Kisah Kita

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 menit, 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. Dadi, 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 - Khas Addison kang
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! Scroll down and you will also find her story auf Deutsch and en Español!

Ing Februari 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. Dadi, 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. Sawise 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. Dadi, 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. Saiki, 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.

ing Spanyol

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 - Khas Addison kang
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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 kilogram. We started noticing changes in him when he was about 3.5 lawas taun (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 ulang tahun. 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. Sampeyan njupuk 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 dina. 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.
Khas Addison kang
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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. Akhire, 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. Akhire, 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 sasi.

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, saka 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? Inggih, 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.

Dadi, 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 dina. 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.
Khas Addison kang
Klik gambar kanggo enlarge

 

Simba lair on Jan 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, Dane sumungkem sawetara undhak-undhakan. Panjenenganipun rampung munggah ing dokter kewan, diterangake minangka arang banget lethargic lan biso kanggo lumaku. Bloodwork mimpin menyang diagnosa saka "presumptive Addison kang" (ora test ACTH). Dheweke diwenehi dijupuk saka dexamethasone lan sawetara cairan IV, banjur dikirim ngarep kanggo njupuk Florinef, "Kanggo 2 sasi, banjur mungkasi lan tetep prednison ing tangan yen piyambakipun wiwit nabrak ing ngarep. "berkas medical Kang maos kaya crita medeni. Ing November 2010, dhèwèké "bisa" krisis Addisonian, kalium ing 5.6 (Range nganti 5.8). Simba ketoke wis total 3 krisis nalika karo kulawarga kang kawitan, banjur nandhang 4 ing wektu nyerah kanggo Standar Poodle Rescue.

Ing umur 6, Simba teka ing ngluwari & pawitan care. Ngluwari lan anggota masyarakat Addison kang mbantu kanggo njaluk Simba ing dalan kang bener, ngoper wong saka Florinef kanggo Percorten lan diwiwiti ing phase sabanjure urip, kang akeh bahagia!

Keith lan aku padha looking for a sibling River kita, sing pancen ora kaya kang salah "mung asu". Aku wis ing ngisor iki akèh saka asu kasedhiya ing ngluwari, banjur Simba muncul. Panjenenganipun kaya Klone saka Kali ing tampilan, mung malah luwih ayu. Aku mung bisa ora njupuk mata sandi mati boy apik banget iki. Kita wis mung ilang 2 asu ing saperangan taun, salah siji saka kanker, liyane amarga komplikasi saka inoperable macem-macem shunts ati. Kontak sandi ing ngluwari nyoba kanggo pirembagan kula adoh saka Simba, matur pantes kangge kita siji karo ora masalah, nanging piye wae kita felt kita padha wong tengen kanggo Simba lan ana hak kanggo kita. Simba teka ing kulawarga kita ing Maret 23, 2013, ora long sawise ulang tahun 6th kang, karo werno-werno spreadsheets, pil, lan instruksi. Kula sirah iki Spinning. Aku sumurup apa-apa bab Addison kang, kejaba iku tembung banget medeni. Ibu Foster kang, Angela, njamin kula sing kita bakal duwe lengkap support dheweke bebarengan karo sing saka masyarakat Addison kang. Aku gabungan klompok dhukungan nyedhaki cepet nanging nenggo sedhelo sadurunge posting. Kang wong isin, iku angel kanggo ngomongake metu menyang Bunch saka manca, malah yen padha mung online. Inggih, iku bab sing paling apik aku. Kanggo Simba, iku apik amarga aku tak bantuan cepet dealing karo wong, lan kanggo kula iku apik - aku digawe akeh kanca-kanca terkenal anyar, wong tiyang karo aku duwe barang ing umum - kita kabeh tresna asu Addison kita. Singa kang wis "iklan" kabeh liwat bawana lan malah ing UK, wong teka karo grup dhewe admirers, lan Keith lan aku katon menyang grup karo wong.

Ing pungkasan Juni 2013, mung 3 sasi sawise kita diadopsi wong, Simba mlumpat metu saka truk Keith ing Garasi lan nyuwil kang wentis. Apa sabanjure kanggo boy Darling iki! Iku break ala banget lan rampung munggah karo piring baja ing lengen plus kabel kebungkus kabeh sak bangkekan kang. Kita padha marang sing ana 90% kasempatan sing iku kanker, supaya padha nyawisake kanggo bisa amputation nganti dening perawatan Chemo. Simba ana begja lan pas menyang 10% langit! Panjenenganipun wira kuwi karo splint lan ngagem "topi kang,"Banjur mung yen wis waras, wis bali 6 sasi mengko wis piring dibusak.

Supaya kita teka munggah kanggo 2 taun awit kita diadopsi Simba - kang wis bungah kuwi. Iku "wong dhewe,"Ora kaya asu. Dheweke iku loner, lan "ngleksanani intolerant." dhaftar Kang MPd wis meh ilang - sapisan mlaku medicated, masalah kulit sadurungé sirna, shedding mandegake. Simba mirsani asu muter nanging tau emg sinau carane melok nalika panjenengané enom. Panjenenganipun munggah marang akèh "seneng-seneng muda" dening kang Service Autis Dog, lan kang dadi lara banget. Nanging wektu kang wis teka - kang duwe ulang tahun 8th bab kanggo kelakon - lan nduwe ibu & Bapak sing trésna marang Dèkné tak omong lan bakal nindakake apa-apa kanggo wong, Kali sadulur sing seneng ngingu wong kene, lan adhine Pinot anyar sing wis ora cukup lali sing padha growled ing dheweke ing dina pisanan dheweke ana kene, nanging dheweke iku loosening munggah. Simba tegese "Pangeran" lan apa iku!

