Unak urang

Héi anu di dinya, A-peeps. Pikeun Minggu Kasadaran Addison urang, Teu sangka urang bakal babagi saeutik saeutik ngeunaan lalampahan Addison urang.

Éta sadayana dimimitian dina Juni 2018. Hantu moal dahar, jeung keur Bully teu dahar, aya anu pasti. Mimitina, ieu panginten anjeunna boga deui goréng. Lima poé na anjeunna masih teu dahar nanaon, jadi geus waktuna pikeun tes getih. Tes getih badé dilaksanakeun 20 menit, jadi bari urang antosan, urang nyandak Ghost keur leumpang ka handap jalan. Nalika urang balik deui ka dokter hewan, anjeunna geulis ogé nyandak kalungguhan kaluar tina leungeun kuring sarta ngomong ginjal Ghost urang teu jalan. Dunya kuring eureun di dinya lajeng. Abdi henteu gaduh budak 2 suku, barudak furry 4-suku kuring geus salawasna geus puseur dunya kuring, ku kituna anjeun tiasa ngabayangkeun, ieu dahsyat. Atoh, Kuring bakal coba sarta tetep ieu pondok sakumaha Abdi tiasa. Kuring ninggalkeun anjeunna di dokter hewan, meunang telepon dina jam, sarta dibéjakeun yén éta kamungkinan manéhna kasakit Addison urang. Abdi sapertos WTF mangrupikeun panyakit Addison!!! Kolotna peternak Ghost ngasuh Bullies sateuacanna sareng anjeunna henteu acan ngupingkeun éta, jadi ieu kudu goréng. Kitu ogé cara poé ieu, langsung kana Google. Aya seueur inpormasi anu kedah dicobian sareng ngartos, éta geulis tangguh. Antukna, kami dilebetkeun kana grup Facebook CARE sareng dugi ka Addison, éta hal pangalusna kantos. Urang dimimitian dina tablet, ngalaman krisis sejen, sarta ahirna robah jadi suntik bulanan jeung teu kasampak deui. Nalika kuring masih waspada pisan ngeunaan kaséhatan Ghost, Kuring jadi leuwih nyaman jeung kumaha Addison urang bisa dikawasa ku nginum obat katuhu. Kuring maca sadayana anu kuring tiasa nyobian ngartos kumaha carana ngamaksimalkeun budak kuring anu ngagaduhan panyakit ieu. Halaman dokumen CARE mangrupikeun tempat pikeun sadaya inpormasi ieu. Saterusna, upami abdi gaduh patarosan atanapi patarosan, Abdi badé ngeposkeun ka grup, sarta naon bisa kuring nyebutkeun ngeunaan kulawarga Addison urang, ogé kecap teu bisa ngajelaskeun kumaha éndah maranéhanana kabéh geus. Perjalanan ieu bakal janten langkung sesah sareng kuring 100% yakin urang moal bakal dimana kami kiwari lamun éta teu keur aranjeunna sarta protokol dosis low. Janten, protokol dosis low, ogé éta pangalaman diajar sorangan tapi sakali anjeun meunang sirah anjeun sabudeureun eta, éta tanpa ragu jalan ka buka dina pendapat abdi. Hantu dimimitian, nurutkeun beurat na on 1.3 ml Zycortal tur ayeuna on 0.45 ml. Dokter hewan kuring saé pisan pikeun nganyahokeun ieu, sarta manéhna nyebutkeun, "Kuring terang produsén nyarios yén anjeunna kedah dina dosis anu langkung luhur, Tapi kuring tiasa ningali dina kalakuanana sareng dina tés getihna yén hasilna henteu bohong. Upami kuring ngagaduhan naséhat pikeun saha waé anu anyar pikeun urusan Addison, Abdi badé angkat ka grup ieu kalayan patarosan anu anjeun gaduh, diajar maca hasil tés getih, tur saluyukeun nginum obat sasuai (lamun kuring bisa ngalakukeun eta saha bisa) jeung anjeun A-dog bakal balik deui ka normal dina jangka waktu nu moal.

Diomongkeun deui normal, ngan sateuacan Ghost didiagnosis, anjeunna nembé mimiti naek kana tonggong Canam kuring 3 motor roda. Jelas, ieu dieureunkeun bari salila bagian mimiti diagnosis na, tapi ayeuna teu aya anu ngahalangan anjeunna. Upami sanés pikeun tag médis na sareng upami anjeun henteu ngawartosan saha waé, aranjeunna moal pernah terang anjeunna ngagaduhan panyakit. Kitu ogé nu biasa urang sering rides, kami geus dina numpak Pink Pita, nu Bikers ngalawan Bullies numpak, jeung panganyarna éta numpak fundraising pikeun Service Seuneu Nagara. Unggal waktos, Ghost mangrupikeun hit anu ageung sareng sadayana, nyokot sagalana dina stride-Na, sarta laps up sagala perhatian anjeunna meunang. Ahir taun kamari, kami ogé akreditasi kalayan Layanan Anjing Terapi salaku Tim Anjing Nganjang Komunitas. Dina tahap ieu, 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!

Dina Pébruari 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. Janten, 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. Saatos 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. Janten, 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. Ayeuna, 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.

dina basa 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 - 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 kilogram. We started noticing changes in him when he was about 3.5 heubeul 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 ultah. 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. Peryogi 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 poé. 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. Tungtungna, 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. Tungtungna, 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 bulan.

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
Klik gambar pikeun ngalegaan

 

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, ti 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? Sumur, 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.

Janten, 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 poé. 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
Klik gambar pikeun ngalegaan

 

Simba lahir dina 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, manéhna turun tumurun sababaraha tangga. Manéhna réngsé nepi di vet nu, didadarkeun salaku pisan lethargic jeung teu bisa leumpang. Bloodwork ngarah ka hiji diagnosis "presumptive Addison kang" (no test ACTH). Manéhna dibéré hiji shot tina Dexamethasone jeung sababaraha cairan IV, terus dikirim imah pikeun nyokot Florinef, "Pikeun 2 bulan, mangka ngeureunkeun jeung jaga Prednisone dina leungeun lamun manéhna mimiti ngadat di imah. "file médis-Na maos kawas carita horor. Dina Nopémber tina 2010, manéhna a "mungkin" krisis Addisonian, jeung kalium-na di 5.6 (bisa mangrupakeun nepi ka 5.8). Simba tétéla geus jumlahna aya 3 crises bari jeung kulawarga kahijina, terus ngalaman 4 SD hiji dina waktu nyerah ka Standard Poodle nyalametkeun.

