8.18.2017

August 18, 2017

White Dog made an executive decision. "No pups are going with momma and dad tomorrow," she said. "Including me. We cannot risk bringing some germ home to Yo."

Tomorrow we are going to a fundraising event at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter hosted by a friend in honor of his dog's birthday. The White Dog Army was invited to come along.

When Yo did his blood work earlier in the week, Dr. Julia was concerned about his white blood cell count. I also mentioned to her that my boy was starting to develop the leg tremors and jaw clicking that are side effects of prednisone use. We discussed the dilemma of cutting back the pred to stop the effects vs reducing the control it offered in keeping the red blood cell count up.

We decided then since it was early in the week we would cut the dosage with the caveat that we would do blood work again before the weekend. If it stayed the same, we would continue the reduced dose...if his number dropped we would jump back to where he had been. Almost immediately Yo's eating became less robust and he was a bit more sluggish than he had been.

"And I want to think about his antibiotic," our beloved vet said. "I think I want to switch because the wbc is too high but I want to consider our options."

Early this morning Steve and YoYoMa went to give blood for the test. Sure, enough his hematocrit number was slightly down...and his white cells were even higher than they had been.

"Back up to the full pred dose," Dr. Julia ordered. "And we are going back to doxycycline. I suspect that we are going to have to rotate through the antibiotics across time. That one will work for a while and then we will have to change. Call me on Monday and let me know his eating and energy are back and we will do another blood check on Tuesday or Wednesday."

It was the news of the increased white blood cell count that prompted White Dog's decision. "We can't but our brother in danger," she explained to the others. "Shelters are full of all kinds of things, as most of you know. Yo's body is already fighting so hard. Better safe than sorry."

Did I mention I love my pack for their concern for each other. There was nothing but instant agreement and positive woofs of protecting their own.

2 comments:

meowmeowmans said...

We love how the WDA looks out for each other. We're sorry Yo's numbers weren't better, but we have hope that they'll go back up when he's rechecked next week. Hugs!

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