Pinot punika cocker spaniel / campuran poodle mini, Lair 4, 2009. Dheweke urip kanggo 5 taun ing kulawarga kang aku ngerti apa-apa. Nanging mung sadurunge dheweke 5^th ulang tahun, dheweke digawa menyang Clinic darurat karo blockage cipratan lan yen padha tak cukup dheweke kuwat, dheweke wis cystoscopy ngenani babagan pipis. Dheweke dikirim ngarep nanging bali ing dina utawa loro ing krisis. Dokter wanted kanggo nyoba kanggo Addison nanging banjur dheweke kulawarga wis ngrambah titik bejat lan dijaluk dheweke bakal dilebokake kanggo turu. Dokter kewan disusun kanggo duwe dheweke nyerah marang lan dheweke iki diaknosa karo ACTH ing awal Mei. Dheweke banjur urip kanggo sabanjure 4 sasi ing Clinic. Kita padha ing Clinic karo Kali siji dina lan padha marang kita bab Pinot lan nggawa dheweke menyang ketemu kita. Dheweke maringi wates ing, bounced munggah ing bench, lan namung bisa ngontrol energi dheweke. Dheweke ana werni saka fluff lan cuteness. Ngalih bebarengan, SPIN (POODLES standar Ing Need) njupuk kontrol dheweke lan Keith lan aku fostered dheweke. Pinot iku sarwa! Dheweke pisanan dina, dheweke secara harfiah rapet dhateng loro Keith & Kali, lan kanggo dina iki lagi loro meres dheweke utama. Ing Clinic, padha wis menehi dheweke 1.0 mg prednison saben dina lan dheweke bobot babagan 14 kilogram. Dadi, Pinot wis masalah Incontinence abot. We makarya ing Mudhunake Pred dheweke nanging malah nalika ana mudhun kanggo 0.2mg, aku iki isih bocor. Kita nyoba menehi Propalin dheweke (Gelombang mikro) karo mung sawetara sukses. Nanging yen dheweké miwiti njupuk Stilbestrol (DES) dina rata-rata, dheweke wis rampung garing.

Sampeyan bisa mbayangno sing SPIN iki ora persis kesusu mati kaki karo wong wanted kanggo nganggo titah pancen Darling iki. Sawetara padha cukup kasengsem kanggo mangerteni Addison kang & nimbang dheweke, nanging bocor ana mbobol hasil. Kabeh wektu, Aku iki nulis bab carane apik aku iki, Aku iki Mudhun liyane lan liyane ing katresnan karo dheweke dhewe. Kita bakal obah sakcepete kang bakal mbutuhake 7 dina dalan trip lan awit kita wis padha 2 POODLES standar, kita padha ora mikir kita bisa nganggo 3^rd. Kita pungkasanipun mutusaken "swiwi iku" - Pinot iki adoh banget khusus kanggo supaya wong liya seneng dheweke. Dheweke belongs karo kita, lan kita dadi kagungane karo dheweke. Lan Kejabi, carane bisa kita malah mikir njupuk dheweke adoh saka Kali! Dadi, on Dec. 21, 2014, Pinot dadi kito ing salawas-lawase. Dheweke bungahaken kuwi. Dheweke tangan sampeyan sepatu nalika teka ing, sanajan iku ora bisa dadi duwekmu, nanging wis presented karo kuwi goyang-goyang Darling ngisor sing mung duwe kanggo njupuk iku tho. Dheweke babar blas ketagihan kanggo Squeaky Toys - ageng lan squeakier sing luwih apik - iki kecanduan dheweke Enggo bareng karo Kali lan padha duwe sawetara squabbles liwat "paling apik" siji. Pinot wis dijupuk ati kita lan bakal tetep ing salawas-lawase.

 

Klara lair ing tanggal 12 Agustus 2009. Dheweke tansah kirik nyenengake lan nengsemake, sing tomboy karo penasaran gedhe kanggo kabeh anyar. Owah-owahan sing teka sawise panas dheweke pisanan. Dheweke dadi eater picky, kang panginten iki related to owah-owahan hormonal. Dheweke dadi sepi lan reacted gumregah nalika asu teka banget cedhak, malah konco asu dheweke paling. Wulu ireng ing sikil ngarep dheweke diuripake werna abu-abu.

Banjur maneh padha long suwé nalika kabeh ketoke dadi oke. Sakcepete sawise dheweke ulang tahun 3rd, kabeh worsened. Dheweke wis infèksi kuping banget ala karo bakteri multi-tahan. Kanggo inflammation kontrol, ing kanal-kanal kuping padha di resiki ing umum joining. Landslide wiwit. Dheweke miwiti kanggo nolak pangan dheweke. Kadhangkala, dheweke mangan apa-apa kanggo 3 dina. Kadhangkala, dheweke wis diare utawa muntah. Ing desperation, kita miwiti kanggo guyon sing rauh kita bakal njaluk ngleboke kita dhewe ing Clinic. Infèksi kuping iki isih nyebabake alangan lan Klara tak reresik kuping kapindho dheweke ing umum joining.

