Posted on 05/30/2016 7:18:12 AM PDT by dennisw
Dr. Stone was eventually able to determine that Ollies sickness was caused by a very rare condition called tick paralysis...........
A 10-year-old dog named Ollie is alive today thanks to a Portland, Oregon-based DoveLewis Animal Hospital intern who found a tick hidden in his ear, moments before the veterinarian was to euthanise the sick dog.
Ollies owners, Al and Joelle, decided to put the dog to sleep after noticing his rapidly failing health after returning home from a trip to the Umpqua River, according to a statement from DoveLewis Animal Hospital.
We were at a complete loss, said Al, the dogs owner. What do you do in that situation? He is part of our family, and weve always tried to provide the best care we can for him.
DoveLewis veterinarians had run a battery of tests on Ollie and were left with no answers as to what may have been causing his rapid decline.
Nearly a week after theyd returned from a camping trip, Al and Joelle said that Ollie was unable to eat and was almost completely paralyzed.
The dog was brought in to be put down.
DoveLewis intern Neena Golden was caressing Ollie, while Dr. Adam Stone was preparing for euthanization. It was then that she discovered the tick behind Ollies ear. The dogs tick collar didnt stop the bug from burying itself underneath Ollies fur, where it hid for days.
The tick was very bloated, and there was lots of fecal material from the tick. It had obviously been there for a while, Dr. Stone said.
I had never seen a tick paralysis case, Dr. Stone said. Its one of those things you learn about randomly in school its on one slide during one presentation.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
*Every* exam should include a very affordable SNAP 4DX Plus test.
It’s a life saver.
https://www.idexx.com/small-animal-health/products-and-services/snap-4dx-plus-test.html
Request your vet start stocking these.
Worth noting that, though rare in all instances, this paralysis is carried by more than wood and rocky mountain wood ticks, even deer flies, and has been known to occur in humans
**They took the dog to the vet for a range of tests, but veterinarians couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him.**
I wonder if the tests were done by the same DoveLewis Animal Hospital that found the tick infection.
Do standard *tick tests* used by vets, vary in results?
Thank you darling for all the useful info.
I was most interested in the *Labrador exercise intolerance* you mentioned ...I believe our 5 y/o Lab has experienced this. I searched (EIC) and found more info.
Stuff that is good for a layperson to know. ;)
Very familiar with this, as we life in Tickville, USA. Beau spent a few thousand dollars saving one of his best hunting dogs from the disease. I lost my Lady Lab, Miss Lucy, to Lyme’s disease, too, last year.
Horrible, nasty stuff - with no end in sight, and we do everything RIGHT - shots, tick collars, nearly daily tick checks, pre-emptive antibiotics, etc.
It’s awful.
In Labrador Retrievers, it effects the kidneys, so if you have a Lab, look for signs of excessive urination and excessive thirst.
Unfortunately, it may be too late by then, but still...maybe you’ll have a Miracle Worker Vet on your side? ;)
We had the exact some thing happen to Spook the black lab 30 years ago. We had a old old logger living on our mountain property as a caretaker and when Spook went down he started looking and found the tick on the belly near a hind leg. I called a vet 20 miles away on a radio phone and he agreed to meet me at his office on a Sunday, he removed the tick and gave us some meds to treat him. The dog lived another 6 years.
“Best damn dog I ever had”
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