Dina umur 6, Simba anjog di nyalametkeun nu & perawatan angkat. Nu nyalametkeun jeung anggota masarakat Addison sacara mantuan pikeun meunangkeun Simba dina jalur katuhu, ngaganti manéhna ti Florinef ka Percorten sarta manéhna dimimitian dina fase saterusna hirupna, nu loba happier!

Keith jeung kuring anu néangan hiji sibling pikeun Walungan urang, nu leres pisan teu jiga keur an "ngan anjing". Kuring geus di handap ieu gelar loba tepi ka anjing aya di nyalametkeun nu, terus Simba mucunghul. Manéhna kawas clone tina Walungan di penampilan, ngan komo leuwih éndah. Mah ngan teu bisa nyokot panon mah off budak denok ieu. Urang geus saukur leungit 2 anjing di sababaraha taun, saurang ti kanker, séjénna alatan komplikasi ti inoperable sababaraha shunts ati. Kontak mah di nyalametkeun nu usaha obrolan kuring jauh ti Simba, nyebutkeun urang deserved hiji nu taya isu, tapi kumaha bae we dirasakeun kami jelema hak kanggo Simba sarta ramalanna bener pikeun urang. Simba anjog di kulawarga urang dina Maret 23, 2013, teu lila sanggeus ulang tahun-6-Na, kalawan assortment tina spreadsheets, Pél, jeung parentah. Sirah ieu mah spinning. Mah emang euweuh ngeunaan Addison sacara, iwal yén ieu kecap pisan scary. Ibu angkat-Na, Katey, assured kuring yen urang bakal mibanda pangrojong full nya bareng jeung nu masarakat Addison sacara. Kuring ngagabung gugus pangrojong anu cukup gancang tapi waited awhile saméméh ngeposkeun. Keur hiji jalma malu, ieu hésé ngomong kaluar ka kebat tina strangers, komo lamun maranehna éta ngan online. Sumur, ieu hal anu pangalusna mah teu. Pikeun Simba, ieu hade sabab kuring meunang bantuan instan kaayaan manéhna, jeung kuring ieu alus - I dijieun loba babaturan berharga anyar, jalma nu saha kuring boga hiji hal di umum - urang kabéh asih anjing Addison urang sacara. Simba kungsi "diémbarkeun" sakumna benua komo di Inggris, jadi manéhna datang kalayan jumplukan sorangan tina admirers, jeung Keith jeung slipped kana grup jeung anakna.

Dina ahir Juni 2013, adil 3 bulan sanggeus kami ngadopsi manéhna, Simba ucul kaluar ti truk Keith di garasi jeung peupeus leg-Na. Naon saterusna keur budak Darling ieu! Ieu putus pisan bad sarta manéhna réngsé nepi ka hiji pelat baja di panangan-Na ditambah kawat dibungkus sagala kira-kira pigeulang-Na. Kami ka yén ieu 90% kasempetan nu ieu kanker, jadi anu disusun pikeun mungkin amputasi dituturkeun ku perlakuan chemo. Simba ieu boga untung jeung cocog ka 10% atra! Anjeunna jadi trooper saperti jeung splint sarta maké "bonnet-Na,"Terus kakara lamun manéhna healed, geus balik 6 bulan ka hareup geus piring dipiceun.

Jadi urang datang nepi ka 2 taun saprak urang ngadopsi Simba - anjeunna geus kabagjaan saperti hiji. Manéhna nyaéta "jelema sorangan,"Teu jiga anjing séjén. Anjeunna loner hiji, sarta "laksana intolerant." daptar Nya meds geus ampir ngiles - sakali bener medicated, isu kulit saméméhna ngiles, shedding dieureunkeun. Simba diawaskeun anjing séjén muter tapi bener bener diajar kumaha milu waktu manehna ngora. Anjeunna masihan nepi loba "fun nonoman"-Na ku nu keur hiji Service autisme Dog, jeung ku nu keur jadi pohara gering. Tapi nya waktu geus datang - manéhna boga ulang tahun 8 ngeunaan kajadian - jeung manéhna ngabogaan Ibu & Pa sunda anu aya manéhna dearly sarta bakal ngalakukeun nanaon keur manéhna, hiji Walungan adi nu enjoys ngabogaan manéhna dieu, jeung adina Pinot anyar anu geus teu cukup poho yén manéhna growled di nya mimiti poé manéhna dieu, tapi manéhna nu keur loosening nepi. Simba hartina "Pangeran" jeung éta naon manéhna!

Pinot nyaeta cocker spaniel / campuran poodle mini, lahir dina Méi 4, 2009. Manéhna cicing pikeun 5 taun kulawarga nu kuring nyaho nanaon. Tapi ngan saméméh nya 5^th ultah, manéhna dibawa ka klinik darurat jeung sumbatan cikiih jeung sakali maranéhna meunang cukup nya kuat, manéhna kungsi cystoscopy kemih. Manéhna dikirim imah tapi balik dina hiji poe atawa dua di krisis. Vet Nu hayang uji pikeun Addison, tapi ku mangka kulawarga nya geus nepi ka titik pegatna maranéhanana jeung ménta manéhna jadi nunda ka sare. Vet Nu disusun boga nya surrendered manéhna jeung manéhna ieu didiagnosis kalawan ACTH di awal Méi. Manéhna saterusna cicing pikeun saterusna 4 bulan dina klinik. Urang éta di klinik jeung Walungan hiji poé sarta ka urang ngeunaan Pinot jeung dibawa nya di papanggih urang. Manéhna bounded di, bounced nepi dina bangku, jeung ngan teu bisa ngadalikeun énergi nya. Biasana ieu hiji bola fluff jeung cuteness. Pindah sapanjang, Spin (Poodles Standard merlukeun) ngawasa nya jeung Keith jeung fostered nya. Pinot nyaéta cemerlang! Poe kahiji nya, manéhna hartina latched onto boh Keith & Walungan, jeung nepi ka poé ieu maranehna boh squeezes utama nya. Dina klinik, maranéhanana geus méré nya 1.0 mg Prednisone unggal poé manehna ditimbang ngeunaan 14 kilogram. Janten, Pinot geus masalah incontinence parna. Urang digawé di nurunkeun Pred nya tapi komo lamun turun ka 0.2mg, manéhna masih bocor. Urang dicoba méré Propalin nya (Gelombang mikro) jeung ngan sababaraha kasuksésan. Tapi sakali manéhna dimimitian nyokot Stilbestrol (DES) poean, manéhna geus lengkep garing.