Kangge, dheweke bola-bali wis diare, mutahke, lan constipation. We ngginakaken Eve Natal lan Taun Anyar Clinic. Tes kanggo parasit padha negatif. Bloodwork iki banget. Infèksi kuping katahan teka bali.

Mangsa 2012/2013, kita padha weather apik. Persil saka salju lan srengenge. Asu tresna salju lan Klara nyeret dhéwé liwat salju. Dheweke wis ora seneng-seneng. Sampeyan bisa ndeleng sing aku iki ora mengkono uga. Akèh-wektu dheweke turu. Ing Vets nemokake kaluputane.

Ing Februari 2013, iku malah Samsaya Awon. Diare, mutahke, dheweke ketoke dadi ing pain, ora gelem dheweke pangan, nanging ngunjuk persil saka banyu. Ing Vets ngandika, "We kudu ngenteni. Sampeyan bisa uga amarga saka panas dheweke. "Ing dina sabanjuré nalika aku teka ngarep, Aku sing aneh koyo – soko tindak banget salah kene. Aku ndamel maneh menyang rumah sakit lan dokter kewan wanted kanggo ngirim kula adoh, “Kita z nemu apa-apa. Aku iku paling panas dheweke!”

Iki ana kakehan. Aku duka lan dijaluk luwih diselidiki. “Soko kliru karo Klara. Aku ora bakal pindhah!! Apa proyek!” Padha test getih banjur, ing Vets padha kuwatir banget. Kalium dheweke ana 7.6 ing sawetara 3.5-5.8. Sodium dheweke ana 139 ing sawetara 144-160. Bloodwork marang kita uripe ana ing bebaya. Dheweke rampung Dehydrated. Akhire, padha kapandeng kanggo sabab. Peracunan, ultrasonik ngenani babagan ginjel, leptospirosis. Dheweke diwenehi IV kanthi tas infus. Aku njupuk Klara ngarep. We tindak saben dina kanggo Clinic lan padha tes luwih. Padha dhateng ngenani babagan ginjel Gagal nanging ora ketemu sabab. Angka getih Klara sing padha dianakaké mung dening infusions nanging malah sing durung bantuan akeh. Angka getih padha Samsaya Awon. Amargi dinten-dinten, aku iki pasukan panganan, nanging dheweke ilang liyane lan liyane bobot. Dheweke dijupuk kanggo ICU lan kita padha nyawisake kanggo ilang dheweke. Ing Vets ngandika padha wanted kanggo nyoba salah siji bab pungkasan. Padha ngandika iku bisa dadi penyakit Addison's lan wanted kanggo nindakake test ACTH. Sabab iki ditemokake. Klara wis Addison lan perawatan iki diwiwiti. Dina sabanjuré, Aku njupuk dheweke ngarep.

Dheweke mbalekake cepet lan kabeh ketoke dadi apik. Nanging, dheweke ora kuwat minangka asu sehat. Makane aku wis diuripake saka Florinef kanggo Percorten.

Kanthi bantuan saka grup, kita makarya kanggo golek Klara's dosis paling. Saiki, dheweke abot 27 kg lan ditampa 0.40ml saka Percorten saben 28 dina lan 1mg saka prednison dina rata-rata. Kanggo kula, iku kaya Ajaib kanggo ndeleng carane dheweke seneng uripe tanpa Watesan. Saiki, meh 2 mengko taun, Klara ngrasa luwih saka tau. Ngoper menyang Percorten iki kaputusan paling tau. Klaraismentallybalanced,nyenengake, kandel, lan wani. Lan sawise bebarengan dina ing karya(dheweke assistant trainer sandi, Aku trainer asu) dheweke isih wis energi ngiwa kanggo muter kabungahan kebak karo dheweke sadulur lan kula!

I am Annet and I live in The Netherlands. We have 4 asu, two English Cocker Spaniels, a Boomer and a Belgian Griffon. One of the cockers – his name is Flip and he is 4 lawas taun – 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.

Aku nulis, nanging aku njagong kene dibintangi ing layar blank, wedi aku ora bisa apa kaadilan crita Pepsi kang. Aku bareng crita iki karo kowe kabeh ing ngarep-arep sing bakal bantuan wong liya. Kita diadopsi Pepsi nalika dheweke ana bab 6 sasi lawas ing Desember 2003. Dheweke ana asu unik lan apik tenan kuwi, nanging ora kabeh padha ing cara khusus dhewe?

Pepsi wis kirik-hood biasane normal, nanging nandhang sangsara marga saka liyane penyakit saka sing paling asu apa. Sawise dheweke diuripake telung, dheweké berkembang sores ing dheweke vulva. Sawise pirang-pirang lelungan menyang dokter kewan, banjur ngoper Vets, lan nyoba sawetara opsi liyane, kita padha ngelingi surgery kanggo reconstruct vulva. Nanging, dheweke arep diwiwiti downhill cepet. Dheweke rusak bobot, goyang, lan sing paling kabeh, Aku mung sumurup bab ingkang ana salah. We tindak menyang dokter kewan sawise dokter ngendi kabeh padha mecat kula matur dheweke ana "mung njupuk lawas lan penyelesaian mudhun." Miturut wektu iki aku dheweke ing kantor dokter kang saben minggu kanggo sasi. We malah nyoba ngoper Vets kaping saperangan. Bojone energi iki suda kanthi cepet. Rauh, dheweke malah ora bisa lumaku metu saka yard tanpa gadhah kanggo lay mudhun lan njupuk ngilangi. Dheweke gadhah alangan gadhah gerakan bagean paling njero. Aku njupuk dheweke menyang kantor dokter maneh, ngendi padha diaknosa karo colitis. We got ngarep, lan dheweke ora bisa njaluk metu saka mobil.

