LEISHMANIA INFANTIM (ELISA)

[VikingQueen]

My dog (12 years) has been diagnosed with Elisa and I am heartbroken yet again, I need to talk to come one for moral support with the same experience as me.

my name is Liz 0533 861 5820 and I live near Dogankoy.

[Cally]

I am very sorry to hear of your elderly dogs diagnosis, I do not have a dog but have you discussed a prognosis with your vet. Do you follow Hope4Pets as there are many dog owners on there probably with a wealth of knowledge between them. I can ask for you if you have no responses on here.

[Ragged Robin]

I dont know if the following is any comfort, the circs are not quite the same and as the previous poster said the Vets prognosis would help.

However several years ago I had to have an approximately eight year old dog "put down" because she had inoperable cancer. I comforted myself that since she was a stray because of me she had a happy life and a painless and peaceful death in my arms. Because her adopted sister was lonely and grieving , I got another dog and it was a comfort that Cindy's death meant another sad stray had a a chance of a better life.

Later the second dog had a stroke. After six days of twice daily visits to the Vet for periods of drip feeding, I was prepared to give up and say enough was enough and she was suffering too much, when she perked up and started eating! She is now twenty years old, arthritic and going blind, but still enjoys her food and a potter around, though every morning I wonder if she will wake up and if it would not be kindest in the long run if she didnt.

I am afraid when you take on a dog "you give your heart for a dog to tear" and will always miss them when they go. The wonderful thing is that the first dog was very good natured and well behaved - she helped to train the second and she has passed it on to later dogs in memory of her.

Send me a pm if you want to talk.

[Cally]

What a lovely & compassionate response Ragged Robin, your 20 year old probably loves you too much to want to leave.

[JoandJelly]

I felt exactly the same way as you when my dog was diagnosed some 5 years ago after repeated visits to different vets over a period of a couple of years to try and find out why he had dry skin patches on his cheeks. He commenced taking Allopurinol tablets and after a couple of months he had a 28 day course of Milteforan which is quite intense and can make your dog sick although luckily for Charlie it didn't affect him too badly. He then continued with the Allopurinol for a further 6 months and, following blood tests tests to check that the parasite had been surpressed, he stopped all treatment and he is perfectly fit and healthy. As this disease is different for each animal and a lot depends on the severity, I would agree that once you have had a chance to calm down that you discuss with your vet. Our vet is Petcross and they are brilliant and very experienced with Leish. Good luck and if you want to discuss further please feel free to email me cyprusjo@gmail.com

[Cally]

I have heard very good reports of Petcross

[Owl Lady]

Cally you are right about Petcross,I have used them for over 9 years. If there is any possible chance they will help and be completely honest. I do hope your dog is able to be treated. x

[Mountain Edge]

I have to agree about Petcross, absolutely fantastic. The care and attention they gave our dog, Arthur, 2 years ago when he was badly poisoned was way above what I would call normal. I don't doubt that if not for them he wouldn't be with us now. We now have another dog, Elliot, and wouldn't dream of going anywhere other than Petcross for his treatment (jabs).
Good luck with your Dog, fingers crossed.

[VikingQueen]

raggedrobin a Big Thank you for writing to me and your kind words, she is tablets daily but I wonder is she suffering, am I being selfish?

she had a blood test 2015 and did not have Elisa although she was loosing weight a lot, I never had proof that the blood test was done I was just told she did not have (Elisa ( petcross never again).
I went to Pertev and he was shocked to see her so thin , so I had a blood test done ( always use Metin) and it was confirmed.

Thank you all for your support.

[Brighton Dot]

Liz..I'm so sorry to hear about your dog.
My dog was around 9 when she received her diagnosis of Leishmaniasis. She had a bad patch on one of her ears which had been looked at and dismissed several times by a different vet before I went to firdez (now at petcross ) who tested her. She lived another 2 happy years on a daily dose of allupirinol tablets, and her health for most of that time was much improved... small things that we had put down to age..such as stiff joints and accidental pee's almost disappeared and I think overall it was a good decision too keep her going, even though I wondered if I was being selfish. During the 2 years she had regular tests to check liver func

[Brighton Dot]

Oops.
To check liver function.

Sadly she died at 11, but I don't have any regrets, to have kept her going for those 2 years.