Anjeun tiasa ngabayangkeun nu Spin teu persis bergegas off suku maranéhanana jeung jalma nu hayang ngukut mahluk leres pisan Darling ieu. Sababaraha éta cukup museurkeun diajar ngeunaan Addison sacara & mertimbangkeun nya, tapi bocor ieu hiji breaker deal. Sadaya waktu, Mah ieu iber ngeunaan kumaha éndah manéhna, Mah ieu ragrag beuki loba asih nya sorangan. Urang bakal pindah teu lila nu ngabutuhkeun hiji 7 poé jalan lalampahan sarta saprak urang acan geus 2 poodles standar, urang teu nyangka urang bisa nyokot hiji 3^Rd. Urang pamustunganana megatkeun pikeun "jangjang eta" - Pinot ieu jauh teuing husus nu mungkinkeun saha wae ngarasakeun nya. Manéhna milik jeung urang, sarta urang milik jeung nya. Jeung sajaba ti, kumaha bisa we komo mikir ngalakukeun nya jauh ti Walungan! Janten, dina Dec. 21, 2014, Pinot jadi ours salawasna. Manehna teh delight saperti hiji. Manéhna leungeun Anjeun slipper pas datang di, sanajan NOT bisa jadi Hormat, tapi dibere saperti hiji wiggle Darling eun nu ngan Anjeun kudu mawa baé. Manehna teh sagemblengna addicted ka squeaky Toys - nu leuwih badag jeung squeakier leuwih hade - ieu téh léngkah kecanduan yén Aisyah babagi jeung Walungan jeung maranehna nu gaduh sababaraha squabbles leuwih nu "panghadéna" hiji. Pinot geus direbut hate urang jeung bakal tetep salawasna.

 

Klara lahir dina 12 Agustus 2009. Biasana ieu sok hiji anak anjing pinuh kabungahan sarta gampang meriah, hiji tomboy jeung ngarasa panasaran gede for sadayana anyar. Parobahan datang sanggeus panas kahiji nya. Manéhna jadi eater picky, nu ngira mah ieu patali jeung parobahan hormonal. Manéhna jadi tenang jeung diréaksikeun aggressively lamun anjing datang deukeut teuing, komo buddies anjing pangalusna nya. Nu bulu hideung dina suku hareup nya tos abu.

Saterusna deui éta perioda lila lamun sagalana seemed jadi oke. Teu lila sanggeus ultah nya 3, sagalana jadi goréng silih musuhan. Manéhna geus inféksi ceuli pisan bad jeung baktéri multi-tahan. Pikeun meunangkeun inflammation dikawasa, nu terusan ceuli anu cleaned dina anesthesia umum. Taneuh urug nu mimiti. Manéhna mimiti ingkar dahareun nya. Sakapeung, manéhna ate euweuh pikeun 3 poé. Sakapeung, manéhna geus diare atawa vomited. Dina desperation, urang mimiti banyol nu geura-giru urang tangtu meunangkeun lawang urang sorangan di klinik. Inféksi ceuli ieu masih ngabalukarkeun gangguan jeung Klara meunang meresihan ceuli kadua nya dina anesthesia umum.

Samentara éta, manéhna sababaraha kali geus diare, utah, jeung constipation. Urang spent Hawa Christmas jeung New Taun di klinik. Tés anu keur parasit di éta négatif. Bloodwork ieu alus teuing. Inféksi ceuli terus datang deui.

Usum tiris 2012/2013, urang tadi cuaca éndah. Kavling salju jeung panonpoé. Anjing mah asih salju jeung Klara nyeret sorangan ngaliwatan salju. Manéhna teu boga fun. Anjeun bisa nempo yén manéhna teu ngalakonan oge. Kalolobaan waktu manéhna angon. Nu vets henteu manggihan ngabalukarkeun.

Dina Pébruari 2013, ieu malah parah. Mencret, utah, manéhna seemed jadi nyeri, nampik dahareun nya, tapi drank kavling cai. Nu vets ceuk, "Kami kudu ngadagoan. Bisa jadi lantaran panas nya. "Poé saterusna basa kuring datang ka imah, Kuring kungsi rarasaan aneh – hal indit pisan salah dieu. Kuring drove deui ka rumah sakit jeung vet nu hayang ngirim kuring jauh, “Urang can't manggihan nanaon. Jigana éta panas nya!”

Ieu teuing. Kuring ambek jeung dipénta panalungtikan satuluyna. “Hal mungkar jeung anu Klara. Kuring moal indit!! Sugan proyek Anjeun!” Maranehna hiji uji getih lengkep terus, nu vets éta pisan rusuh. Kalium nya ieu 7.6 dina sauntuyan 3.5-5.8. Natrium nya ieu 139 dina sauntuyan 144-160. Bloodwork Nu ka urang hirup nya ieu di bahaya. Manéhna ieu lengkep dehydrated. Tungtungna, maranéhanana kokotéténgan pikeun sabab. Karacunan, ultrasound renal, leptospirosis. Manéhna dibéré hiji IV jeung tas infusion. Mah bisa mawa Klara imah. Urang indit unggal dintenna pikeun klinik jeung maranehna tes salajengna. Maranéhanana spoke tina gagal ginjal tapi henteu manggihan ngabalukarkeun. Nilai getih Klara sacara lumangsung ngan ku infusions tapi malah nu teu mantuan loba. Nilai getih éta parah. Pikeun poé, manéhna ieu gaya fed, tapi manéhna leungit beuki loba beurat. Manéhna dibawa ka ICU jeung kami disiapkeun leungit nya. Nu vets ceuk maranehna hayang uji hiji hal panungtungan. Maranéhanana ceuk bisa jadi Kasakit Addison's jeung hayang ngalakukeun test ACTH. Sabab kapanggih. Klara geus Addison sarta perlakuan ieu dimimitian. Énjing, Mah bisa nyokot imah nya.

