On Tuesday, January 3, 2012, Blastomycosis took our beloved dog, Timberdoodle. Timber had atypical symptoms and had been tried on different antibiotics before we took him downstate to an internal medicine specialist, who ran the urine test and it tested positive for Blasto. We were told to give him Sporanox. When I picked up the meds, I was shocked at the cost and the pharmacist told me that Itraconazole is the generic and works the same, so I elected to take the Itraconazole. Then I was told that Sporanox works differently than Itraconazole and if we could not afford the Sporanox, then the fluconazole would be the drug of choice. I gave Timber the Itraconazole and he worsened before getting better, but then he started to improve and gained energy and was beginning to be playful again. I had to bring him his food, but he enjoyed his turkey, ham, bologna and frozen yogurt that I used to hide the pills. I used up the two weeks' worth of Itraconazole and then changed him to the fluconazole, which was recommended. I had also done a lot of research and I read that fluconazole was preferred if the dog had eye involvement, and Timber's left eye had always looked strange and was a concern for us. Timber began the fluconazole just before Christmas and we felt he was out of the woods. Then he crashed on us on Monday. He couldn't stand and fell over. He was hospitalized and given IV fluids and his condition deteriorated. On Tuesday, my husband and I went to visit him and it was apparent that he was suffering. His legs wouldn't work, he was drooling profusely and his respirations were heavy. A neurologist was consulted over the phone and he felt that the Blasto had gone to Timber's brain and the prognosis was very poor. Being in a rural area, we would have had to put Timber in the car and drive four hours for CT scans, etc., to be sure, and he was certainly in pain. The way he looked at us, I knew we had to let him go. My husband and I were there when he went to sleep peacefully and I told him how sorry I was and that I was so glad he was a part of my life. I am devastated and I am feeling quite guilty that I did not take him in sooner and that I made the incorrect choice of medication. The neurologist felt that the Blasto had probably been in the CNS and the meds made him feel better and then he just crashed, but he also said that fluconazole is recommended for central nervous system involvement. I will never know for sure, but I need to know that I did the right thing. He must have had the Blasto for a month before a proper diagnosis was made. It seems the conditions were just right this year in northern Michigan for Blasto to appear and take effect and I found out that there were three other cases of Blasto in dogs in our city. It is normally seen in the upper peninsula of Michigan, but we live in the northern part of the lower peninsula. Timber liked to hunt and enjoyed digging in the dirt. Timber was 2.5 years old and was the most wonderful dog. I hope he's up in heaven running with our other Setter, Briar, who died three years ago. I hope he's at peace, and I will be at peace when I meet him again.
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Topic: Timberdoodle is at peace (Read 211 times)