September 8, 2017

White Dog agreed as we headed into the weekend that it would not hurt to bring YoYoMa in check on his anemia numbers and have Dr. Julia's #1 look at Yo's lesions just as a precaution. The Little White Dog of My Heart also knew it would give me an anchor and lessen my anxiety.

Cutting his medications to the barest of minimums early in the week as a response to the appearance of his wounds has left me very nervous about the big picture state of his health, so I wanted to take no chances. So we went despite Yo's vote.

Despite the cuts to his meds, YoYoMa's hemacrit number had actually risen back up to 38. I was thrilled. His white blood cell count had dropped slightly...also good news.

The wounds, however, were all still oozing. Not good for an anemic dog to lose blood even if it is very slowly and in tiny amount. We decided to change course and instead of loosely covering the sores and using antiseptic spray we are now apply poultices to gauze and wrapping in sections (to allow leg and foot flexibility).

On the front shin we are using honey and arnica. The experiment to spray the outer wrap in cinnamon oil seems to be deterring our endless relentless ants. The back bottoms of the feet and ankle, we are using traumeel and arnica gels.

There already seemed to be improvement at bedtime when we redressed the wounds. One foot had entirely stopped beading blood and the gauze on the others was not soaked through.

Knowing that Yo's numbers are in a good range gives a sense of relief and confidence that we will get through the weekend without disaster. With IMHA it seems like I am constantly holding my breath waiting for a dive into life threatening anemia. The long weekends when our beloved vet is not available are particularly challenging in observing the stay cool and collected rule.

It has been surprising how little academic or professionally generated information we have found regarding Yo's reaction to his medicinal cocktail. Thankfully, reaching out to the dog parents whose pups suffer the disease has supplied several first person accounts (and photos) of the same reaction. Seems prednisone or the pred/cyclosporine combination most likely are the culprit. Many helpful respondents to my plea for information have supplied the altered cocktails used and their vet information.  We will share this with Dr. Julia when she sees YoYoMa again on Monday.

In the time between then and now, the White Dog Army hopes that we start to see are healing of the nasty open wounds...and that his vital IMHA numbers hold steady.