Manéhna pulih gancang jeung sagalana seemed jadi rupa. Tapi, manéhna teu kuatna jeung anjing cageur. Kusabab kitu mah geus switched ti Florinef ka Percorten.

Ku bantuan ti grup, urang digarap pikeun manggihan Klara's dosis pangalusna. Ayeuna, manéhna weighs 27 kg jeung ditampa 0.40ml tina Percorten unggal 28 poe jeung 1mg tina Prednisone poean. Kanggo abdi, eta geus jiga ucing pikeun nempo kumaha baé enjoys hirup nya tanpa palarangan mana wae. Ayeuna, meh 2 warsih saterusna, Klara karasaeun leuwih hade tinimbang kungsi. Ngalihkeun ka Percorten ieu putusan pangalusna kungsi. Klaraismentallybalanced,riang, wani, jeung wani. Sarta sanggeus sapanjang poé di karya(baé asisten palatih mah, Kami hiji palatih anjing) manéhna masih boga énergi kenca pikeun muter kabagjaan pinuh jeung lanceukna nya jeung kuring!

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

Abdi bogoh nulis, tapi kuring diuk di dieu staring di layar nu kosong, sieun mah teu bisa ngalakukeun kaadilan carita napsi sacara. Kuring babagi carita ieu kalawan sodara di amoy yén nagara éta bakal mantuan batur nu sejenna. Urang bisa diterapkeun napsi lamun manéhna ngeunaan 6 bulan heubeul dina bulan Désémber tina 2003. Biasana ieu anjing unik jeung endah pisan saperti, tapi teu maranéhanana kabéh di jalan husus sorangan?

Napsi kungsi anak anjing-tiung lolobana normal, tapi kakurangan ti leuwih alatan kasakit ti paling anjing teu. Sanggeus manéhna ngahurungkeun tilu, manéhna dimekarkeun sores di heunceut nya. Sanggeus sababaraha lalampahan ka vet nu, terus ngaganti vets, jeung nyoba sababaraha leuwih loba pilihan, kami tempo bedah ka reconstruct heunceut nya. Tapi, manéhna dimimitian bade downhill gancang. Manéhna ieu kaleungitan beurat, oyag, sarta lolobana ti sadaya, Kuring kakara terang hal ieu salah. Urang indit ka vet sanggeus vet mana maranéhanana kabéh mecat kuring nyebutkeun yén Aisyah ieu "euy sia leuwih kolot jeung settling ka handap." Ku waktu ieu mah geus nya di kantor vet sacara saban minggu bulan. Urang komo usaha ngaganti vets sababaraha kali. Énergi nya ieu diminishing gancang. Geuwat, manéhna komo teu bisa leumpang kaluar ti pakarangan tanpa ngabogaan ka iklas handap sarta nyokot ngarecah. Manéhna ieu ngabogaan kasulitan ngabogaan gerakan bowel. Mah ngajak nya ka kantor vet sacara deui, nu saterusna didiagnosis nya jeung colitis. Urang meunang imah, manehna teu bisa kaluar tina mobil.

Mah emang ieu eta, jadi kuring ngan meunang deui dina mobil jeung drove ka Chicago - kota gedé. Jero 10 menit urang nuliskeun rumah sakit darurat di Chicago, manéhna ieu awal didiagnosis jeung Kasakit Addison sacara, jeung kuring ka manéhna meureun teu bakal dilakukeun eta peuting sejen tanpa perlakuan. Manéhna ari aya 3 atawa 4 poe bari maranéhanana meunang nya cairan nepi, jeung kakuatan nya balik deui ka. Manéhna geus mangrupakeun uji ACTH dipigawé pikeun ngonfirmasi Kasakit Addison nya sacara. Salaku bungangang salaku mah ieu nyokot nya nepi ti rumah sakit, Kuring ogé devastated diajar nu perlakuan nya tangtu biaya ampir $400 sabulan. Kuring teu boga pamanggih, kumaha atuh ieu bade nanggung eta, tapi kami bade angka kaluar cara.

Éta basa kuring dimimitian researching sorangan, jeung kapanggih grup K-9 Addison sacara mah ngahutang hirup napsi pikeun. Maranéhanana mantuan kuring gé kasakit, kumaha naksir tes nya, tur meunangkeun nya dina dosis katuhu pangobatan. Saatos éta, urang kungsi kokotéténgan deui.

Sareng deuih 1.4 ml Percorten-V unggal 28 poe jeung 1 mg Prednisone poean, Napsi oge nyandak sababaraha suplemén. Manéhna réngsé nepi hirup 7 taun leuwih éndah dina dosis anu bener pangobatan nya nu, ngomong-ngomong, ngan ngarugikeun kuring kurang ti $80.00 per bulan. Napsi cicing jadi 11 Heubeul ½ taun, nu geulis gede keur 130 anjing pound. Napsi maot kangker poé saméméh sukur dina 2014.

Meunangkeun hiji diagnosis Panyakit Addison sacara bisa scary jeung frightening, tapi napsi ieu buktina nu bisa hirup kahirupan bermakna happy jeung pangobatan nu bener. Kusabab napsi, dulur nu keuna kana nya diajar jadi loba ngeunaan kahirupan jeung asih jeung silaturahim. Manéhna bakal greatly lasut.