I'm sure that whatever you decide it will be the best for your dog. I hope that whatever time you have left together will be happy and healthy.
X

[Ragged Robin]

VikingQueen: I think the dog herself will tell you when she is suffering to much. When Minik had a stroke , even though she was in another room and was partially paralyzed she still managed to struggle to my side and cry to tell me she needed help. It was l0 oclock at night,so I went to the only Vet answering the phone (petcross I think, the one with the lady vets) expecting to be told she would have to be put out of her misery and a Cypriot friend very kindly arranged transport for us and to subsequent treatments.. They managed to save her, for which they must be congratulated, though it was touch and go at one point - again she told us she was recovering by demanding biscuits, Now as I said before she sleeps away most of her life and sometimes has a little "accident" because she does not want to go out at night or in the rain, but while she is eating well and pottering in the garden in the morning I feel she wants to stay, though I live with the knowledge that in the nature of things it cannot be for much longer.

[Cally]

They tell us everything, we just need to listen.....

[tomsteel]

RR as our 14-year-old Lab showed us a number of years ago, he knew when he needed to go. Broke our hearts at the time, but some 25+ years on, we still have the good times' memories.

[VikingQueen]

They tell us everything, we just need to listen.....

[VikingQueen]

Hi everyone that replied positive and thank you for that, much appreciated

Should I ( wonder) continue here or just keep it to myself, I always get THAT ONE REPLY that is disrespectful.

Wishing the kind people here a lovely SUNDAY

[Ragged Robin]

Viking Queen: Sorry I missed seeing your earlier post. I have not been well myself.

I am sorry if you have had a "nasty" post on this sad subject. Was it by pm as all the people here seem to undertand your problem Usually the advice is to ignore as those concerned are usually sick themselves and to be pitied , but in this instance if you can I think you should report to the Mods.

btw I replied to your pm on Sun. but I see you have not "picked up". I promise you it was not disrespectful.

Keep us informed please, those of us who care for individual dogs need to share, and also keep informed on veterinary care.

[Cally]

RR unfortunately it was me Viking Queen took offence to, I sent an email of apology.......

"I am truly sorry if you feel I was disrespectful, it certainly wasn't my
intention. I was only reiterating what RR had written in the previous post.......

VikingQueen: I think the dog herself will tell you when she is suffering to
much

If you follow any of my posts you will find that I am as helpful & as
supportive as I can be regarding the welfare of animals but being in UK can
make things difficult.

Wishing you a lovely Sunday, it is very wet here"

because you have referred to a "nasty" post and I have not heard back from the email, I am posting it all here.

[Ragged Robin]

Ah, now I understand, Viking Queen took your comment personally . Of course it is obviously not meant to criticize her understanding of her dog neither was mine, we both just meant to reassure, but I can understand , I often have feeling of guilt that I am not doing enough for my dogs - particularly the old one - its natural it is in fact a tremendous responsibiltiy to care for dogs and have power of life and death, particularly as they dont understand why we cant always give them what they want and sometimes what they want is not good for them! VK is obviously very upset and worried and it is totally understandable that she misinterpreted a well meant comment - it is not where you live Cally, it is one of the problems of modern life that communication by word without body and face language or even tone of voice, can often be misinterpreted.

Now I am not sure whether to feel guilty that I raised the subject, or just relieved that it turned out to be not an ill meant post. I hope Viking Queen is reassured and feels now she can still share with us.

[VikingQueen]

RR well written and explained, I could never have done so myself and THANK YOU..

Missie is still alive and I am trying to save her with Pertevs help.. )

Liz

[Ragged Robin]

Thank you VK. Sometimes when we are worried and upset it is difficult to put our feelings into words, let alone explain clearly on a Forum!

I sometimes feel very sad that people care about homeless strays, but some do not seem to understand that people who take animals into their home and care , particularly, perhaps dogs, are taking on a heavy responsibility which can put them under considerable strain, physical, financial AND emotional and may sometimes themselves need help and support.

I do hope Missie makes a full recovery. She is obviously in good hands, with both you and Pertev.

Let us know how she gets on.

[sophie]

Ask Pertev about a drug called Leishguard. At the moment I believe it can only be obtained down South so you would have to obtain it yourself somehow and then give to your Vet up here. Its about 70tl for a very small container and lasts for a two month course. Its made by a Spanish company, the Spanish are in the forefront of this disease. See what Pertev says on the matter plus you could Google it yourself and see what you think. I only know of one person who is trialling it at the moment because of expense and difficulty of obtaining it.

[VikingQueen]

sadly my dog died.

[Cally]

I am so sorry to read this, our pets are such an important part of our families

[Ragged Robin]

I am so sorry to hear that Viking Queen. It is always so sad to lose a dog, they have so little time with us. I hope you can get comfort from knowing you did your bestfor her, and that she had a happy life and died knowing she was loved.