One reason that we haven't put together a post for a few weeks is that we've been busy with the start of school - and the craziness that four kids and 3 different schedules, along with extracurricular activities, entails. We are settling into the school routine quite well, and we will have a post about school a bit later. However, one thing that happened at the end of the kids' second week of school and throughout their third week really made things a bit crazy for us.
On September 12th, Yuki began acting lethargic. She didn't want to eat her food in the evening. That is a very atypical thing for our dog: a lover of food. She has had some problems with seizures in the past, so we wondered if maybe she was feeling ill.
On Sunday the 13th she wasn't feeling any better. She was very lethargic and didn't even really want to go for her regular walks. We thought that maybe she had some sort of a dog cold or flu. We decided that we would watch her carefully to figure out what was happening. Monday she was kind of the same, but by the late evening she was looking very bad. Yulia decided to take her to the veterinarian in the morning. It's a good thing that we did.
It turns out that she had been bitten by a tick. The ticks here carry babesiosis, a disease that is in some ways similar to Malaria. It turns out that this is quite common in the area. We are used to tick season ending at the end of August, so we had not treated her for September. (Read more about Babesiosis in dogs here). In brief, the disease consists of piroplasms, which:
Yulia and I took turns taking Yuki to her morning vet appointment (mostly Yulia, but I took her one day). We both took her to the evening appointments, which lasted for a week, after we had put the kids to bed. This meant that we were out until 11:00 or 11:30 for most nights in addition to having our very full days with the kids.
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We hadn't been too impressed with the veterinary clinic when we took Yuki there in late spring to get her rabies vaccine (required once per year here instead of every three years). The clinic is on the first floor of an apartment building. It is small, smells of dogs, cats, and urine, and has peeling paint, scuffed and peeling linoleum, and a stuffy atmosphere.
Our opinion changed when we saw how hard the vets worked and how they took care of Yuki and the many other dogs (at least 3 or 4 others that we met had the same problem) that were suffering from severe symptoms. The clinic is not much to look at, but they were professional in handling their job. And they all fell in love with Yuki!
***
The first two days of the treatment were still very rough - and we were not certain that she was going to make it. When they began giving fluids, she couldn't control her bladder and so we had to buy some diapers to put her in around the house. She showed no interest in anything and simply slept, or laid in her kennel staring. She didn't even look up when I would come home from work - a huge change from the dog that practically jumps out of her skin when she sees me normally - even if I've just been gone for two minutes. It did not look good.
Yuki began to look better and show a little bit of interest by the third day. She was able to control her bladder and she began to eat a bit of food on her own. By the fourth day she was looking good, if still a bit weak.
After her week of treatment she looked good, and was walking and doing normal things, but still didn't want to play. That has changed now. Not only that, but she seems to have stored up a bunch of naughty energy that she had to get out. She spent the last week in trouble for going through the garbage, climbing on the furniture, and generally being a pain. We're so glad to have her back!
On September 12th, Yuki began acting lethargic. She didn't want to eat her food in the evening. That is a very atypical thing for our dog: a lover of food. She has had some problems with seizures in the past, so we wondered if maybe she was feeling ill.
On Sunday the 13th she wasn't feeling any better. She was very lethargic and didn't even really want to go for her regular walks. We thought that maybe she had some sort of a dog cold or flu. We decided that we would watch her carefully to figure out what was happening. Monday she was kind of the same, but by the late evening she was looking very bad. Yulia decided to take her to the veterinarian in the morning. It's a good thing that we did.
It turns out that she had been bitten by a tick. The ticks here carry babesiosis, a disease that is in some ways similar to Malaria. It turns out that this is quite common in the area. We are used to tick season ending at the end of August, so we had not treated her for September. (Read more about Babesiosis in dogs here). In brief, the disease consists of piroplasms, which:
...infect and replicate in the red blood cells, resulting in both direct and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, where the red blood cells (RBCs) are broken down through hemolysis (destruction) and hemoglobin is released into the body. This release of hemoglobin can lead to jaundice, and to anemia when the body cannot produce enough new red blood cells to replace the ones being destroyed. Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia is likely to be more clinically important than parasite-induced RBC destruction, since the severity of the condition does not depend on the degree of parasitemia. (Source)When the vet saw Yuki he told us that if we had waited one more day to come in, she probably would not have made it. As it was, the next week consisted of many trips to the veterinary clinic across town to get treatment. For the first four days we needed to go twice a day to have a series of drugs pumped into her with an IV. The first day they gave a medicine that kills the parasites, and then the rest of the time they gave here a cocktail of gamma globulin, vitamins, and other nutrients, along with IV fluids. By the end of Tuesday (the 15th, Yuki's eyes and skin were yellow from the hemoglobin, and her liver was beginning to fail.)
Yulia and I took turns taking Yuki to her morning vet appointment (mostly Yulia, but I took her one day). We both took her to the evening appointments, which lasted for a week, after we had put the kids to bed. This meant that we were out until 11:00 or 11:30 for most nights in addition to having our very full days with the kids.
***
We hadn't been too impressed with the veterinary clinic when we took Yuki there in late spring to get her rabies vaccine (required once per year here instead of every three years). The clinic is on the first floor of an apartment building. It is small, smells of dogs, cats, and urine, and has peeling paint, scuffed and peeling linoleum, and a stuffy atmosphere.
Our opinion changed when we saw how hard the vets worked and how they took care of Yuki and the many other dogs (at least 3 or 4 others that we met had the same problem) that were suffering from severe symptoms. The clinic is not much to look at, but they were professional in handling their job. And they all fell in love with Yuki!
 |
| Yuki's last treatment. By this time she was very unwilling to lay still The first few times she had her treatments, she just laid there and took it. |
***
The first two days of the treatment were still very rough - and we were not certain that she was going to make it. When they began giving fluids, she couldn't control her bladder and so we had to buy some diapers to put her in around the house. She showed no interest in anything and simply slept, or laid in her kennel staring. She didn't even look up when I would come home from work - a huge change from the dog that practically jumps out of her skin when she sees me normally - even if I've just been gone for two minutes. It did not look good.
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| Yuki wearing a diaper and some briefs that used to be William's, our friends' 4-year old son. |
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| One very sick dog! |
Yuki began to look better and show a little bit of interest by the third day. She was able to control her bladder and she began to eat a bit of food on her own. By the fourth day she was looking good, if still a bit weak.
After her week of treatment she looked good, and was walking and doing normal things, but still didn't want to play. That has changed now. Not only that, but she seems to have stored up a bunch of naughty energy that she had to get out. She spent the last week in trouble for going through the garbage, climbing on the furniture, and generally being a pain. We're so glad to have her back!
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| The first time she decided to play after being sick, she couldn't decide which ball she liked the most... so she brought both! |
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