 

Valentino datang kana kahirupan di Feb 2007 lamun manéhna jadi mah ngukut sanggeus télépon deukeut dina panyumputan sono luhur. Manéhna satengah jam ti keur euthanized. Anjeunna hiji stray emaciated leungit lolobana rambut-Na dina sisi-Na (kulit nya ieu hiji pink ngagurilap caang!) jeung strip rambut blond kawas mohawk turun deui nya, sabeurat bieu pisan 30lb – manehna ayeuna hiji 55lb cageur. Peryogi 3 bulan mulangkeun manéhna pikeun kaséhatan, jeung meunangkeun beurat. Ku waktu éta, Kuring kungsi jadi gagal angkat, jeung Valentino ieu sadaya milik urang! Manéhna angon lolobana maranéhanana kahiji 3 bulan antara hidangan jeung bade potty saméméh anjeunna seemed geus pulih. Manéhna mimiti ngabogaan gejala tina létoy, kurangna energi jeung henteu mampuh pikeun meunangkeun dina / kaluar ti mobil keur sababaraha bulan bari jeung manéhna henteu kungsi leungit napsu-Na lengkep, manéhna dimimitian picking di dahareun-Na nyoba dahar, Mah emang hal ieu salah, tapi vet urang di waktu (nu pamungkas kalina!) mecat paripolah diangkat jadi “meta kaluar”. Saterusna manéhna rubuh dina Dec 2007 jeung lalampahan urang jeung Kasakit Addison sacara mimiti. Vet Nya teu bisa “ngepas” Valentino di for minggu nu lian teras we indit ka vet babaturan sacara nu junun cocog urang di. Ieu teuas nyaho lamun AD-Na ujug geus aya waxing jeung waning prior salaku manéhna geus jadi gering pas kuring mimiti meunang manéhna. Usik Nya éta dina Dec 19, manéhna spent 2 poe di rumah sakit istimewa, jeung ku Dec 25, dirasakeun cukup oge nyoba abscond jeung bebek Christmas nu draining di tilelep pawon – Kabeneran manéhna nabbed en flagrante jeung bebek nu cageur jadi dilayanan for malam Christmas nu dimaksud!

Valentino was started on Florinef/compounded fludrocortisone at .4mg (leuwih handap disarankeun pikeun beurat-Na) jeung 2.5mg Prednisone di 12/07 – tapi éléktrolit-Na nya sampurna (!) pikeun warsih hiji. Sanggeus sataun, éléktrolit-Na indit kaluar ti kontrol, and he had weekly increases in his Florinef, nepi ka manéhna anjog di 2mg tapi éléktrolit-Na masih teu dina kontrol.

Urang kapanggih vet hiji 1.5 WIB jauh anu daék digawé jeung urang tur mimitian Valentino di 1.8ml, nu dianggap “dosis low” dina 2009, nu dosis standar ieu bit nu ngaliwatan 2ml (Kuring inget pamikiran kuring mah malah tangtu meunang 2 dosis kaluar unggal vial di waragad bulanan kira-kira $100 ngan pikeun Percorten-V!) Leuwih ti taun, urang lalaunan ngurangan ku 10-20% dina hiji waktu. Urang dimimitian di 1.8ml di 7/09 jeung teu komo teu dibere 1ml Til 9/10, .75ml di 6/11, .5ml di 10/13, .4ml ayeuna dina 9/14. Urang kabéh pisan nu leuwih kolot deui mangka urang teu gaduh inpo cukup dina bade handap dosis………iwal ngaliwatan pangalaman anggota sejenna grup. Ieu sadaya wewengkon nu anyar! Lamun ulikan dosis low geus sadia di 2009, urang bisa geus dimimitian di .95ml jeung gotten ka dosis éféktif kaitung pangdeukeutna ti tungtung Valentino sacara nu loba sooner tur disimpen loba duit dina Percorten-V jeung éléktrolit bulanan uji salaku bonus hiji. Kuring teu bisa ngomong cukup ngeunaan beda keur dina dosis handap geus dilakukeun dina kumaha Valentino karasaeun sapanjang bulan jeung éléktrolit-Na tinggal geulis deukeut jeung pertengahan range antara dosis. Manéhna spent taun ngalakonan “oké” – mopey, lethargic pikeun 2 minggu sanggeus unggal shot, perasaan saeutik leuwih perky ngeunaan saminggu saméméh shot saterusna nya ieu alatan, mangka perasaan lethargic deui lamun manéhna dapatkan shot sejen – tapi ayeuna manéhna ngalakonan “gede” sadaya bulan lila dina dosis leuwih handap tina Percorten-V! Marengan pangurangan Percorten-V panganyarna, Kuring geus ogé geus bisa ngurangan Prednisone pikeun .5mg – manéhna kukituna geus hovering antara .75mg dina waktu usum tiis ka 1.25mg dina waktu usum panas pikeun taun. We have also switched to liquid Prednisolone as his liver enzymes became elevated and he was shedding a lot……….

PS – Plight Valentino salaku hiji gering, stray nu teu dihoyongkeun ieu inspirasi pikeun komitmen jero mah involvement di isu Karaharjaan sato di San Antonio! Sabaraha anjing kawas Valentino tos maot alatan aya no hiji ka lengkah up for eta saméméh wajib 72 periode ditahan stray hr kadaluarsa?

 

Nyalametkeun kungsi kabéh pups spayed atawa neutered saméméh keur dicokot imah. Argus ieu neutered di heubeul dua bulan, sarta urang dibawa manéhna imah saterusna poé nu. Dua poé sanggeusna manéhna és tiis jeung shivering pisan teuas. Urang diawaskeun loka incision-Na pikeun tanda inféksi jeung dibungkus manéhna di blankets nyoba haneut manéhna. Soré yén urang nyandak manéhna ka vet nu geus dipigawé bedah nu (45 menit jauh). Vet Nu ceuk manéhna ngabogaan réaksi ka bedah jeung bakal rupa. Anjeunna masihan manéhna ditembak jeung dibikeun ka abdi sababaraha Pél méré pikeun sawatara poé ka hareup. Ku isuk di handap ieu, manéhna leuwih hadé. Urang indit ka tempo vet urang sorangan pikeun anak anjing mariksa nu anyar. Maranéhanana langsung nyandak jauh nu Pél yén urang dibere jeung ceuk anak anjing nu kudu kungsi dibikeun ieu. Kuring teu inget naon Pél éta, tapi nu makéna ieu Dexamethasone jeung kuring ayeuna percaya nu naon ditarik ka manehna kaluar naon ieu lumangsung.

