Happy Paws are bedridden

TICK FEVER

We've had quite a scare! Yesterday afternoon I noticed something was wrong with my dearest happy paws, Maleni. All of a sudden, he just refused to eat and was lethargic, actually quite lethargic for a dog of his wild temper and energy. He seemed so sad all afternoon but then we went for a walk and he was his usual fidgety self. So this morning we went to see his vet and the worst of my fears have been confirmed: Babesiosis. I suspected that when I realized he's got a bad fever and his gum was all pale. Although he's got all possible tick protection including Frontline and sprays, and never leaves his yard (unless we go for a trip or walk somewhere), and we always comb their fur into details, some of those little bastards have found their way to our garden. I've run into a few this spring and since I'm as appalled by ticks as I am by spiders, I made my dad spray the area with insecticide, as I always dreaded any of my pets getting the ' bad' one. Obviously all the good ones (butterflies, bees, wasps) have been affected by the deadly spraying but the bastards have survived. And as our vet says, there's no reliable protection anymore as there's so many mutated types of ticks that are prone to all known repellents and remedies. We have not found any ticks on the dog but that doesn't mean he didn't have one for a certain period of time. The newest research shows that only a bite is enough for this tick-borne disease to infect your pet (as opposed to 30hours or longer of bloodsucking that was thought to be needed for the disease to be transmitted). The vet treated him with Imidocarb + Vitamin B + Antibiotic shot and said he thinks Happy Paws came right on time and should probably recover without any serious problems. I so hope he's right, I would never forgive myself for not taking him there immediately as he first refused to eat, but I thought it was 'just' another something that he ate and didn't feel well on his stomach. I believe every hour is important in fighting such a serious illness, and in a weird sort of way, I'm so glad he had all those symptoms, for some dogs are known not to develop any until it's too late. I experienced that one too.
Even though lethargic and all, Maleni was quite unpeaceful and upset during examination and it took four of us to tame the beast. After all, he is a very strong and vital dog. After a long period of apathy, later this evening he finally had enough of food strike, got up and ate (stole) all of the cat food. And then ate a full bowl of Frolics, his favorite dog treats. I saw a glimpse of new life in those pretty eyes and very soon he started walking about and even barking at distant dog sounds. I guess that Imidocarb shot really did start to work (the vet said he should be better within 24 hours). We're going to have a little rest for now, after all, it's been one hell of a long day. Happy Paws will write back soon and let you know all about his recovery process.