What killed our dog we now know for sure...

[scarleta]

Just wanted to share this with you.Originally they suspected A/ Freeze ,but it was Leptospirosis ( they just got the results back)
He was treated for that as well ,because they suspected )Trying to put some closure on this tragedy..

 

[marvel]

What is Leptospirosis? And how did he get it?

 

[Independent Gal]

The Center for Disease Control says it''s a bacterial infection that can affect both animals and humans and that has been on the rise among animals.

Scarleta, you and your friends who were watching the dog should be SUPER vigilant in case you might have caught it, which according to the CDC is quite possible. Something about flu-like symptoms. You should check it out on the CDC website as I gather it can be serious for humans too.

I am so so so sorry to hear about your beautiful dog. My heart goes out to you and your family.

 

[scarleta]

Marvel its bacterial and it comes from wild life like rats, racoons, mouse.He had to leak their urine.His skin must have been a bit broken or in his mouth had a bit of broken skin..
I am learning about it also from google.Lots of info there.We have rats here and mouse and all sorts of wild life...and yes he liked to leak and smell as I m sure all dogs do...well maybe not all but he did...

 

[mela lu]

Oh dear, I'm SO sorry to hear that.

We vaccinate our pooch every year against that. "lepto" as it's called, is a brutal vaccination but as you've experienced first hand, a very brutal illness. ETA: I suspect that its a really common problem here (Toronto), but I'm not sure how common it is in other parts.

I'm am truly sorry for your loss. Toby had such a beautiful face. I can only imagine what you're going through during this senseless tragedy.

 

[AGBF]

scarleta,

I don't know where I was, but I never knew that your dog died. I recently saw some allusion that I didn't understand and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. I think this thread answers my question. (The allusion was in that as you were comforting Harleigh about Maverick, she quoted something back to you or vice versa. I would have to go look. The point is that it implied that you, as well as Harleigh, had had a loss...and I didn't know what pet you had lost and when.)

I am very sorry.

Deborah

 

[bee*]

I''m so sorry to hear that. Definitely keep an eye on yourself and your family for a little while also.

Do you guys in the US vaccinate for lepto as routine? There seems to be many differences between what we vaccinate for and what you guys vaccinate for. We do a 5 in one yearly, which is DHPPi (distemper, hepatitis, parvo, flu) plus lepto. We don''t have to do rabies shots unless our dogs are going abroad and coming back into Ireland, as we''ve been rabies free for decades.

Keeping you in my thoughts and sending lots of hugs and a lick from muppy.

 

[lyra]

I''m glad you finally know for sure Scarleta. I''ve just read up on it all. We don''t live in an area where leptospirosis is common, and apparently you need to vaccinate against what strains are found in your own particular area. Also, the vaccines are not long "lived", meaning if you lived in an area with a high concentration of lepto, you would possibly have to vaccinate twice a year, as the vaccine begins wearing out after 4 months, and is almost ineffective after 9 months. You couldn''t have known about this if your regular vet never mentioned it. Standing stagnant water, muddy areas, humid climates are all areas of risk, besides areas frequented by rodent type wildlife. Thanks for letting us know, so that we can all be mindful of this danger.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 11/30/2007 4:27:41 PM
Author: bee*

Do you guys in the US vaccinate for lepto as routine?

I would have said, "yes", but I''m not sure. Only a rabies vaccination is mandated by law in most localities. Veterinarians recommend other vaccinations as routine, but it is probably not illegal to refuse to immunize your pet(s). I am fairly sure that Biscuit is immunized against leptospirosis. I am not. Nor am I immunized against rabies! I''m the one who should be careful around wildlife in this household...I and the other humans. We, also, have "wild" animals around. Deer cannot get into the backyard, although they graze in the front and side yards, but we have a fox who runs through. Bunnies in the front. We have some wetland to the side, too. There have to be rats, mice, raccoons, skunks, etcetera.


Deborah

 

[AGBF]

Date: 11/30/2007 4:34:06 PM
Author: lyra
Thanks for letting us know, so that we can all be mindful of this danger.