Aku sumurup iki ana, aku mung tak bali ing mobil lan ndamel menyang Chicago - kutha gedhe. Ing 10 menit saka kita ngetik rumah sakit darurat ing Chicago, aku iki pambuka diaknosa karo penyakit Addison kang, lan aku iki dheweke marang mbokmenawa ora mesthi digawe iku liyane wengi tanpa perawatan. Dheweke manggon ana 3 utawa 4 dina nalika padha tak dheweke cairan munggah, lan kekuatan dheweke bali. Dheweke wis test ACTH rampung kanggo konfirmasi Penyakit Addison dheweke. Minangka ngeculke minangka aku kanggo Pick dheweke munggah saka rumah sakit, Aku iki uga rusak kanggo mangerteni sing dheweke perawatan bakal biaya meh $400 sasi. Aku ora idea carane aku iki arep saged, nanging kita padha arep tokoh metu cara.

Sing nalika aku miwiti nggoleki aku, lan ketemu grup K-9 Addison sing aku utang urip Pepsi kanggo. Padha mbantu kula ngerti penyakit, carane kanggo kokwaca tes dheweke, lan dheweke ing dosis tengen pangobatan. Sawisé iku, kita tau kapandeng bali.

Saliyane 1.4 ml Percorten-V saben 28 dina lan 1 mg prednison dina rata-rata, Pepsi uga njupuk saperangan tambahan. Dheweke rampung munggah sing manggen 7 taun luwih apik ing dosis sing bener saka pangobatan dheweke kang, dening cara, mung biaya kula kurang saka $80.00 saben sasi. Pepsi urip dadi 11 Lawas setengah taun, kang cantik apik kanggo 130 asu pound. Pepsi tilar donya amargi kanker dina sadurunge Thanksgiving ing 2014.

Njupuk diagnosa saka penyakit Addison kang bisa medeni lan medeni, nanging Pepsi ana bukti sing bisa urip selawase seneng karo pangobatan sing bener. Amarga Pepsi, everyone sing kena dheweke sinau supaya akeh bab urip lan katresnan lan paseduluran. Dheweke bakal nemen ora kejawab.

 

Valentino teka ing gesang kawula ing Jan 2007 nalika piyambakipun dados pawitan sawise panggilan cedhak ing papan perlindungan matèni dhuwur. Panjenenganipun setengah jam saka kang euthanized. Panjenenganipun lan keblasuk emaciated ilang paling kang rambute ing pinggir kang (kulit kang ana Jambon mengilap padhang!) lan Strip saka rambute blonde kaya Mohawk mudhun maneh, ngebotake lagi wae 30lb – iku saiki 55lb sehat. Sampeyan njupuk 3 sasi kanggo mulihake wong kanggo kesehatan, lan gain bobot. Miturut sing wektu, Aku wis dadi Gagal Foster, lan Valentino ana kabeh mine! Wong turu paling sing pisanan 3 sasi antarane dhaharan lan arep potty sadurunge wong ketoke wis mbalekake. Panjenenganipun miwiti gadhah gejala lemes, lack saka energi lan kasekengan kanggo njaluk / metu saka mobil kanggo saperangan saka sasi lan nalika iku tau ilang napsu kang rampung, kang miwiti njupuk ing pangan kang nyoba kanggo mangan, Aku sumurup bab ingkang ana salah, nanging dokter kita ing wektu (wektu pungkasan!) mecat prilaku kang minangka “tumindak metu”. Banjur ambruk ing Jan 2007 lan lelampahan kita karo penyakit Addison wiwit. Dokter kang ora bisa “pas” Valentino ing kanggo liyane minggu lan kita tindak menyang dokter kewan kanca sing ngatur kanggo pas kita. Iku hard kanggo ngerti yen AD kang uga wis waxing lan waning sadurunge minangka wong wis dadi gerah nalika pisanan aku tak marang. Ambruk ana ing Jan 19, kang ngginakaken 2 dina ing rumah sakit Seluk-beluk, lan Jan 25, felt uga cukup kanggo nyoba kanggo abscond karo bebek natal sing iki draining ing nglelebke pawon – kebeneran piyambakipun nabbed en flagrante lan bebek slamet kanggo dadi kanggo nedha bengi Natal minangka dimaksudaké!

Valentino was started on Florinef/compounded fludrocortisone at .4mg (luwih murah tinimbang dianjurake kanggo kang bobot) lan 2.5mg prednison ing 12/07 – nanging electrolytes padha sampurna (!) kanggo taun. Sawise taun, electrolytes tindak metu saka kontrol, and he had weekly increases in his Florinef, dumugi ing 2mg nanging electrolytes padha isih ora ing kontrol.

