Another sad update on Bailey the Labrador

**Medusa** · 03-31-2007, 03:35 PM

I just spoke to my friend and he said that even the vet that I recommended to him said that if Bailey doesn't improve by Monday, he has a difficult decision to make. He crawled inside the cage w/her and talked to her and told her he loves her but she's so out of it that she didn't respond. I don't like to give up and I surely don't like to sell any animal short. But this has gone on for two weeks w/out let up. Bailey's quality of life is very poor. Pray that she responds to treatment but every vet that has looked at her is baffled. And Bailey just keeps getting sicker and sicker.

**Catty1** · 03-31-2007, 07:59 PM

Bailey hasn't eaten any of the recalled food, has she?

I thought they found Lyme disease, but I don't know how treatable that is.

I found this info...I hope they got Bailey started early enough...

Treatment:

Doxycycline and ammoxicillin will cure Lyme disease if administered early to dogs and given long enough. Treatment should last a minimum of a month. Aspirin or one of the newer non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be used to control the pain. Humans are treated with the same drugs. If the organism has caused cardiac or neurological disease, ceftriaxone may be administered intravenously. Some patients develop life-long joint pain due to damage already inflicted. Other damage can also be non-reversible.

Outcome Or Prognosis:
When the diagnosis is correct dogs should begin improving within two weeks of starting antibiotic therapy. Relapses are common when the antibiotic is stopped too soon.

**jennielynn1970** · 03-31-2007, 10:29 PM

I'm not sure what Ohio has in the area of Veterinary teaching hospitals, like here in the Philadelphia area we have University of Penn Veterinary Hospital. It's one of the best centers for animals that are really sick and other vets are stuck. Is there anything in your area like that??

Poor Bailey... she must be so scared because of the seizures. I wonder if they can do neuro surgery on her. We had a kid at school that had seizures so severely that they did a hemispherectomy, where they removed the one half of his brain. Not kidding. If they wouldn't have done it, he would have died.

I hope something comes through for Bailey. I'll be thinking and praying for her.

**Reachoutrescue** · 03-31-2007, 10:30 PM

I hope Bailey responds to treatment and gets well. Our prayers go your way sweet Bailey.

**jennielynn1970** · 03-31-2007, 10:45 PM

Are they sure it's Lyme's disease??? It says that neurological disorders from Lyme's are rare.

Maybe the vets haven't looked closely enough at her, and just assume it's Lymes.

This is from a canine epilepsy site, about seizures, saying that they are not all epilepsy related, but have other major causes...

Here's the link as well...
http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Why.html

A dog may seizure for any number of reasons. Just because a dog has a seizure does not mean that the dog has epilepsy. Just because I have a running nose does not mean that I have a cold. I could have a reaction to someone's perfume, I could have a sinus infection, I could have allergies, I could have ... . There are many tests to determine what exactly I have that is causing my running nose. However, there is no test in the medical industry for the existence of epilepsy (primary, inherited or idiopathic). To determine whether a dog has epilepsy or something else, a veterinarian or neurologist arrives at their diagnosis by a process of elimination. They determine what is not and then, hopefully, come to a logical conclusion as to what it is. The following is a list of conditions which can cause seizures in dogs. Each condition is discussed in the following sections:

* 1. Brain tumor, Head injury
* 2. Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
* 3. Distemper
* 4. Environment - toxins
* 5. Epilepsy
* 6. hyper' and 'hypo' Conditions
Hypoglycemia
Hypocalcemia
Hypoxia or Hypoxemia
Hepatic Encephalopathy or Liver Disease
Renal (kidney) disease
Hyperkalemia
Hyperlipoproteinemia
Gastrointestinal disease ("garbage" poisoning)
Tick Bites
Toxoplamosis (Toxo)
* 7. Lissencephay

The above list is not all-encompassing, but close, these items are the major causes for seizures in dogs.