Zoe is Sick Again

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I haven't posted about it in a while but she's been sick on and off. This time, it seems really bad.

Sad

She was acting lathargic on Sunday, and I thought maybe she's just tired. So I let it go. Monday morning, still doing it so we made an appointment with the vet. By Monday night, she wouldn't even get up. She had a fever. When I tried to pick her up to get her moving, she snipped at me and yelped. We got her in and point blank told the vet we were sick and tired of the run around and they'd either better find out what was wrong or refer us to someone who could help. We'd just had her in there 9 days ago. They gave her a shot of antibiotics to get the fever gone and doc told us that he needed to do a little research to try and map out what was going on. We said sure. Fine. Do what you have to do, just FIND SOMETHING.

Well, this morning she is worse. I tried to get her out of her crate to take her out to pee (10 hours since she last went!) and she wouldn't get up. I tried to jack her up to get her moving and she yelped and bit me. Not enough to break skin but I have tooth bruises. I helped her downstairs (not easy) and got her outside. When I tried to get her off the patio, she turned and bit me again, this time taking a little chunk of skin and leaving a tooth bruise on my other hand.

She is obviously in a lot of pain and it is somewhere underneath her. I suspect her front more than her back but who knows.

I don't know what to do.

I've made an appointment with a new vet (recommended by my boss) today at 11 but I am worried that 1) I won't be able to get her in the car without seriously injuring myself or her 2) they will want to repeat everything she's already had done and 3) they won't have the slightest clue either and will want to keep her overnight. This vet is 40 mintues away.

I am just sick this morning. It's 9am and already I've cried and been bitten twice.

My poor dog....

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Oh no...!

Unfortunately I have no advice, but that does sound really tough. Hope the new vet is able to figure things out and cure her quick...

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Our male cat just went through what you seem to be describing. It turned out to be a blockage in his bladder. By the time we got to a vet who figured it out (having been to one who totally misdiagnosed the situation and told us it was an inoperable tumor) his bladder was swollen to the size of a grapefruit! Long story short, $900 and an overnight stay at the vet later, he's fine.

I don't know much about dog and cat anatomy and their similarities/differences but maybe that's what you're looking at.

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Bella
Bella, is their a Vet hospital near you? If so, you might want to take Zoe there. They may have more expertise than a regular vet.

BBB

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waiting to hear the outcome....

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Bella--

You and Zoe are in my thoughts. I'm waiting for news.

Hold your dominion.

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Hoping Zoe is ok..

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Well, back home and $300 later....

We had xrays done and an ultra sound done and the good news is that there was nothing to be concerned about.

The bad new is that we still don't know. They put her on pain meds so hopefully she can be more comfortable until the tick panel comes back. The tick panel being a comprehensive blood test for all the lovely diseases that ticks carry. It's a long shot but it's a shot.

This new vet seems more open to possibilities that our other vet didn't or wouldn't visit.

Zoe is just laying down in her doggie couch. And I am hoping that the pain meds they gave her kick in. Crying or Very sad

She is getting a fantastic diet of chicken and rice. Eating better than me, I swear. Laughing

Thanks for your kind words.

I just keep thinking, this must be something bad.

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Well, good. Glad about the new vet..

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Bella--

I wish the new vet had had a firm diagnosis, but at least he seems interested in getting a firm diagnosis.

Tell Zoe she's a big, brave girl.

Hold your dominion.

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Poor puppy! Good luck, I'll be keeping you both in my thoughts.

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A lot of things on this thread don't make a whole bunch of sense to me. I would have been horribly shocked if a bladder blockage had been present, due to the simple fact that Zoe is female. Other than that, most things are possible. The "tick panel" is strange nomenclature, because not all tick-borne diseases are detectable in blood, and some are not exclusively borne by ticks. Also, the time of year is pretty strange for such assumptions, unless you live in the deep South. I'll try to stay tuned.

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Thanks for tuning in, cowdoc...

not to nab you, but for us to hear vet sense.

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Hope Zoe's feeling better real soon, Bella.

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Not much improvement this morning.

While trying to get her going this morning, she snapped at me. She could have really hurt me this time. Luckily, she didn't get me at all.

I am really upset about this. I don't know what's wrong with my dog. Why a dog who wouldn't hurt a fly is in so much pain that she instinctually tries to bite her owner.

I offered her water and food again this morning but she didn't want either. I tried rice (because that's what the vet says to do when she won't take her normal food) and she didn't take that either. She's lost 2 lbs in the last week and a half.

cowdoc,
these things have been going on for about 5 and a half months now, so it's completely possible that the tick could have gotten her since six months ago it was May here. The vet said that she didn't think it was a tick disease but that she'd rather rule out something stupid instead of going through even more expensive tests to find out it was something like a tick.

I am exhausted. This is really really stressful. I have a new found respect for people who's animals were seriously ill for a long time. This is a tough, tough job.

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Bella, 5 months is a long time for this kind of discomfort. Isn't she less than a year old? Can you make a list of her symptoms? I have a good library of vet books and I might still have access to a couple of on-line vet sites. I'm not a vet, but I've worked on farms where we often tried to diagnose animal problems in order to give first aid. The fact that she is not taking water is both a symptom and a problem. If you touch her in certain areas is she more likely to show aggression due to pain. Can she walk OK once she is up? Has your vet done xrays or scans? I don't have Cowdoc's experience, but I agree that this does not seem to be a tick illness. I've had animals with various tick diseases and these symptoms don't really match. I once had a large dog with a pancreas problem and this kind of sound likes it. He would yelp and try and to bite if you touched his lower belly area.

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The pain and the fever come and go. It isn't continuous pain. It just happens. One day she is fine. Next day she is like this. Usually it lasts 1-2 days. This is the longest she has ever been sick. Right now we are on day 4. She is almost 11 months.

Pancreas tests were normal (about 1-2 months ago). Xrays showed nothing. Ultrasound showed nothing.

She can walk when she gets up but she doesn't want to get up. She can navigate stairs but is wobbly going down.

Symptoms:
-pain when I push on her back right above her tail
-reluctance to get up and move around; even to use bathroom
-won't take regular food at all
-won't take water on her own
-lathargic
-acts confused sometimes (like when we were outside this morning and last night, she was walking up and down the sidewalk, pacing, back and forth, back and forth like she didn't know what she was doing or where she was going)
-fever (which is now gone) at 103 to 104

No pain in her belly. Seems to be located under her front legs and on her hips (on back by her tail).

ANY suggestions would be helpful. Her cbc comes back clean every time. WBC count is normal. But why if she doesn't have an infection, does she have a fever?

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The fever thing is weird, it indicates some form of infection and that should be easy to verify.

Did you get her from a breeder? Sometimes a litter mate will have the same problems. A good breeder should try and be helpful.

I have a couple of doggie health books the size of coffee tables, I'll take a look today and see if I can find anything.

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Unfortuantly, the "breeder" sucked.

When we went to get her, it was a whole different scenario. First time buyer mistake of not going to see the pups beforehand.
However, once there, we couldn't leave her there. It would have been a death sentence.

Thanks Green Witch.

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Zoe is Sick Again

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