Kita ketemu dokter sing 1.5 hrs adoh sing ana kekarepan kanggo digarap kita lan miwiti Valentino ing 1.8ml, kang dianggep “kurang dosis” ing 2009, dosis standar ana dicokot liwat 2ml (Aku elinga mikir aku malah ora bakal njaluk 2 dosis metu saka saben vial ing biaya saben wulan saka babagan $100 mung kanggo Percorten-V!) Swara taun, kita alon suda dening 10-20% ing wektu. Kita diwiwiti ing 1.8ml ing 7/09 lan ora malah njaluk bantuan kanggo 1mL nganti 9/10, .75ml ing 6/11, .5ml ing 10/13, .4ml saiki ing 9/14. Kita padha kabeh kathah liyane Konservatif banjur bali lan kita padha ora duwe info cukup ing arep murah dosis………kajaba liwat pengalaman anggota liyané saka grup. Iku kabeh wilayah sing anyar! Yen sinau kurang dosis wis kasedhiya ing 2009, kita bisa wis diwiwiti ing .95ml lan nandang gerah dosis efektif paling Valentino sing akeh cepet lan disimpen akèh dhuwit ing Percorten-V lan electrolytes saben wulan testing minangka bonus. Aku ora bisa ngomong cukup bab prabédan kang ing dosis ngisor wis digawe ing cara Valentino ngrasa saindhenging sasi karo electrolytes kang tetep cantik cedhak karo agêng-macem antarane dosis. Panjenenganipun ngginakaken taun mengkono “ok” – mopey, lethargic kanggo 2 minggu sawisé saben dijupuk, kroso sing sethitik liyane perky bab minggu sadurunge dijupuk sabanjuré ana amarga, banjur kroso lethargic maneh nalika piyambakipun tak dijupuk liyane – nanging saiki dheweke iku dilakoni “gedhe” kabeh sasi dawa ing dosis sing luwih murah saka Percorten-V! Bebarengan karo abang Percorten-V paling anyar, Aku wis uga wis bisa kanggo ngurangi prednison marang .5mg – kang 'd wis nglayang antarane .75mg ing mangsa kanggo 1.25mg ing mangsa panas kanggo taun. We have also switched to liquid Prednisolone as his liver enzymes became elevated and he was shedding a lot……….

PS – Plight Valentino minangka lara, keblasuk bayangan ana inspirasi kanggo prasetya jero lan keterlibatan ing masalah kesejahteraan kewan ing San Antonio! Carane akeh asu kaya Valentino wis seda amarga ora ana siji kanggo langkah munggah kanggo wong-wong mau sadurunge prentah 72 wektu ditahan keblasuk hr kadaluwarsa?

 

Ngluwari wis kabeh asu Spayed utawa neutered sadurunge kang dijupuk ngarep. Argus iki neutered ing umur rong sasi, lan kita nggawa wong ngarep mengko dina. Rong dina mengko kang ana Ès kadhemen lan shivering banget hard. Kita mirsani Situs incision kanggo pratandha saka infèksi lan kebungkus wong ing selimut kanggo nyoba kanggo anget wong. Sing afternoon kita njupuk wong menyang dokter kewan sing wis rampung surgery (45 menit adoh). Dokter ngandika iki gadhah reaksi menyang surgery lan bakal nggoleki. Panjenenganipun marang wong dijupuk lan nyerahke kula sawetara pil kanggo menehi kanggo sabanjure sawetara dina. Miturut morning ing ngisor iki, kang ana akeh sing luwih apik. Kita banjur kanggo ndeleng dokter kita dhewe kanggo kirik mriksa anyar. Padha sanalika njupuk adoh pil kita padha diwenehi lan ngandika kirik kudu tau diwenehi iki. Aku ora ngelingi apa pil padha, nanging dijupuk ana dexamethasone lan aku saiki sing pracaya iku apa ditarik wong metu apa iki kedados.

Panjenenganipun pup banget beda saka sembarang kita wis padha ana ing ngarsané. Panjenenganipun akeh mellower saka sembarang pup aku wis tau dikenal. Looking bali, iku cetha wong iki nuduhake pratandha saka kang Addison saka siji dina. Panjenenganipun waxed lan nyusut secara kanggo meh rong taun. Sak iki wektu, kita ilang "sadulur kang amba,"Fostered loro anak kirik kanggo saperangan saka minggu saben, banjur digawa kirik liyane menyang ngarep kita. On Desember 6, 2010, Argus metu mangan. Saben dina ngembang kanggo gejala liyane (pungkasan kekirangan hind, shivering, Ès kadhemen, lan sapiturute). Dokter Kita ngandika iku bakteri ing weteng kang – kang bakal njaluk liwat iku - Feed wong nggodhok gajih (ora tes padha mbukak). A saperangan dina mengko, kita tindak menyang dokter kewan beda sing ngandika organs sing shutting mudhun lan kang dying – supaya wong pindhah!!!! Nalika aku digawa Argus, draped liwat penyelundupan kanggo dokter kewan katelu, Aku bakal tau nggawa wong ngarep. Dokter marang wong cairan lan mlayu test getih, tes dhingklik, sinar x, kabèh karya, lan katahan ana ing kono. Sing wengi dheweke disebut lan ngandika, “Aku Suspect soko sing aku pengin nyoba kanggo ing esuk.” Miturut sing wengi dheweke diterangno ing bab kabèh kanggo kula. Panjenengané manggon ing cairan lan tak dijupuk kang kawitan. Nganti titik iki, nalika bojoku lan aku njupuk dadi lungguh karo wong, Panjenengané mitayakaké sethitik nanggepi. Dokter kewan ora pengin supaya wong mulih amarga kang isih bakal ora mangan. Ing dina iki, Aku malmpah lan marang dheweke aku wanted kanggo njupuk wong ngarep. Dheweke pungkasanipun sarujuk yen aku prajanji kanggo nggawa wong yen aku wis ora nandang gerah wong mangan ing sabanjure 12 jam. Nalika dheweke nggawa wong metu, kang mlumpat kabeh liwat kita lan dokter kewan ngandika, “Yep, kang perlu kanggo pindhah ngarep!” Dadi kang alon teka watara kanggo mangan lan kita dipindhah hajat Natal kanggo house sandi adhine lan padha sepi lan ati-ati karo kabeh kita iya. Saiki dokter iki marang kula kanggo nggawa wong ing saben 28 dina kanggo kang dijupuk, menehi wong prednison kang saben dina lan bakal urip normal.