Anjeunna jadi Mpup pohara béda ti nu mana wae nu urang geus geus samemeh manehna. Anjeunna loba mellower tinimbang Mpup mah geus kungsi dipikawanoh. Ningali deui, geus jelas manéhna mintonkeun tanda-Na Addison sacara ti beurang urang. Manéhna waxed jeung waned pikeun ampir dua taun. Antukna, urang leungit "adi gedé-Na,"Fostered dua puppies keur sababaraha minggu unggal, terus dibawa anak anjing sejen kana imah urang. Dina Désémber 6, 2010, Argus kaluar dahar. Unggal poé ngembang ka gejala sejen (ahir kalemahan Hind, shivering, és tiis, jsb). Vet urang ceuk ieu baktéri dina tummy-Na – manéhna bakal meunangkeun leuwih eta - eupan manéhna béas pindang (no tes anu ngajalankeun). A pasangan poé sanggeusna, urang indit ka hiji vet beda nu ceuk organ-Na nu shutting turun jeung ceuk urang dying – mugi Gusti buka!!!! Salaku mah dibawa Argus, draped leuwih leungeun mah ka vet katilu, Teu sangka mah kungsi bakal mawa manéhna imah. Vet Nu eweh cairan jeung lumpat hiji uji getih, tes stool, sinar-x, kabéh kaca karya, sarta diteundeun manéhna aya. Peuting manéhna disebut jeung ceuk, “Kuring curiga hiji hal anu kuring rek ujian pikeun isuk-isuk.” Ku peuting manéhna ngécéskeun hal sakabeh ka kuring. Manéhna ari dina cairan jeung meunang shot kahijina. Nepi nepi ka titik ieu, bari salaki kuring sarta kuring nyandak robah warna ka warna diuk jeung manéhna, manéhna méré urang saeutik response. Vet teu hoyong mugi Gusti balik alatan manéhna masih teu dahar jeng. Poe di handap ieu, Kuring walked asup jeung ka nya atuh hayang nyokot manéhna imah. Manéhna pamustunganana sapuk lamun kuring jangji baris mawa manéhna di lamun kuring geus teu gotten manéhna dahar di nu salajengna 12 jam. Lamun manéhna dibawa manehna kaluar, manéhna ucul sakumna urang jeung vet nyebatkeun, “Yep, manéhna perlu balik!” Jadi manéhna lalaunan datang kira-kira ka dahar jeung kami pindah celebrations Christmas ka imah adina mah sarta éta tenang jeung ati-ati jeung sagalana we teu. Ayeuna vet ieu ka kuring mawa manéhna dina saban 28 Ari kanggo shot-Na, méré manéhna Prednisone-Na unggal poé sarta manéhna bakal hirup kahirupan normal.

Argus nyaéta 60 lbs, sarta dibikeun 2ml tina Percorten unggal 28 Ari kanggo salapan bulan ku tech vet. Manéhna meunang 5mg tina Prednisone keur sababaraha bulan. Hal anu kahiji mah kapanggih ieu informasi Prednisone. Kami méré éta peuting jeung kuring manggihan manéhna kudu jadi lalaki eta isuk-isuk, jadi we robah nu. Saterusna kuring maca artikel ngeunaan dosing jeung urang meunang nu handap pikeun 2.5mg. Ku bulan kadalapan mah nempo yén hirup Argus 'ieu teu normal. Manéhna teu boga spunk. Manéhna seemed lethargic. Enya kitu leuwih hiji ayana ti kahirupan hiji! Éta lamun ahirna mah kapanggih gugus Internet. Tes getih sarta éléktrolit - naon? Taya ieu keur dipigawé. Ieu waktu shot sejen tur kuring indit dina nyarita ka vet nu (saha mah teu sempet ditempo dina sababaraha bulan). Manéhna geus pindah nepi kalér pikeun muka prakték nya sorangan. Kuring nanya nyarita ka salah sahiji vets séjén. Nu vet nu owns fasilitas nu ka kuring tes ieu dipigawé sataun sakali jeung dosis tina Percorten tangtu ngan ngarobah lamun beurat-Na robah jeung kuring pernah bisa ngalakukeun nu makéna sorangan. Manehna teu bakal ngadangukeun hiji kecap mah, cenah atawa kasampak di inpo nu diusahakeun mah nampilkeun manéhna. Dangong-Na ka kuring kuring kungsi meunangkeun kuat tur mimitian nelepon telepon. Kuring telepon diwawancara sababaraha vets leuwih pasangan saterusna poé. Maranéhanana sadaya terang sagalana ngeunaan Addison sacara. Hiji vet pamustunganana disebut kuring jeung saméméh mah bisa ménta nanaon nya, manéhna nanya ka kuring lamun éléktrolit (“Lytes”) anu dites panungtungan. Lamun manéhna ka kuring yen urang diperlukeun pikeun maneh anu kahiji lamun ningali manéhna siap shot sejen tur lamun diperlukeun pikeun jadi lowered, Mah emang ieu nu vet mah diperlukeun pikeun coba. Sanggeus meunang lytes hasil vet nu ka kuring, "Urang geus lila nungguan, éta teu heran manéhna geus teu ngarasa oge, manéhna pisan leuwih medicated. "Little teu manéhna nyaho kumaha euy panjang nungguan! Urang dites lytes-Na saminggu sakali salami leuwih ti tilu bulan. Ieu saeutik leuwih ti 100 Ari pila-Na K pamustunganana bangun ka bit luhur pertengahan range. Manéhna mimiti manéhna di 0.5ml dina waktu éta sarta pikeun sababaraha bulan ka hareup, ieu lowered nepi ka urang nepi ka 0.3ml. Sanggeus sababaraha bulan, urang diperlukeun pikeun mawa eta deui nepi ka 0.32ml. Dosis nu geus dipake gede pikeun rupa-rupa bulan ayeuna. Vet ieu gede jeung Percorten, tapi teu bener mikir nu Prednisone kudu lowered. Kuring nanya nya lamun manéhna bakal hayu atuh urang coba, nyaho mah bakal lalajo manéhna raket, manehna sapuk. Anjeunna ayeuna lalaki 1mg poean.

Jeung ayeuna, di dieu urang, jeung pangobatan dioptimalkeun, di ampir 6 heubeul taun, urang teh boga anak anjing nu manéhna kudu geus aya di tempat kahiji!