I think that leptospirosis is the disease that the vet had warnings about this year here in Virginia. I know that Biscuit had new vaccinations (I think it was a "series" of two?) for something this year. When the vet puts out an advisory, I jump on it. I was furious that I almost lost my Golden, Brit, to Parvovirus when she was a puppy because the vet didn't mention that there was a "new" virus going around. He said not everyone wanted to vaccinate against it. But I would have! Instead I had to see my puppy almost die! She was literally sick as any little dog could be without dying! They didn't know if she would make it. And she was just a tiny little fat ball of blonde fur, suffering!

I am sure this is what happened to you, scarleta: a vet not warning you to vaccinate. I am so sorry.

Deb

 

[FireGoddess]

I know nothing will bring back your precious pup, nor make you feel better, but I''m honestly relieved that it wasn''t antifreeze. A person could go nuts with guilt about that. I''m sorry for your loss, and I hope you can get some closure, if not comfort just yet.

 

[scarleta]

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone for now.I must recuperate for a while , so if I m not back here you know why..
I will be back to thank each and everyone of you , but now I must go and just be with myself with all of it..
I welcome your comments , please have them coming as I will read them all..Thanks so very much for being here with us for the last week..We had no one to turn to as we were away so this board (or its members )helped us tremendously...
We can''t thank you enough..

 

[Skippy123]

Scarleta,
I hope the answer brings peace to you. I was thinking about you while watching my nephew and hoping your questions got answered (by the vet) and now reading it looks like they did. Your dog Toby was beautiful and should stay beautiful in your heart. Thinking about you and wishing you strength.

 

[poshpepper]

Im so sorry about your precious doggie

I am thankful that you found out the "how". The only difficult thing to understand is the "why". I hope that this confirmation of cause will help you healing process.
(((hugs)))

 

[asscherisme]

I am so sorry about your dog. I hope having the answer can give you some peace.

 

[sumbride]

I''m so sorry about this Scarleta but I''m glad you have an answer finally. Lepto has been a big problem here in Baltimore lately. We''re a port city and thus have a tremendous rat problem and rat urine is a transmitter of the disease... and dogs tend to like stuff like that. There''s been a big push for vaccinations around here.

Everyone should check with their vet about local outbreaks like this because you can''t do anything about it if you don''t know about it. My vet has an email list to keep in touch on issues like this. Ask your vet if they can get one.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

I am so sorry, too, but I am thankful you found out what it was. There was no way that you could have prevented it. I have never even heard of that illness, though. It is very scary.

 

[Phoenix]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I am sure it must still be in very painful for you but at least you can now have some closure.

Take good care of yourself and your family.

 

[firebirdgold]

OMG! I''ve never even heard of it before! I don''t think monster dog is vaccinated for it!

I''m a certified ''anxious pet mom'' (it''s on his chart), so they certainly know I''d spring for any kind of vaccination.

I hope knowing what was the cause will bring you at least a little peace. I am so sorry for your loss.

 

[Lorelei]

I am so sorry Scarleta, leptospirosis is a terrible thing and also sometimes very difficult to protect our pets from. I hope this knowledge brings you some closure.

 

[Sabine]

Oh Scarletta, I''m so sorry to hear about this, although I am grateful if finding out the cause does help bring you closure to this terrible event. My thoughts are still with you.

 

[scarleta]

Please allow me to post one reply to everyone...

I just wanted to thank each one of you for your kind replies..
I received a follow up call from the other vet ( he was in 2 hospitals ) just after I posted that we were sure what killed Toby.
Both hospitals said it was a complicated case from the start ( lepto is treatable with antibiotics and Toby did not respond to treatment( so they are still working on answers.They said it would be a medical tragedy if he had both Lepto and A./freeze..They are not ruling out as yet ,that he in fact had both..They are in consultation with other veterinary specialists and will call us when they know more..They are still puzzled on this..
Independent Gal is right it can spread to people we will have a lepto test done..

Forgive me for not mentioning everyone by name here ( I know your names) This computer stuff takes me time and sometimes I mess it up and have to re-do everything ,so doing it my way I know it will post properly..

 

[AGBF]

Date: 12/2/2007 1:47:32 PM
Author: scarleta
Please allow me to post one reply to everyone...


I just wanted to thank each one of you for your kind replies..