Argus punika 60 lbs, lan diwenehi 2ml saka Percorten saben 28 dina kanggo sangang sasi dening tech dokter. Panjenenganipun tak 5mg saka prednison kanggo saperangan saka sasi. Wangsulan: Bab ingkang kawitan aku ketemu ana informasi ing prednison. Kita padha menehi iku ing wayah wengi lan aku ketemu iku kudu njupuk iku ing esuk, supaya kita diganti sing. Banjur aku maca artikel bab klompok lan kita tak sing mudhun kanggo 2.5mg. Miturut sasi kawolu aku weruh sing urip Argus 'ora normal. Dheweke wis ora spunk. Panjenenganipun ketoke lethargic. Panjenenganipun kagungan luwih saka orane saka urip! Sing nalika aku pungkasanipun ketemu grup Internet. Tes getih lan electrolytes - Apa? Ana iki kang rampung. Iku wektu kanggo dijupuk liyane lan Aku lunga ing kanggo omonga kanggo dokter kewan (kang aku wis ora katon ing pirang-pirang sasi). Dheweke wis dipindhah munggah lor kanggo mbukak laku dheweke dhewe. Aku takon kanggo pitutur marang salah siji saka Vets liyane. Dokter kewan sing ndarbeni fasilitas marang kula tes iki wis rampung sapisan taun lan dosis saka Percorten mung bakal ngganti yen bobot kang diganti lan aku ora tau bisa nindakake dijupuk dhewe. Dheweke ora bakal ngrungokake tembung siji Aku ngandika utawa katon ing info Aku nyoba kanggo saiki wong. Sikap kang marang aku wis kanggo njaluk kuwat lan miwiti nggawe telpon. Aku telpon diwawancarai saperangan Vets liwat saperangan sabanjure dina. Kabeh padha sumurup, kabeh babagan Addison kang. Salah dokter pungkasanipun disebut kula lan sadurunge aku bisa takon apa-apa dheweke, dheweke takon kula nalika electrolytes (“Lytes”) padha dites pungkasan. Nalika dheweke marang kula sing kita needed apa sing pisanan kanggo ndeleng yen ana siap kanggo dijupuk liyane lan yen perlu kanggo bakal sudo, Aku sumurup iki dokter kewan aku needed kanggo nyoba. Sawise njupuk lytes asil dokter marang kula, "We have a Enteni dawa, iku ora wonder wis ora felt uga, iku banget liwat medicated. "Sethitik wong dheweke ngerti mung carane dawa saka Enteni! Kita dites lytes kang bebarengan karo minggu kanggo liwat telung sasi. Iku sethitik liwat 100 dina nalika kang K pungkasanipun tak munggah kanggo dicokot ndhuwur agêng-macem. Dheweke miwiti marang ing 0.5ml ing wektu iku lan kanggo sawetara sasi sabanjuré, iki sudo nganti kita ngrambah 0.3ml. Sawise pirang-pirang sasi, kita needed kanggo ngowahi maneh nganti 0.32ml. Dosis sing wis apa gedhe kanggo akeh sasi saiki. Dokter iki gedhe karo Percorten, nanging ora nemen mikir prednison kudu sudo. Aku takon dheweke yen dheweke bakal supaya kula nyoba, ngerti sing aku nonton wong rapet, lan dheweke sarujuk. Kang saiki njupuk 1mg dina rata-rata.

Lan saiki, kene kita, karo pangobatan optimized, ing meh 6 lawas taun, kita duwe kirik sing padha ngirim wis ing Panggonan pisanan!

 

Kita diadopsi Lex saka papan perlindungan kita lokal ing Juli 2010. Dheweke kira-kira dadi babagan 4-5 sasi lawas ing wektu. Bojoku lan aku digawa dheweke ngarep ing “nyoba” nalika kita 2 wadon padha lunga ing camp, minangka bojoku wis alergi lan needed kanggo ndeleng carane wong bakal nanggepi. Inggih, Aku sumurup ing wayahe kita padha Lex ing kasarasan kita sing aku iki ora arep bali menyang papan perlindungan sing – bojo bakal mung duwe kanggo manggon karo alergi kang!!

