PREVIOUS SUCCESS STORIES
September 2009
Harley Joe
Harley Joe is a 10 year old neutered male Shih-Tzu owned by Melanie and David of Milan, IN. Harley was diagnosed with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia on March 23, 2008.
When Melanie was asked to comment on Harley’s symptoms prior to his IMHA diagnosis she replied, “Before Harley’s illness he was playful and energetic. He loved to play with his squeaky toys as well go outside to hang out with us and our other dogs. Harley always wanted up on your lap and was constantly snapping at our cat to show him who’s boss. He would come in the kitchen, when I was cooking, to be on ‘clean-up duty’, so he could catch any little crumb that fell to the floor. It literally seemed like all this changed overnight. One day he seemed fine, the next day he appeared lazy, tired and had no appetite or interest in anything! Typically, we wouldn’t have been so alarmed at the laziness, because he did tend to love his naps, but when he wouldn’t eat, we became concerned. Over the next three days things got progressively worse to the point where Harley would not even raise his head to look at us. We couldn’t tempt his appetite with anything and he stopped drinking water as well. He also had extremely pale gums and skin.
”Easter morning, March 23, 2008, we took Harley to the Emergency Veterinary Hospital since our regular veterinarian was closed for the day. After blood work was completed, we were told that Harley’s PCV was 23. Harley was diagnosed with IMHA, immediately started on prednisone and hospitalized overnight. His PCV continued to drop and was 18 by the next morning. When we arrived to take him home that day, he seemed even worse than the day before. We were told that we had a very sick dog, and that the next few days would tell the tale as to whether he would pull through or not. We took Harley to our regular veterinarian, basically for a second opinion, since we were so confused about what we had been told at the emergency clinic. Our regular veterinarian agreed that it was IMHA, and told us we had a long road ahead. Harley’s PCV at that time was back to 23. We were sent home with some high-protein canned food and a bag full of plastic syringes, and told to literally force feed Harley to get him to eat and drink. We were also told we needed to get some nourishment in Harley to ‘coat his belly’ for all the medication he was taking which at this time included 5 mg of Prednisone, 5 mg of Famotidine and ¼ of a 50 mg Azathioprine tablet per day.
”Blood work done four days later indicated Harley’s PCV had risen to 25. This was a promising sign especially since he had started to eat on his own that day. By April 27, 2008 Harley’s PCV had risen to 45. We started to gradually reduce his medications until they were completely discontinued several months later.”
When Melanie was asked to comment on the current state of Harley’s heath, she replied, “Harley is doing wonderful. His PCV at this last blood check was 50.88. He currently takes no medication for the treatment of IMHA and is no longer being vaccinated at the recommendation of our veterinarian. He shows no signs of IMHA, has a great appetite, and is very alert and spunky. Harley actually seems to have more spunk and energy than before his illness! He plays a lot more, and when he’s outside with his ‘siblings’ he loves to trail around behind them, sniffing everything he comes across. He even gets his Shih-Tzu attitude when it’s time to come in, and he’s not ready yet. Harley acts like a puppy again and it is a joy to see him so young at heart. He even chases the cat again. We continue to keep a close eye on him for any changes to his personality and eating habits, but are truly thankful for each and every day that he remains free from IMHA. We were literally blindsided by this disease, through confusion, sadness and apprehension, but after reading the Success Stories on the Meisha’s Hope Web site, we found a glimmer of hope for Harley. We are so grateful that we can now provide hope and encouragement to other dog owner/caregivers who have dogs diagnosed with AIHA/IMHA. We want them to know there is Hope for their dogs to have a complete recovery from this disease.”
October 2009
Beau
Beau is a 6 year old Tricolor neutered male Border Collie owned by John and Fran of Bedfordshire, United Kingdom. Beau was diagnosed with immune mediated hemolytic anemia on October 23, 2007.
When John was asked to comment on Beau’s symptoms prior to his IMHA diagnosis, he relied, “On October 22, 2007 Beau did not appear to be his usual energetic self and had no appetite. The next morning, when he wouldn’t eat breakfast and could not summon up energy for a run, I called the veterinarian and was advised to bring Beau in that afternoon. When we arrived at the veterinary clinic Beau had a very high temperature. Blood work and other testing was done and Beau was hospitalized overnight. The next day Beau was diagnosed with IMHA. His Coombs test was positive and he had a PCV of 20 which later dropped to 18. I was told that if Beau’s PCV dropped to 15, we might have to consider a blood transfusion. Beau was started on 75 mg prednisolone per day as well as ranitidine to protect the lining of his stomach and I was allowed to take him home that day. When I took Beau back to the veterinarian two days later for a checkup and blood work his PCV remained the same as it had been at the time of his hospital discharge. Three days later things seemed more hopeful when Beau’s PCV climbed to 25. Blood testing on November 2 revealed that Beau’s PCV was 35. We were beginning to approach the low end of the normal range and Beau was also starting to get some of his energy back. When Beau’s PCV climbed 2 more points to 37 on November 6, the prednisolone was lowered to 50 mg per day. Over the next several months, as Beau’s PCV continued to rise, we slowly lowered the prednisolone. By April 8, 2008 Beau had a PCV of 41 and his prednisolone dosage was down to 5 mg every other day. Beau’s tail had gotten distinctly thin as a result of hair loss caused by the medication but our veterinarian assured us that this hair would grow back providing we did not have to go back on high doses of steroids.
”Over the summer months in 2008 we traveled to France and Scotland and Beau continued to do well. Beau saw his veterinarian on August 26 for his Rabies booster shot and his PCV at that time was 44. We visited the vet again on October 5 to see if the rabies booster had caused the IMHA to kick in again. The good news was it had not. Beau’s PCV had remained stable at 44, so the dosage of prednisolone was reduced to 1mg every 2 days. By this time we had built Beau’s exercise routine back up to 6 miles every day and had raised the pace a bit as well. By the end of September, 2008 we were managing a consistent 7mph + over distance.”
When John was asked to comment on the current state of Beau’s health he replied, “Beau’s health is very good. His prednisolone was discontinued in mid August, 2009. Blood testing on August 28, 2009 indicated Beau’s PCV was remaining stable at 44. Beau runs between 4-10 miles per day. His coat is now as full as it was prior to his IMHA diagnosis and he has lost some of the weight he gained as a result of the steroid usage. We do blood checks every 6-8 weeks. In addition, we check the colour of Beau’s gums every few days and monitor his appetite and energy levels. Beau is back to being the lively dog he was prior to his IMHA diagnosis and enjoys life to the fullest.”
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