...

Forgive me for not mentioning everyone by name here ( I know your names) This computer stuff takes me time and sometimes I mess it up and have to re-do everything ,so doing it my way I know it will post properly..

scarleta,

No one who ever posted to you or to anyone else who lost a pet ever expected to be spoken to back in return. We have all suffered the same pain and we all want to reach out to others who are in that special hell reserved for those who lose pets. It is many times worse to lose a pet if there is any way on earth that you can turn or twist the facts in order to make yourself think that somehow you could have done something better to protect your pet. In your case, there was nothing you could do. Everyone here wants you to know that even that is a blessing.

When my Golden died at the vet''s and I did not have to decide whether to euthanize her he said, "She always made it easy on everyone". If I had had to euthanize her, I know I would always have wondered if I had done the right thing or if there was one more thing I could have done to save her. In your case, you had no choice. Nothing was your fault.

You are in pain, but you should at least have no guilt. I hope you continue to heal with every day.

Deborah

 

[scarleta]

Deborah: your message left us speechless..Thank you

 

[Skippy123]

How are you feeling? I have been thinking about you! I hope you and hubby can lean on each other and heal.

 

[AmberGretchen]

You poor thing - I can tell how hard this has been on you. I was really touched by your post on Harleigh''s thread - being able to reach out and give compassion to another person who is suffering when you yourself are in so much pain is really an indicator of such a generous spirit.

I''ll continue to send good thoughts to your and your family in this difficult time. I also wanted to make sure I posted this here as well as in the other thread. The shelter I volunteer at has a page with all kinds of resources for people who are grieving the loss of a pet. I don''t know if it will be helpful to you, but here is the link and I hope that something on the page may be helpful to you in your time of grieving.

 

[scarleta]

Deborah: thanks for your kind words once more.You are right we can''t blame ourselves for anything, as I know we were exceptional dog owners from the moment he came to us.He was always first in any decision making.When he came to us he changed our lives and when he left he changed our lives again...I am sure you know from your own experience with your Golden.My belated condolences to you.As for euthanasia we have no regret ,as we discussed all options on our way to see him.That was our very last option of course and when I asked the vet if we could just disconnect everything and let him go she said it would be so very hard and painful on him ( she was right because the last moments before that he was really suffering so we just helped him)..Thanks again..

Skippy:Warm thanks for keeping us in your thoughts..Its so very hard one day I feel better and then it comes again.We miss him terribly and everything belonging to him is still exactly where it was and we feel his presence..Time will not heal us , but hopefully will teach us how to live with it..Its transforming our lives in many ways..Thanks Skip.

Amber Gretchen..Your quote follows:

You poor thing - I can tell how hard this has been on you. I was really touched by your post on Harleigh''s thread - being able to reach out and give compassion to another person who is suffering when you yourself are in so much pain is really an indicator of such a generous spirit.


The indicator of such a generous spirit is really YOU Amber and not me.You are volunteering at the shelter and I never have done it.Only after Toby''s passing did I think about it and yes I am going to start next week.So be very proud of yourself ,because its you who has a "GREAT HEART"
Thanks again and many thanks for the link ( great idea )So don''t forget to be very proud of yourself for helping out..

 

[Jypsie]

Scarleta, I''m glad that you are able to put some closure to this awfully sad experience. I''m so sorry for your loss and that you had to experience this. *hugs*

I volunteer with a dog rescue, as I''ve stated in previous posts. In my area (San Francisco bay area) Leptospirosis WAS rather rare. However, this summer and early fall, our vet has seen a few cases of it. It''s very difficult to diagnos quickly, because the test for it takes quite a bit of time. This is one of the unfortunate parts of the illness, from what I understand - the individual contaminated with the illness does not have the time to wait for treatment.

Be very, very careful if you have pets that drink, or have access to water that is left outside for any period of time, even if it''s pool water - this is the easiest and most common way to transfer the bacteria from one animal to another.

My vet tries to keep me well informed on any cootie issues in our area because of our little munchkin - we keep him as organic as possible to help keep his seizures controlled - so we don''t over vaccinate, treat for fleas, or heartworms, because all of these things have triggered very serious cluster seizures in him in the past.