 

Urang bisa diterapkeun Lexie ti panyumputan lokal urang dina bulan Juli 2010. Manéhna ieu diperkirakeun kurang 4-5 bulan heubeul di waktu. Salaki kuring sarta kuring dibawa imah nya dina “pangadilan” bari urang 2 awéwé éta jauh di camp usum panas, salaku salaki kuring geus alergi jeung diperlukeun pikeun ningali kumaha manéhna baris meta. Sumur, Mah emang momen urang tadi Lexie dina miara urang nu manéhna teu balik deui ka panyumputan nu – hubby ngan tangtu kudu hirup jeung alergi-Na!!

Dina waktu poé keur jeung urang, Lexie geus hiji episodeu tina utah jeung diare, jeung lalampahan panik ka vet nu mana baé dites négatif pikeun parvo jeung dikirim imah sareng parentah ka withhold dahareun for beurang terus ngamimitian hiji diet hambar. Manéhna bounced deui rupa, jeung leuwih nu salajengna 2 taun bakal ku anjeun dina boga bouts occasional tina utah jeung diare tapi teu sigana mun aya nanaon serius teuing. Biasana ieu senang jeung aktif, jeung seemed jadi lolobana cageur. Salila cinyusu jeung usum panas nu 2012, urang noticed gejala séjén, kaasup panon goopy, inféksi ceuli, jeung isu kulit jeung bulu. Manéhna mimiti licking paws nya kacida, ka titik rawness. Isu burih terus kukituna sia parah. Manéhna fatigued gampang jeung latihan sarta bakal saré di salila mornings, komo teu bothering pikeun meunangkeun nepi ka dahar sasarap. Hiji Saptu dina awal Désémber, 2012, urang ngahadiran parade Christmas lokal terus dijieun datangna ka taman anjing. Lexie saukur neundeun aya salaku anjing séjén datang kira-kira jeung sniffed di nya – jadi kawas Lexie. Saterusna peuting nu, Mah dijieun hiji sadérék sanggeus-jam ka vet jeung nya, salaku manéhna ieu oyag jeung dicium lucu (kawas amonia). Vet Nu nalungtik nya jeung teu ningal nanaon atra bahan perhatian, jeung cenah asalna deui poe saterusna pikeun bloodwork lamun manéhna seemed ka jadi lalaki parah. Sumur, peuting tuh nu itu, jeung Lexie oyag di suku mah sakumaha nu ayeuna urang usaha saré. Deui ka vet poé saterusna pikeun bloodwork. Thankfully, vet mah disangka Addison sacara lamun manéhna nempo bloodwork nu. Ku waktu ieu, Lexie ieu pisan gering sarta ngaku ka rumah sakit pikeun cairan jeung test ACTH, nu datang deui positif.

Picking Lexie nepi ka mawa imah nya ieu hiji endah pisan, waktu emosi, salaku manéhna lumpat ka urang jeung kabagjaan éta jeung teu aya hiji panon garing dina klinik vet!! Ku waktu ieu, Kuring kungsi kapanggih bantuan ngaliwatan masarakat Addison sacara online jeung kagungan vet gede anu daék nyoba hal anu anyar – Low dosis Percorten. Dinten ieu, Lexie nyaéta 70 lbs jeung nyokot 0.4 ml Percorten, babarengan jeung dosis poean nya tina Prednisone.

Kuring percaya Lexie datang kana kahirupan mah alesan hiji. Tinggal di panyumputan nu bakal Hartina, maot tangtu keur dirina, Kami yakin, jeung kulawarga urang mampu pikeun nyadiakeun nya jeung perawatan husus manéhna perlu. Kusabab nya, Kuring geus anyar “babaturan” di seluruh dunya. Kuring bisa jujur ​​nyebutkeun yén Lexie geus kungsi geus leuwih alus – Diagnosis Addison sacara ieu ku no hartina kalimah maot, tapi gantina ieu ngajakan anyar dina kahirupan!!

 

Mah bisa diterapkeun Dharma ti panyumputan county lamun manéhna 8 minggu heubeul. Biasana ieu salah sahiji 7 puppies, hirup di hiji imah angkat. Mah ngaranna nya pikeun alam pensive nya; panon nya reflected cai jero. Kuring mindeng lulucon manéhna ngabogaan kapribadian hiji ngan indung bisa asih; baé kitu euy ... eh, aneh. Manéhna nu sabalikna ti sagala hal anjing stereotypically. Lamun manéhna 5 heubeul taun, Kuring datang ka imah ti karya, dina Rebo, pikeun manggihan 7 vomits, jeung 4 diarrheas. Mah ngajak nya ka vet teh isuk saterusna. Leuwih ti nu salajengna 3 minggu(jeung sababaraha ratus pérak), vet mah 10+ taun lumpat tes getih jeung, pamustunganana, ngutus Kami imah jeung diagnosis kanker (dumasar kana "25 taun vetting"), botol 20mg tablet prednisone, jeung pat jeung karunya dina sirah. Kuring indit keur pamadegan 2nd. Dua minggu sareng sababaraha ratus pérak (tambih deui) saterusna, urang landed di rumah sakit pinuh ku spesialis. Sanggeus gawé, dina Rebo peuting, Maranehna sonogram hiji. Masih aya waleran; salaku "ahli" bakal di poé ka hareup. Aya disebutkeun uji pikeun Addison sacara (keur nu lian $250). Sonogram ieu $500+, jeung teu ngaku, Mah ieu di ahir wit urang, wondering kumaha bisa ngajaga Mayar pikeun test sajajalan nu taya waleran. Kuring ka maranehna mah Kukituna saré dina éta, jeung ngadagoan interpretasi salajengna tina sonogram nu, énjing.

