Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I haven't been on the boards for awhile, and I haven't posted on the 'dog blog'. But I wanted you all to know I've been thinking of you all.
Caya's care has been keeping our hands full, she is still battling renal failure, but you wouldn't know it at first glance. She's been a happy, rompy dog. She just is very, very, very fussy with her eating. She always has been, we just didn't realize what an influence Tika was on her eating habits.
Her BUN and creatinine are still high, not way out there, but high enough to realize there's a problem going on.
I tell you what folks, this Leptospirosis is a bee-otch. Of course, being us, we've got several specialists fighting with each other over care and what they think is right. The truth is, there's no real answers out there, just theories.
So, our latest favorite is the specialist from KSU Dr. Ken Harkin. He's working on a more definitive accurate test for lepto. He's also studying it aggressively, he made note that it seems like German Shepherd are more susceptible to the disease and slower to recover.
What is up with German Shepherds? Especially MINE! Maybe its the fact they can't keep those long inquisitive noses to themselves!
So, we've been thinking (or should I say, my husband volunteered me) of starting a website like this about Lepto. We are trying to think of a catchy name.
LeptoDawgs.com
Leptomaniacs.com
ARFdogs.com (acute renal failure)
Through email our official 'member' count is two people, two vets.
I guess leptospirosis is on the rise in the canine community and they are even having reports of it in NYC proper (damn rats).
Tika is missed everyday, Caya misses her, she hit a point where she realized: no more Tika. The vet's office says she even looks for Tika in the kennels when she's there for her daily fluids.
The humans here realized just what a queen Tika was of the household. She was our rock even since she was a puppy. So, I think even we've been a bit lost. I've been questioning my sanity for sure lately because I've caught myself 'hearing' her and then talking to her (mind you, wine has not been involved either!)
Last year this time, Tika was just healing from her surgery. I never would have guessed that a year later I would be worrying about her sister's survival from another deadly disease.
Could we not do this crap around the holidays please?
Best holiday wishes to you all! Enjoy your fur babies, keep them out of trouble!
Hugs, Kim, Tim, Caya and that noisy Spirit Tika
Kim and Spirit Tika http://www.tika.....ogspot.com
Thanks for checking in. We've been thinking of you guys and Caya too. I think the Lepto website is a great idea. Dolittler just today wrote about the importance of breed and disease specific information sources online. ARFdogs is cute, and and I like leptomaniacs, or leptomania.com.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Kim
I always love your posts. I am still looking forward to sharing a few bottles of wine someday, or maybe whiskey.
In September, I too considered starting a website. For OSA dogs with SQ mets. Haha. 
Can you get useful information on Lepto from the K9 Kidney group on Yahoo? That has been my only other 'chat group' experience, 7 & 1/2 yrs ago. But they were terrific and had great suggestions that I could never have obtained through the standard vet channels! Thankfully, we did get those darn CREA values down and they stayed down so I eventually weaned myself from the site (Well, we did send them back up with a Carboplatin treatment this fall). Tazzie's CREA was just perfect at the end, for what that is worth. Not a whole lot, is it 
Happy Holidays to you too! I hope you find a sunny warm place to chill after all your trials with the animal kingdom this year!
Susan
Hoppy Howlidayz Kim, Caya and Tim. You're not crazy for talking to Tika, she's still there, and always will be.
That's really scary about Lepto and Sheppies. My Mom is so leery of any vaccines for Wyatt, and the lepto one was one that she was going to forgo. But now, after Caya's scare, she's rethinking that decision.
Give Caya a big hug from us. She's a Sheppie, she'll beat this thing.
xoxo
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Good to hear from you, Kim! Do you think that the vaccine is something that shepherd mixes should get? Jack's brother, Stephen Colbert (who lives in MI with his daddy while I'm in WA) is 1/2 GS and 1/2 Sheltie (strange, I know, but adorable). Do you think leptosomethingorother would be as prevelant in a mix? I don't know anything about it, so I thought I'd tap into your research findings to find out if I need to tell Aaron to get that baby to the vet pronto!. Thank you, and I hope you guys have a good holiday week 🙂
<3 Laura and Jackers
I'm so glad you posted an update about Caya... I was wondering how she was doing these days...
Working as a vet tech for many years... I did not see lepto affect one breed more than another. In fact (as you probably already know) it's spread from coming in contact with urine from infected animals (mostly wildlife like squirrels, raccoons, possoms, rats, mice, etc...), eating infected tissues, and contaminated water sources. Unfortunately, lepto vaccinations have a higher incidence of causing a reaction... so many people just opt not to get them... That's why we'd usually recommend getting the lepto vaccine for all our clients whose dogs are at higher risk, although it doesn't cover every single strain of lepto... but at least they'd have some protection. Dogs that like to chase squirrels and bunnies (and usually catch them) there's also a greater chance of getting lepto. Such a nasty disease...
