[T-Pines]

WE are sending our prayers.
How is he doing?
Have you gotten anymore answers?
I agree with everyone and I would not be waiting.
If it is Blasto (sounds like it should be in the differential diagnosis), he needs to be on the correct medication and now. From your original post it does not even sound like they were thinking Blasto. This is one time when you need to be a squeaky wheel.

Colleen

 

[Donna Kerr]

I just got off the phone with the doctor at the referral center. They did do the 4Dx snap test for the three major tick diseases and that came up negative. They did not test for blasto. She said that they had no reason to suspect blasto as his lungs are clear and that if it was manifesting itself through his eye and with his other symptoms, that that would be a really odd way for it to preform.

He is doing a little better this morning. He went out to potty with support and ate some more chicken. Acted like an alligator taking his pills and that is a real good sign. Right now he is laying in the shade looking around as if to say "What the hell happened to me?". My heart is just breaking for him...such a proud dog...

I have his blood test scanned, just need to figure out how to get the size down so I can post it.

Thanks again to all.

 

[T-Pines]

My friends lab. had Blasto. No LUng symptoms at all. Sore on the leg and the eye symptoms. I am not saying this is what your dog has and I am really glad that he is doing better. If their Vet had not tested for Blasto she would not be here. She did lose her eye and during the whole course of treatment she never presented with any lung symptoms.

Do an internet search on Blastomycosis in dogs, or do a search right here on RTF for Blastomycosis. Some of our users have had quite a lot of experience with this awful disease.

Colleen

 

[GoldDog]

Blasto in my old dog in the avatar never showed in his lungs, just eye, and we caught it early and only had a scar on his retina. He was one year old when it happened and lived t 9.5 when cancer took him from us quickly.
We got Blasto from where a large tree in a swampy area uprooted leaving a nice little swimming hole for a pup. Unfortunately the fresh upturned soil had the Blasto spores from the fungus that expells them for a curious sniffer, ie retriever, to inhale. All xrays of lungs were clear. Again, good luck.

 

[susanb]

Just because your dog tests negative on the SNAP test doesn't mean he is in the clear for tick disease. The SNAP test only tests for a very few diseases (4, I believe) and there are many, many more tick diseases that will not show up on the SNAP. I have a dog that had a sudden illness with fever, joint pain and swelling, and she was so severe that she literally couldn't stand. The day before she had acted totally fine. It took us months to figure out that she had Bartonella (a tick disease) and to get her the proper treatment. We did put her on Doxycycline immediately upon her first signs of illness, while we were figuring out what was going on with her. She was then treated with Clavamox for her joint infections (from the Bartonella) and later treated with Zithromax. She went on to have a good recovery.

By the way, this same dog had three years of good health and two subsequent negative tests for Bartonella. She had puppies last year and her puppies have tested positive for Bartonella. My bitch was tested again and still tests negative, but clearly she is not, as she infected her offspring. In other words, there is a lot that is not known about tick diseases, so if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck it probably is a duck. My vet and I treat anything that looks like a possible tick disease as a tick disease, regardless of SNAP tests.

Also, please don't do anything rash. I understand you don't want your dog to suffer, but you don't want to make a hasty decision to euthanize when you don't even know what it is you are dealing with. It could be that with the proper treatment your dog could be back to good health again. I would be pushing your vets hard, and if I wasn't satisfied with the answers I was getting I would be packing up and going to a veterinary college to get some answers.

 

[3blackdogs]

Green Bay to Appleton can't be more than 45 min. I would not be able to watch, I would be in the car.

FCE crossed my mind, but there seems to be more going on...

Ditto ditto ditto on Blasto.....it's underdiagnosed as Susan noted, and can be devastating if not diagnosed and treated aggressively. Wisconsin is a hot-spot for blasto. TX is one of the 'azoles': itraconazole, fluconazole, etc.

I had two labs contract blasto years ago after a trip up to Hayward and the Chippewa Flowage. Their symptoms came on very acutely. Fortunately, the vet suspected blasto and got them on the antifungal meds right away, before the dx was confirmed. The girls got through it, but they were very sick dogs for a while. Getting the meds going quickly was key.

It can evince in the eye. There's a much more reliable test available now from Miravista Labs, uses a urine sample and can be turned around quickly.....I would think Appleton would know about it...

One way or the other, I would have that checked out asap, and hopefully ruled out.

