueren who shares her life with Denise Strom in Sweden. To save you some “googling”, a Tervueren (alternate spelling Tervuren) is a Belgian Shepherd, named after a village in Belgium. Skye now weighs 24kg (53 lb) and is 6 ane fin vye granmoun. She was diagnosed with Typical Addison’s just one year ago early in 2016 at the age of 5. She was treated with Florinef initially and managed very well although her sodium levels were always on the low side.

Then throughout October & Novanm 2016 she suffered numerous bouts of bloody diarrhea. Increased doses of Florinef, up to 0.8mg daily, and extra prednisone failed to prevent recurrences. Denise joined CARE in November and presented Skye’s symptoms while asking for advice. She credits Merrie Gahr Spiekerman who asked if Skye had been checked for pancreatitis. Denise was pondering this possibility when Skye got diarrhea again and this time she could not stand up. Skye was rushed to the Emergency Clinic where they performed a “quick test” which was positive & pancreatitis was later confirmed by the specific cPLI test. Luckily, it was a mild attack. Skye received pain relief, an increase in prednisone, and most importantly, her food was changed to a low fat diet.

Denise waited two months before reporting on Skye’s progress to make sure that all went well. Since the change in diet almost 2 months prior, Skye has been healthy and stable on Florinef 0.6mg and 5mg hydrocortisone, and her electrolytes are great. Denise’s vet is reluctant to reduce the hydrocortisone at this time since Skye has been doing so well.

Skye had never had bloody diarrhea before she got Addison’s so this was one symptom that stood out. Denise wanted to tell Skye’s story because she suspects that Skye is not the only dog with increased susceptibility to bloody diarrhea and/or pancreatitis following an Addison’s diagnosis. Natirèlman, this may not be applicable to others, and in fact it has not presented as a highly probably issue among the many canine members in CARE, but it is worth bearing in mind.

Skye – Denise S.
Klike sou imaj elaji

Denise sends her sincere thanks to the members of CARE, in particular to Merrie. She notes that the Florinef information in CARE’s files does make reference to avoiding fatty foods, something she was not aware of before.

Daisy is a Jack Russell Schnauzer mix who shares her life with Amanda Hutcheson & her husband Justin. She currently weighs 14.8 lb and is treated with 0.2ml of Percorten every 28 jou. Daisy is roughly 8-10 yrs old, she certainly didn’t come with a birth certificate!

Daisy was picked up from an older couple in Texas who was coming to visit family in Beaufort SC where Amanda lives. They listed her in many online “dogs available” groups with no success. Amanda heard of her and immediately took her in, with her hair completely matted and basically looking & smelling very gross. Daisy was shaved down, bathed, and got a clean bill of health from the vet. She had found her forever family!

Two years later, in March 2014, Daisy got run over by a golf cart driven by Amanda. About a month later, Daisy’s mood started to change, her appetite decreased, and she was dehydrated. A visit to the vet for a steroid shot and some IV fluids seemed to perk her up & she was back to her normal self.

Another month went by and the same things happened again, so back she went to the vet. This time they did bloodwork along with the usual steroid shot & IV fluids. The vet’s conclusion was that everything was perfect.

Another month, and now it’s June. Daisy crashed – hind leg weakness, dehydration, no appetite, not drinking, basically doing nothing. The vet who was contacted told Amanda to bring her in the next morning. Amanda slept in the bathtub with Daisy that night & got her to the vet early the next day. Daisy was barely alive. The team sprang into action to save her and she stayed at the clinic for over a week, fighting to stay alive. The vet suspected it was either Kidney Failure, Kansè, or Addison’s. Thousands of dollars and about a week later, Addison’s was confirmed with the ACTH stim test on June 23, 2014.

Daisy came home weighing only 4.3 lb. and she was initially treated with Florinef. Amanda joined CARE early in July 2014. After her diagnosis, Daisy had 3 more Addisonian crises throughout the remainder of 2014. Sou Desanm 3, she was switched to Percorten & daily Prednisone and she has remained stable ever since.

Daisy continues to impress everyone she encounters & loves them all. Florinef is a great option for dogs with Addison’s if their bodies can absorb it & they are on the correct dose. Daisy’s body just couldn’t metabolize it properly.

It’s been an amazing journey over the last two years with everyone that we’ve met in CARE. We are so very thankful that we still have Daisy with us and cannot thank this group enough for the knowledge & understanding everyone has. You all are a blessing and we are glad you all are a part of our lives.

One added note from CARE is that because of her experience with Daisy, Amanda decided to become a vet technician & has only one year left in her studies. Congratulations Amanda, and thank you Daisy.

 

Nou remake ke Lucydog te sanble yo gen yon enfeksyon nan blad pipi. Mwen te pran li nan doktè a nan Vandredi mwen koupe. Li te konfime ke li te gen yon uti epi tou yon enfeksyon zòrèy. Yo te trase san, men tann yo voye l 'nan demann mwen an depi ki ta ka yon lòt $200. Yo te konsène ke li pa t 'janm manje, men kalkile li te kapab paske li jis pa t 'santi bon.

Li te resevwa antibyotik ak te sanble yon ti jan pi bon, men yo toujou pa t 'manje. Li te gen latranblad / souke, men li gen tandans fè sa yon anpil lè malad oswa ensiste. Mwen te kòmanse jwenn konsène lè li pa ta ka menm manje yon mwèl zo, menm si. Lè sa a, nou tou de te nan travay Mèkredi. Lè m 'te rive lakay, Mwen te ale nan kite l 'soti nan nich l' yo ale twalèt ... epi li pa t 'kapab leve kanpe. Pa t 'kapab menm jwenn grif li pou kolabore pou yo ka resevwa yo plat sou tè a. Mwen èkstraordinèr ak imedyatman ale chache bèt telefòn nan, rele Will, li di "Lucy pa ka mache." Mwen Lè sa a, rele veterinè a, ki Erezman pa t 'fèmen ankò (yo ta nan 15 minit) epi yo te di m 'yo pote l' ASAP.
Will rive lakay yon èdtan ak yon mwatye pita oswa konsa, epi yo te kapab estabilize li. Yo te panse li ta kapab maladi Addison a, ki te Erezman ki ka trete. Li prezante nan jèn chen, se pi komen nan fanm, Li te vin gen anpil nan sentòm an komen. Ap toujou panse li ka gen jis te dezidratasyon grav. Apre 2 nwit pè avè l 'nan lopital toutou paske li toujou pa t' fò ase yo mache, rezilta yo tès san konfime Maladi Addison a. Enfeksyon an uti ak zòrèy pouse kò li nan kriz ak li te pwobableman fèmen nan lanmò (sa ki si mwen te kole nan travay pou 45 minit pi long jou sa? OMG). Erezman, li se ki ka trete ak yon piki chak mwa, yon sèl li ap bezwen pou tout rès lavi l '. Men, ke lavi ap long ak kè kontan.

Se konsa,, nou toujou gen yon Lucy-pou tout lavi yo kontwole maladi l '. Men, mwen menm kontan fè rapò ke jan mwen tape sa a, Lucy se byen fò vide yon zo RAWHIDE ke mwen te achte l 'nan kalòj l' dwat dèyè do m '. Men, yon lòt pase yon grif kale kote li te gen yon IV ak super-souvan Peeing paske nan med rekiperasyon li, li nan bèl anpil tounen nan ol la menm 'Lucydog. Apre sa, nou renmen li. Mwen trè rekonesan ke veterinè nou an ba li yon dyagnostik rapid ak kòrèk epi yo te resevwa l 'tounen sou de pye l' (literalman) byen vit.