SAM’S COR An Autumn Pet Allergy A
Summer Beats Lyme BITTEN BUT BRAVE
For humans, September means back-to-school time and the beginning of fall, but it could mean super-itchy skin for your pets!
If you didn’t know, fall allergies can drive your dogs or cats crazy. If you see us scratching our ears, licking or chewing our feet, or scratching our sides, there’s a good chance we’re allergic to something outside or in the house. If we scratch too much, we could get a secondary bacterial or yeast infection on our skin, making us feel even worse. Since our attempts to make our skin feel better can sometimes hurt us a lot , the vet may make us wear a cone to prevent us from scratching or biting ourselves. That’s never fun! So, what triggers our allergies this time of year? Well, it’s the same stuff that triggers the same reaction in humans — pollen, mold spores, dust mites, and other similar allergens. Fleas are a big problem for dogs and cats, as those little pains in the tail spend all summer long reproducing and getting ready to get on us as soon as possible!
Summer is a very sweet miniature Bernedoodle, just over a year old. She first saw us during an emergency visit for sudden onset lethargy. Her owners noted that she still wanted to be with her family but acted as if she were in pain when touched.
We noticed that she was very dull and depressed for such a young dog. When standing, she had a hunched back, displayed signs of pain when her knees were extended, and limped on her left front leg. She also had a mild fever of 103.5 degrees — a normal dog temperature runs between 99 and 102.5 degrees. Based on Summer’s fever and sudden onset pain in multiple joints, we suspected Lyme disease — a bacterial infection spread to dogs and humans through deer tick bites — as the cause.
Due to her fever and severe lethargy, Summer was admitted for hospitalization. Intravenous fluids were started to help bring down her fever. An anti-inflammatory
If our allergies get bad enough, we could start losing our hair or develop rashes on our skin. Thankfully,
and additional pain-relief medications were also started for her joint pain. Her bloodwork showed a mild increase in white blood cells, but her organ functions were normal. Her urinalysis was also unremarkable. A heartworm-tick test confirmed our initial concerns when it returned positive for Lyme disease. An oral antibiotic called
doxycycline was started with a small breakfast that Summer gladly ate.
By noon the same day, Summer was already walking less gingerly, and her fever had broken due to her medications and IV fluids. With her rapid improvement and a diagnosis of Lyme disease, she was sent home later that evening. A complete 28-day course of doxycycline was continued in addition to a two-week course of rimadyl as an anti- inflammatory for joint pain.
When we called to check in on her the next morning, her owners were happy to report that she was back to acting like her usual self and they had no trouble giving her the medications. At her recheck appointment two weeks later, she had returned to her normal, energetic self. To protect her from future infections, we started the two-part Lyme vaccination series, and her owners also started her on bravecto , a flea and tick preventive that lasts for 12 weeks. It was great to see her improve so quickly! —Dr. Steven McGinty
Contact us! 319-743-0554
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator