 The Meisha's Hope Bandanna |
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The Meisha's Hope Bandanna |
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When a dog is diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia/immune-mediated hemolytic anemia, its owner/caregiver is seldom prepared for dealing with such a serious life-threating illness. Many times their first question will be, what can I expect in terms of survival and quality of life for my dog.
The "Success Stories" page is presented in order to answer those questions. We hope to show owner/caregivers whose dogs have recently been diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia/immune-mediated hemolytic anemia that there is indeed hope. Over the coming months we will feature dogs who have been diagnosed with this disease and who are now living normal lives. Many of them have had no reoccurrence of the disease whatsoever. I hope you will be encouraged and filled with hope as you read these stories. I plan to change the stories on a monthly basis, so stop back often.
Casper is a 4 year old neutered male Pit Bull/Boxer mix owned by Penny and Mark of Columbus, IN. Casper was diagnosed with autoimmune hemolytic anemia on May 14, 2009.
When Penny was asked to comment on Casper’s symptoms prior to his AIHA diagnosis she replied, “Before Casper’s illness he was a very sweet, loving, playful and energetic dog in spite of the fact that he is completely deaf. Casper was found wandering the streets at 12 weeks of age and taken to our local humane society. Since many people are hesitant to adopt a ‘handicapped’ dog, he remained at the shelter until we adopted him three months later. When we left for work on May 14th, 2009 Casper appeared to be completely normal. I returned home, in the early afternoon and found that Casper was extremely weak, panting excessively and had absolutely white gums. I took Casper outside and noticed blood in both his urine and stool. Since Casper was too weak to stand up, he laid down in the yard. After I, somehow, found the strength to get Casper up and back into the house, I called my husband and told him something was very wrong with Casper. My husband arrived home and together we took Casper into the veterinarian.
”Upon arrival at the veterinary clinic we were told that Casper was ‘in trouble’ and he was quickly rushed to the examining room. Testing revealed that Casper had rapid respiration, was very anemic and had a temperature near 107 degrees. The veterinarian put fans near Casper and started icing him down in an effort to reduce his temperature. It was thought that Casper had gotten into something toxic, such as rat poison, but testing for this was negative. Casper was given a double plasma bag, IV fluids, a Dexamethasone injection, injections of the antibiotics Baytril & Naxcel, Solu-Delta-Cortef (Prednisolone Sodium Succinate for injection) and a Vitamin K-1 injection. When Casper’s blood work came back the next day his hematocrit (HCT) was 8.2 and our veterinarian explained to us that Casper had autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Since we had never heard of the disease we had a lot of questions which our veterinarian patiently answered for us. Over the next three days Casper continued to receive IV fluids, Solu-Delta-Cortef (given on May 15), antibiotics (in both tablet and injection form) with Sucralfate and Famotidine being added to the treatment regime for GI protection. On May 18, Casper received IV fluids,1 tablet Prilosec, 2 tablets 136 mg Baytril, 1 - 50 mg prednisone tablet, 1˝ - 50 mg Azathioprine tablets and 1- 200 mg Simplicef tablet. Casper was released from the veterinary clinic on May 19 and we were instructed to give Casper the medications and dosages listed above. Casper continued to have frequent checkups and blood work done. As Casper’s HCT rose and then stabilized, we were advised to start decreasing his medications. Over the few next months, as Casper remained stable, we continued to decrease and then discontinue all medications for the treatment of AIHA. Casper has not received any vaccinations since his AIHA diagnosis and will not receive any more in the future, unless absolutely necessary.”
When Penny was asked to comment on the current state of Casper’s health she relied, “With the continued help and support of our veterinarian, Dr. Baer, Casper is doing GREAT and thriving! He is off all medications for the treatment of AIHA and has shown no signs of relapse. Casper’s last blood work was done on August 12, 2010 and his HCT at that time was 52. He, once again, has the ‘sparkle’ back in his eyes. He loves playing with his toys and spending his days with his new canine sister, Chloe, who is now his ‘ears’. It’s very heartwarming for us to see Casper run, play and enjoy life again. After coming so close to losing our boy, we truly appreciate every single moment we can spend with him. He brings a world of joy to our lives and we feel so blessed that he is part of our family.”
Editor's Note: Casper’s veterinarian, Dr. Gregory Baer, was the recipient of the 2009 Meisha’s Hope Award for Excellence by a Veterinarian in the Treatment of Canine Autoimmune/Immune-mediated Hemolytic Anemia. To learn more about Casper’s battle with AIHA and read Penny and Mark’s nomination of Dr. Baer for the 2009 Meisha’s Hope Award Click Here.
The Meisha's Hope Award
Do you have a wonderful veterinarian who has gone beyond the call of duty in treating your AIHA/IMHA dog? If so nominate him or her for the 2010 Meisha's Hope Award. To learn more Click Here
New!! To read about the winner of the 2009 Meisha’s Hope Award and the Honorable Mention Nominees Click Here
To read about the winner of the 2008 Meisha’s Hope Award and the Honorable Mention Nominees Click Here
To read about the winner of the 2007 Meisha’s Hope Award and the Honorable Mention Nominees Click Here
To read about the winner of the 2006 Meisha’s Hope Award and the Honorable Mention Nominees Click Here
Editor's Notes
To view more Success Stories, click below to visit the Success Stories archives.
If you have a dog or know of a dog who has survived AIHA/IMHA for at least one year and you would like their story told on this page please email me at jdickson@cloudnet.comBack to TOP of page All contents on this site Copyright © 1998 - 2010 Joanne Dickson. All rights reserved.