5.23.2018

May 23, 2018

White Dog applauded with the rest of the White Dog Army as Roman took his last pill for his Lyme disease. "And now what, momma? Is he cured?"

"Unfortunately, Sweet Girl, he will never be cured but his disease is not active. But we will for always need to watch to make sure that we catch and treat relapses when they occur."

"How often will my brother get sick?" she wanted to know. Dr. Julia has explained that strangely young dogs are more susceptible than older ones. Roman is about 3 years old or younger. Also she said there is no timetable to predict how often of when the Lyme might reoccur.

"How then will we know he needs more medicine?" WD was very concerned. "The thing we will probably notice first is lameness beyond his maimed leg's usual response. The lameness can move from leg to leg and often there is huge joint swelling. When we notice anything like that it is a sign that Roman needs to see Dr. Julia right away," I spoke to her but noticed the others were listening, too.

And the rest of the time? "Baby Girl, when he is in inactive mode, he is perfectly fine. And Lyme disease will not spread to any of the other WDA through your brother. You must be bitten by an infected tick. Dr. Julia says unless we go down by the river or into the woods hiking that the WDA is not likely to come across ticks. You all wear tick prevention...and we do not yet have Lyme disease as a worry in this area. Dogs in Albuquerque with it usually got it from somewhere else, on vacation or like Roman did living elsewhere"

Roman thrust his head into my lap. "Nope, Baby Boy. No more doxycycline for now. But you must let us know if you start to feel achy or icky. And we are all going to be watching."

Just to be safe, White Dog checked the flea collars of every pup. "I know Lyme is not common here," she said, "but ticks carry other nasties as well. Best NONE of us get bitten, including you and dad."

1 comment:

meowmeowmans said...

Hooray for no more pills for now, Roman! We hope any relapses are few and very far between!