I just read about Bella, as we just found this site yesterday. I hope Bella is doing fine. Thank God that vaccines are available now for this disease.
Tom & I took our 2 dals everywhere and enjoyed many trips together ( the whole family of 4). In the fall of 1986 we camped a total of 2 weeks in Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Dandy was a large stocky, rather shy, but totally sweet dalmatian and at 11 years old had some arthritis problems, but still loved to play with his older "brother" Smokey. They both just needed to rest a lot.
His symptoms seemed to get worse in the next couple months, normal one day and hurting the next. One January Sunday, he was miserable. I was planning to take him to the vet the next day. That night I cuddled around him and slept on the floor. Morning came and Dandy seemed as good as new. One week later, he was struck down again. We took him to the vet. Ex-rays revealed a possible spinal cord injury near his tail, and he was given steroids. He now had collitis symptoms. The vets kept him for several days, but he was not improving. We brought him home with medication. We hoped the surroundings would help him recover. His hind quarters would not support him. We held him up sith a towel to go outside. His appetite was not there, although he tried to eat, I think, to please us. The next night, we felt he was in too much pain. We called the vet, who met us at the hospital. By the time Tom carried him into the office, Dandy seemed to be comatose. The vet gently injected the serum that put Dandy at peace, at age 11. This was on 1/20/87.
The 5/22/89, issue of "Newsweek" had a cover story about Lyme Disease. After 2 years of wondering what happened to Dandy, I finally knew.
Dandy had all the classic symptoms of Lyme Disease. I had never before heard of it, and doubt that the vets in Illinois thought about it either. I'm sure he got it on our Wisconsin trip. I remember brushing off small black bugs. I thought they were tiny spiders. I also know that one of his "elbow" joints swelled up, at some time during his illness. But, it went away.
Smokey lived another 2 years and died peacefully at age 14, with no signs of Lyme Disease.
We definately use Frontline for Buddy, our 7 year old dalmatian. From,
One Pam to another.