I really hope that Caya starts feeling better soon... You've had more than enough to deal with this past year!!!
Angel Jake's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
I should clarify. ALL doggies can get leptospirosis. Our one doctor's experience is that he's having more cases that are shepherds, and the shepherds are having a hell of a time getting rid of it.
His personal dog got leptopirosis and I think it was a chihuahua mix. I guess hunting dogs get it a lot also due to the nature of where they are at.
Tazzie-Thanks for the K9 Kidney group, I'll check there.
Of course, we are looking at alternative therapies, there's special diets, but girlie is not very food oriented. Oh, we need Tika bad for that part. There's a therapy out there that folks are now using for arthritis and joint issues and it uses the dogs own stem cells (harvested from adipose fat and not bone marrow) to help the body heal. They are starting a study on using stem cells to regenerate damaged kidneys, however, that's way down the line if we find out her kidneys are toast. There's also doggie dialysis, the 'my sister's keeper' approach where you adopt a donor dog (I don't think I could do that).
If though Caya's pancreas is shot and her kidney's are iffy, little mini-shepherd can still schutzhund my butt to the ground and try to drag me out of the room.
So, now my 'vet' vocabulary has increased to include all things renal! Whoopee! Not things I really want to know.
So....who knows California Tripawds, we might be out your way one of these days visiting UC-Davis!
Kim and Spirit Tika http://www.tika.....ogspot.com
Good one Tika – make all the sheppies and distant sheppie crosses think they are coming down with Lepto! You NEVER have to worry about being forgotten Tika. No Way.
http://www.lept.....rother.org
That's a good one, isn't it?!?
We were on K9 Kidney when Tazzie had ARF. Most dogs there, at least the long-termers, have CRF. But it was great at the time. We did get those kidney values down, contrary to what I was told was possible.
(p.s. ha, it is treating that line as a genuine link and I can't do anything to stop it!)
Thank you very much for check-in and for the update on Caya. We have been thinking of you often and your family is a constant in our prayers. However, you should know that the long inquisitive noses you mentioned is not limited to Shepherds – they share that with Poodles like Cherry. Her mom (my wife Emily) often says that "there by the grace of God this dog as survived this long" because she is into absolutely everything. I have never known a dog that can get into more things quicker than Cherry. The wheels are always turning, looking for mischief, and waiting her opportunity. It is not destructive but truly inquisitiveness – "What is in this box?", "What did mom put into her purse since my last inventory?", or "Dad moved those tools in the garage." Now having complained sufficiently, I will honestly say that this trait was one that I was so very glad to see return when times were bad, and it is one of my main measures of how much she is enjoying her life.
Please keep us posted on Caya and on how you are doing with your healing.
Bob & Cherry
It is true that Lepto is on the rise throughout the country. One reason is that there are new serovars or subspecies of the bacteria now, so the older vaccines don't cover those. The other reason is that the older vaccines were bacterins and so were more likely to cause an allergic or anaphylactic reaction so lots of people stopped vaccinating for Lepto.
The newer vaccines (those made by Pfizer and Fort Dodge) not only contain the newer serovars but are also genetic subunit vaccines which makes them much less reactive. At our clinic we vaccinate all dogs with the new Lepto (even tiny breeds) and have seen no problems at all. Once dogs are adults I often stretch the Parvo or Distemper vaccines out to every 3 years or I discontinue them in older animals but if a dog is at risk of Lepto they should be vaccinated annually. Lepto can be given by itself or in a combo vaccine so it is easy to adjust the vaccine schedule to meet the needs of individual dogs.
Lepto is spread in the urine of wild animals including deer, raccoons, rats, and coyotes. Most outbreaks occur in summer or early fall, most likely because the weather is warmer, there are more puddles of standing water or swampy lakes, and dogs are out and about more. As much as my dogs love the water I keep them out of shallow lakes in the summer. We are lucky to have access to ocean water which is much safer (too salty for the bacteria to grow?).
I think that vaccination is smart for any dog that likes the water or lives in an endemic area of the country. Ask your vet if you are not sure. I guess I have been lucky because the majority of the dogs that I have treated for Lepto have recovered uneventfully. Maybe Shepherds have a harder time fighting it off than other breeds because of an immune-system issue? They are more prone to autoimmune diseases like Lupus and Pemphigus so maybe there is a link there. I hope that the researchers can figure it out!
Anyway, I am so glad that Caya is doing better.
Pam
Just thought I'd pass along this cute holiday greeting we just received from Erich at 2Dogs2000miles.org.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I am glad to hear Caya is doing better. Especially as Christmas gets closer I have all of us that have lost our babies on my mind and in my heart. You have struggled enough with Tika. You deserve a break from all the medical information and struggles this last year has brought you.
Debra & Angel Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
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