Nu isuk di handap ieu, di 4:20 a.m., Kuring ngarasa hiji sensasi aneh dina beuheung mah. Ieu napas Dharma sacara, bieu pisan. Sirah nya ieu dina taktak mah, sarta ngajak kuring bit pikeun nyadar yén engapan nya ieu lemah jeung erratic. Ujug-ujug, Kuring direalisasikeun awak nya ieu contorted horribly, kawas pretzel hiji. Panon nya éta lengkep kosong. Kuring leapt kaluar ranjang, threw asup ageman, scooped nya nepi ka simbut hiji, jeung lumpat ka mobil. Kuring raced di sakuliah kota, ka éta tempat urang kukituna geus peuting tadi. Thankfully, Abdi kajadian ka perhatikeun maranéhanana éta hiji 24 fasilitas jam. Mah nyieun 45 lalampahan menit dina 25. Salaku mah sprinted ngaliwatan panto jeung Dharma di leungeun mah, jantung nya dieureunkeun. Jeung saterusna teu engapan nya. Kuring dibikeun nya ka rencang jeung ceuk, "Mangga mantuan nya".

Nu vet darurat dina tugas dipigawé mujijat hiji, jeung dibawa Dharma deui ka kahirupan, tanpa karuksakan permanén. Tapi urang masih nu teu apal naon ieu salah nya. Tes ACTH ieu dipigawé, tapi hasilna bakal mawa 24 jam. Maranéhanana teu yakin manéhna bakal panungtungan nu lila. Maranehna bedah éksplorasi, dumasar kana naon anu maranéhanana nempo di sonogram nu. Maranéhanana disangka sumbatan. Sadaya maranéhanana kapanggih ieu kelenjar adrénal abnormally leutik. Kuring henteu weruh kumaha baé cageur bedah nu. Dua miracles di hiji poe.

Teras, urang waited. Mah ka nu, lamun teu Addison sacara, mangka aya ampir euweuh maranéhanana bisa ngalakonan, sakumaha nu ayeuna urang kukituna geus dicoba pikeun, jeung surgically searched pikeun, sadaya tapi nu paling teu jelas.

Énjing, lamun kuring meunang telepon sangkan kuring ieu, kanyataanna, Kasakit Addison sacara, Kuring cried lawon happy uncontrollable. Dina momen nu, nu entirety tina setrés, jeung anguish tina cobaan urang dikumbah leuwih kuring dina caah lega. Ieu pamustunganana leuwih. Urang pamustunganana geus jawaban.

Kuring geus saprak reflected dina nu runtuyan kajadian. Jumlah gelo duit eta ngarugikeun nepi ka tempat diagnosis nu (hayu urang ngan ngomong tally ahir ieu leuwih ti kuring spent asup mobil mah) cukup ka ngabalukarkeun saha ka ngagambarkeun. Mah ngan teu kaduhung geus sangsara pikareueuseun nu Dharma endured. Mah ngan tangtangan ieu forgiving nu vet asli pikeun ngirim urang turun jalur nu. Pangalaman ieu diajarkeun basa dua anak tumuwuh ngeunaan nanaon anyar sunda. Hiji nu prevails, sanajan teu merta kudu.

 

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 bulan. 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 Heubeul ½ 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 bulan, 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. Tapi, 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 pon) and is 6 heubeul 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. Tangtosna, 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 pikeun ngalegaan

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 poé. 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, kangker, 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 pon. 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. Dina Désémber 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.

 

Urang noticed nu Lucydog seemed boga inféksi kandung kemih. Mah ngajak nya ka dokter dina Jumaah mah off. Ieu dikonfirmasi manéhna kungsi Uti sarta ogé hiji inféksi ceuli. Maranéhanana Drew getih, tapi waited pikeun ngirimkeunana di abdi nyuhunkeun saprak éta bakal sejen $200. Maranéhanana merhatikeun nu manéhna geus teu geus dahar, tapi ilahar eta kitu geus sabab manéhna ngan teu ngarasa alus.

Manéhna meunang antibiotik jeung seemed bit hiji leuwih alus, tapi tetep teu dahar. Manéhna ieu ngabogaan tremor / oyag, tapi manéhna nuju pikeun maneh anu pisan lamun gering atawa stressed. Mah dimimitian pikeun meunangkeun prihatin lamun manéhna mah malah dahar jeng hiji tulang sungsum, sanajan. Saterusna kami boh di pagawean Rebo. Lamun kuring meunang imah, Kuring indit ka mugi nya kaluar ti kennel nya balik potty ... manehna teu bisa nangtung. Komo Teu bisa meunangkeun paws nya ka cooperate pikeun meunangkeun eta datar di taneuh. Kuring freaked jeung langsung indit jeung meunang telepon, disebut Will jeung ceuk "Lucy teu bisa leumpang." Kuring mangka disebut vet nu, nu thankfully geus teu ditutup can (maranéhanana ngalakukeunana dina 15 menit) jeung maranehna ka kuring mawa nya ASAP.
Will meunang imah jeung aing jam satengah saterusna atawa jadi, jeung maranehna anu geus bisa nyaimbangkeun nya. Maranéhanana mikir eta bisa jadi kasakit Addison sacara, nu ieu thankfully treatable. Eta presents di anjing ngora, geus leuwih ilahar dina bikang, sarta miboga kavling gejala di umum. Masih baris mikir eta bisa jadi kudu saukur geus réaksi dehidrogénasi parna. Saatos 2 peuting scary jeung nya di rumah sakit doggie sabab manéhna masih teu cukup kuat leumpang, hasil uji getih dikonfirmasi Kasakit Addison sacara. Nu Uti jeung ceuli inféksi kadorong awak nya kana krisis jeung manéhna meureun deukeut ka maot (kumaha lamun kuring geus nyangkut di ngerjakeun 45 menit deui poé nu? ya allah). Thankfully, geus treatable jeung suntik bulanan, hiji manéhna kudu pikeun sesa hirup nya. Tapi nu hirup bakal lila jeung senang.

Janten, kami masih boga Lucy-waktu hirup ka ngatur kasakit nya. Tapi Kami happy lapor nu jadi mah ngetik ieu, Lucy ieu loudly chomping hiji tulang rawhide nu mah nuju nya di kurung nya katuhu kuring balik. Jeung lian ti paw dicukur di mana baé geus hiji IV jeung super-sering peeing alatan meds recovery nya, manéhna nu geulis loba balik ka ol sarua 'Lucydog. Jeung urang sunda eta. Kami pisan thankful nu vet urang méré nya hiji diagnosis gancang jeung bener jeung meunang deui nya dina suku nya (saleresna) kalawan gancang.