From: Pulmonary Mycoses
World Small Animal Veterinary Association World Congress Proceedings, 2001
Robert Sherding
Blastomycosis
Blastomyces dermatitidis is a dimorphic soilborne fungus with a geographic distribution similar to Histoplasma. The organisms reside in sandy, acidic soil near water. Most infected dogs live within 400 meters of water. Inhalation of soilborne spores is the primary route of infection and leads to mycotic pneumonia. Focal skin infection can occur from direct cutaneous inoculation through a wound. Extrapulmonary dissemination is very common in blastomycosis. Dogs are considered highly susceptible to blastomycosis and the canine infection rate in endemic areas is 10 times the human infection rate. Blastomycosis is rare in cats.
Clinical Signs
Young male large-breed dogs are infected most frequently, probably because of increased exposure through outdoor activities. Nonspecific signs of fever, anorexia, weight loss, and depression are common. Signs may be acute (days) or chronic (weeks to months). Lung lesions are present in 85% of cases. Cough and dyspnea are typical presenting signs of the pulmonary form. Respiratory manifestations can include (in decreasing order of frequency): acute or chronic interstitial pyogranulomatous pneumonia, usually involving all lung lobes diffusely, sometimes focally; tracheobronchial lymphadenopathy; and pleural effusion. Blastomycosis very commonly disseminates, especially to the skin (40% of cases), eyes (40% of cases), and peripheral lymph nodes (60%), but to lesser extent also to the bones (distal limb lameness and swelling), CNS (seizures, dementia, blindness, ataxia), male genitalia, oral cavity, and nasal cavity.

 

[jeff t.]

Green Bay to Appleton can't be more than 45 min. I would not be able to watch, I would be in the car.

I feel the same way. It sounds urgent to me.

 

[JusticeDog]

I just got off the phone with the doctor at the referral center. They did do the 4Dx snap test for the three major tick diseases and that came up negative. They did not test for blasto. She said that they had no reason to suspect blasto as his lungs are clear and that if it was manifesting itself through his eye and with his other symptoms, that that would be a really odd way for it to preform.

He is doing a little better this morning. He went out to potty with support and ate some more chicken. Acted like an alligator taking his pills and that is a real good sign. Right now he is laying in the shade looking around as if to say "What the hell happened to me?". My heart is just breaking for him...such a proud dog...

I have his blood test scanned, just need to figure out how to get the size down so I can post it.

Thanks again to all.

I don't mean to criticize the vet, but from all the info you'e given me, I'll NEVER go to Appleton to the emergency vet. And I live in Plymouth, WI. I'll do the drive. They are just plain wrong about the blasto saying it wouldn't manifest itself that way. I've seen it, as well as others on this board. ANd, there are so many more tick borne disesases than what just a snap 4 can tell you....

If that dog has gotten as bad as you indicate, and there has been no improvement as of today (you haven't said) you need to get the dog down to Madison where they have seen Blasto (and written numerous papers about the presentation) and where they have seen a whole host of tick borne disease. Waiting for some spinal fluid to come back until Tuesday, you can be loosing precious time and potentially your dog.

But since this is not my dog, I'm done talking. Good luck to Trooper.

 

[Julie R.]

Donna, I have no wisdom to offer except prayers and good thoughts. I feel like I know Trooper since you've been posting here as long as I have. I'm so sorry he's so sick...hoping for a diagnosis and treatment for him very soon. Cyber {{{{{{{{hugs & wags}}}}}}}}} from Va.

 

[Rainmaker]

I don't mean to criticize the vet, but from all the info you'e given me, I'll NEVER go to Appleton to the emergency vet. And I live in Plymouth, WI. I'll do the drive. They are just plain wrong about the blasto saying it wouldn't manifest itself that way. I've seen it, as well as others on this board. ANd, there are so many more tick borne disesases than what just a snap 4 can tell you....

If that dog has gotten as bad as you indicate, and there has been no improvement as of today (you haven't said) you need to get the dog down to Madison where they have seen Blasto (and written numerous papers about the presentation) and where they have seen a whole host of tick borne disease. Waiting for some spinal fluid to come back until Tuesday, you can be loosing precious time and potentially your dog.

But since this is not my dog, I'm done talking. Good luck to Trooper.

Ditto, living in a heavy blasto area and working for a vet, saw eye and limb presentations of blasto, though the lungs are the most common, certainly would not rule out just because of location. Also on the SNAP test not always being definitive. Hope you get some better news for Trooper by tomorrow, Donna, good luck.