Ing dina kang karo kita, Lex wis episode saka mutahke lan diare, lan trip panicked menyang dokter kewan ngendi dheweke dites negatif kanggo parvo lan dikirim ngarep karo pandhuan kanggo withhold pangan kanggo dina lan banjur miwiti diet empuk. Dheweke bounced bali nggoleki, lan liwat sabanjuré 2 taun bakal pindhah ing kanggo duwe bouts occasional saka mutahke lan diare nanging durung koyone apa-apa serius banget. Deweke seneng lan aktif, lan ketoke dadi biasane sehat. Sajrone spring lan panas saka 2012, kita ngeweruhi gejala, kalebu mata goopy, infèksi kuping, lan masalah kulit lan wulu. Dheweke wiwit dilat paws dheweke kacida, menyang titik rawness. Ing masalah weteng terus lan padha ndadra. Dheweke fatigued gampang karo ngleksanani lan bakal turu ing sak enjing, malah ora bothering kanggo njaluk nganti mangan nedha isuk. Salah ana ing awal Desember, 2012, kita dirawuhi arakan Natal lokal lan banjur digawe riko menyang taman asu. Lex mung glethakaken ana minangka asu teka watara lan sniffed ing dheweke – supaya kados Lex. Mengko sing sore, Aku digawe riko sawise-jam kanggo dokter kewan karo dheweke, kaya aku iki ora goyang lan smelled lucu (kaya Ammonia). Dokter lan dipun sinaoni dheweke lan ora weruh apa-apa ketok badhan, lan ngandika teka bali ing dina sabanjure kanggo bloodwork yen dheweke ketoke bakal njupuk Samsaya Awon. Inggih, sing wengi iki nggegirisi, karo Lex goyang ing kaki kita nyoba kanggo turu. Back to dokter dina sabanjure kanggo bloodwork. Kanthi matur nuwun sanget, dokter sandi seng di tuduh Addison nalika dheweke weruh bloodwork ing. Miturut wektu iki, Lex banget gerah lan ngakoni kanggo rumah sakit kanggo cairan lan test ACTH, kang teka bali positif.

Njupuk Lex munggah kanggo ngowahi ngarep dheweke ana sange, wektu emosi, minangka dheweke enggal-enggal kanggo kita karo rasa seneng kuwi lan ora ana mripat garing ing Clinic dokter!! Miturut wektu iki, Aku wis ketemu bantuan liwat masyarakat Addison online lan wis dokter gedhe sing ana kekarepan kanggo nyoba soko anyar – Low Dosis Percorten. Dina iki, Lex punika 70 lbs lan njupuk 0.4 ml Percorten, bebarengan karo dosis sedina dheweke prednison.

Aku pracaya yen Lex teka ing gesang kawula kanggo alesan. Tetep ing papan perlindungan sing mesthi temenan pati tartamtu kanggo dheweke, Aku yakin,, lan kulawarga kita bisa kanggo nyedhiyani dheweke karo khusus care dheweke perlu. Amarga dheweke, Aku duwe anyar “kanca-kanca” kabeh ndonya. Aku bisa sajujure ngomong sing Lex wis tau luwih – Diagnosa Addison iku dening ora tegese pati ukara, nanging ana lease anyar ing urip!!

 

Aku diadopsi Dharma saka papan perlindungan kabupaten nalika dheweké ana 8 minggu lawas. Dheweke ana salah siji 7 anak kirik, sing manggen ing ngarep Foster. Aku jenenge dheweke alam pensive dheweke; dheweke mata dibayangke Waters jero. Aku kerep guyon dheweke wis pribadine mung ibu bisa tresna; dheweke iku mung supaya ... uh, aneh. Dheweke iku ing ngelawan saka samubarang kabeh asu stereotypically. Nalika dheweke ana 5 lawas taun, Aku teka saka karya, ing Rebo, kanggo nggoleki 7 Vomits, lan 4 diarrheas. Aku njupuk dheweke menyang dokter kewan ing morning sabanjuré. Swara sabanjure 3 minggu(lan sawetara atus dolar), dokter sandi 10+ taun mlayu tes getih lan, wekasanipun, dikirim kita ngarep karo diagnosa kanker (adhedhasar "25 taun vetting"), botol 20mg tablet prednison, lan pat simpatik ing sirah. Aku lunga kanggo mratelakake panemume 2. Rong minggu lan sawetara atus dolar (liyane) mengko, aku padha tekan ing rumah sakit kebak specialists. Sawise karya, ing wayah wengi, Padha Sonogram a. Isih ana jawaban; minangka "pakar" bakal ing dina sabanjuré. Wong kasebut testing kanggo Addison kang (kanggo liyane $250). Sonogram iki $500+, lan aku ngakeni, Aku ana ing mburi bebarengan karo kang, pemikiran Aku bisa tetep mbayar kanggo test telas karo ora jawaban. Aku marang wong-wong mau aku ngene turu ing, lan ngenteni kanggo interpretasi luwih saka Sonogram ing, dina sabanjure.

Ing ngisor iki esuk, ing 4:20 A.M., Aku felt sing sensation aneh sandi ing gulu. Iku ambegan Dharma kang, lagi wae. Sirahe ana ing sandi Pundhak, lan njupuk kula sing dicokot kanggo éling sing AMBEGAN dheweke ana kuwat lan erratic. Dumadakan, Aku temen maujud dheweke awak iki contorted horribly, kaya pretzel a. Dheweke padha mata rampung kothong. Anjas metu saka amben, mbuwang ing sandhangan, scooped dheweke munggah karo kemul, lan enggal-enggal kanggo mobil. Aku raced antarane kutha, menyang panggonan kita wis 'd ing wengi sadurunge. Kanthi matur nuwun sanget, Aku 'd kedaden kanggo sok dong mirsani wong iku 24 fasilitas jam. Aku digawe ing 45 trip menit ing 25. Nalika aku sprinted liwat lawang karo Dharma ing penyelundupan, atiné mandegake. Lan iya dheweke AMBEGAN. Aku nyerahke dheweke kanggo tekone lan ngandika, "Mangga dheweke".

