I have a sweet Pharoah Hound/Australian Cattle Dog mix named 'Crimson Tide'. We call him Tide for short and he will be 3 on July 4th this year. I adopted him from a rescue place when he was 8 weeks old and soon found that he is a wonderful dog that is so smart and loving. He is my baby and I just love him to pieces. He means so much to me!

Well, Tide was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Failure (CRF) last May and it was really hard for me. The vet told us that he had 4 - 6 months to live. Anyhow, Tide went from 42 pounds down to only 27 in less than 2 months and it only got worse. He was so lethargic, not even getting up from the bed in the morning. I started him on a kidney-friendly RAW diet with supplements, as well as Reglan pills twice daily for his nausea. He also got subQ fluids at home every night.

Then Tide got an ear infection and I took him to the vet in tears thinking what else could go wrong. I asked to see my regular vet, but since he wasn't in I made the appointment with one of the other vets at the clinic. I love both of these vets and feel confident with either one. Well, we got the ear handled, but then the new vet asked to do a recheck bloodwork, since it had been two weeks and Tide was so skinny. When she got the numbers back from the lab, they were a little better than before, but not much different. However, she did notice that his electrolytes were fairly high. So we took Tide in the next day for an ACTH test per the vet's instruction.

I guess that it always helps to have an extra pair of eyes. Suffice it to say, Tide ended up having Addison's Disease! This midiagnosis to real diagnosis was truly a miracle. Addison's dogs can live long and normal lives with regular medication and that is exactly what we plan to do. Tide goes in for a DOCP shot every 26 days and takes Prednisone as needed for stressful situations that his body can't handle.

So today Tide is a healthy 45# crazy dog who drives me nuts with his wild antics. I have spent over $3000 in the past year on his misdiagnosis, diagnosis, bloodwork and meds, but he is worth every penny. The only special need that I think he has is the need for constant LOVE and thats one thing I can handle for sure!!

Check out my Tide: http://tidebook.homestead.com/home

Or for more information on Addisons in pups check out this site: http://tidebook.homestead.com/CRF.html

-Sarah