Dokter kewan darurat ing tugas dileksanakake Ajaib, lan digawa Dharma maneh kanggo urip, tanpa karusakan apa wae permanen. Nanging kita isih ora ngerti apa ana salah karo dheweke. Test ACTH iki dileksanakake, nanging asil bakal njupuk 24 jam. Padha ora yakin dheweke bakal punika sing dawa. Padha surgery exploratory, adhedhasar apa kang padha weruh ing Sonogram ing. Padha seng di tuduh blockage a. Kabeh padha ketemu ana kelenjar adrenal abnormally cilik. Aku ora ngerti carane dheweke slamet surgery. Two kaelokan ing salah siji dina.

Next, kita nenggo. Aku iki marang sing, yen ora Addison kang, banjur ana sakbenere boten padha bisa nindakake, kita 'd wis dites kanggo, lan surgically nggolèki, kabeh nanging paling ora cetha.

Dina sabanjuré, nalika aku tak telpon nuduhake kula punika, ing kasunyatan, Penyakit Addison kang, Aku sesambat nangis seneng ora bisa dikendhalekake. Ing wayahe, kabeh saka kaku lan prihatin saka ordeal kita sakabeheng liwat kula ing banjir saka relief. Iku pungkasanipun liwat. Kita pungkasanipun kagungan jawaban.

Aku wis wiwit dibayangke ing urutan saka acara. Jumlah edan dhuwit iku biaya kanggo njaluk bantuan kanggo diagnosa (ayo kang mung ngomong tally Final ana luwih saka aku ngginakaken ing mobil) iku cukup kanggo nimbulaké sapa kanggo nggambarake. Kula mung Getun punika gerah sing nggegirisi Dharma endured. Kula mung tantangan wis paring pangapunten dokter kewan asli kanggo ngirim kita mudhun path sing. Iki pengalaman memulang ibu kalih anak thukul babagan jenis anyar katresnan. Siji sing kemenangan, malah sanadyan iku ora kudu duwe kanggo.

 

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 sasi. 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 Lawas setengah taun. 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 sasi, 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. Nanging, 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 jam, 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 lawas taun. 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 & November 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. Temtu, 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.
Klik gambar kanggo enlarge

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 dina. 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, Cancer, 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. On Desember 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.

 

We ngeweruhi yen Lucydog ketoke duwe infèksi nguyuh. Aku njupuk dheweke menyang dhokter on Friday sandi mati. Iku iki dikonfirmasi dheweke wis Nggunakake lan uga infèksi kuping. Padha narik kawigaten getih, nanging nenggo kanggo ngirim ing request sandi wiwit sing bakal liyane $200. Padha ngangap dheweke wis ora mangan, nanging figured uga wis amarga dheweke mung ora aran apik.

Dheweke entuk antibiotik lan ketoke dicokot luwih, nanging isih ana ora mangan. Dheweke gadhah tremors / goyang, nanging dheweke cenderung kanggo apa sing akèh nalika lara utawa ditekan. Aku miwiti kanggo njaluk ngangap nalika dheweke malah ora bakal mangan balung sumsum, sanadyan. Banjur kita padha loro ing karya Rebo. Nalika aku tak ngarep, Aku lunga ing supaya dheweke metu saka kennel dheweke kanggo pindhah potty ... lan dheweke ora bisa ngadeg munggah. Malah ora bisa njaluk paws dheweke kanggo kerjo bareng kanggo njaluk wong warata ing lemah. Aku freaked lan langsung lunga lan tak telpon, disebut Will lan ngandika: "Lucy ora bisa lumaku." Aku banjur disebut dokter kewan, kang kudhu wis ora ditutup durung (padha ngatur ing 15 menit) lan padha marang kula kanggo nggawa dheweke ASAP.
Will tak ngarep lan jam lan setengah mengko utawa supaya, lan padha wis bisa kanggo nyetabilke dheweke. Padha panginten bisa dadi penyakit Addison kang, kang kudhu treatable. Iku presents ing asu enom, luwih umum ing Badhak wadon, lan padha persil saka gejala ing umum. Isih bakal panginten iku kudu mung wis dehydration abot. Sawise 2 bengi medeni karo dheweke ing rumah sakit doggie amarga dheweke isih ana ora cukup kuwat kanggo lumaku, asil test getih dikonfirmasi Penyakit Addison kang. Ing Nggunakake lan kuping infèksi di-push awak dheweke menyang krisis lan dheweke ana mbokmenawa cedhak pati (apa yen aku wis macet ing karya 45 menit maneh dina sing? omg). Kanthi matur nuwun sanget, iku treatable karo injeksi saben wulan, siji dheweke bakal perlu kanggo ngaso ing gesang dheweke. Nanging sing urip bakal dawa lan seneng.

Dadi, kita isih duwe Lucy-umur kanggo aturan penyakit dheweke. Nanging aku seneng kanggo laporan sing kaya aku ngetik iki, Lucy wis banter chomping balung Rawhide aku tuku dheweke ing kandhang dheweke hak konco kula. Lan liyane saka paw dipun cukur ngendi dheweke wis IV lan super-Kerep pissing amarga MPd dheweke Recovery, dheweke iku cantik akeh bali menyang ol padha 'Lucydog. Lan kita padha tresna iku. Aku matur nuwun banget yen dokter kewan kita marang dheweke sing diagnosa cepet lan bener lan tak bali dheweke ing dheweke kaki (secara harfiah) cepet.