Ranger Rick
Member
In June, I lost my 6 year old Setter, Major, to blastomycosis. Blasto is a fungal infection the dogs pick up by breathing in spores. In Major's case, it filled his lungs. It also infects humans and we're seeing a lot of press in my area of Wisconsin due to an increase in cases.
Last fall I had him in for regular vaccinations and brought to their attention a sore on his chest I assumed came from a tick bite. The vet told me to use neosporin on it and wasn't concerned. Sores are a symptom on blasto infection. In spring I noticed another sore on his leg, but that one seemed to go away on it's own.
He started to lose weight in May. Blood tests were positive for Lyme's and the tick-borne disease angioplasmosis. They started him on antibiotics and after about 4-5 days he was perking up. I thought we were over the hump. Then he quit eating altogether and he really started shedding the weight. Originally at 84 pounds, he was 64 pounds when he died.
A chest X-ray the day before he died showed his lungs to be full of the fungus and a urine test came back positive for it, but after he died. The typical treatment is steroids, which are the same used for humans and very expensive. The night we put him down there was another couple in with their dog who had been treating their dog for 3 months and still having problems. It's a nasty disease.
This post is intended as a warning to other bird dog owners who hunt in the Great Lakes area. My Vet didn't test for blasto, despite some symptoms I now in retrospect believe should have tipped them off. The vet told me they had 8 cases so far this year at their clinic, with 50% fatality. The fact that they had fought it recently with other dogs, combined with the sores that should have tipped them off, leaves me a little bitter. I'll not go back to that Vet again, or recommend them to anyone else.
This Saturday is the grouse opener in Wisconsin and I'm going golfing. I would much rather be in the woods with Major. Another pup is on the way in 2011, but this fall is shot for me. To me bird hunting is more than stomping the woods or field and killing birds and so my hunting will be a few trips with friends who have dogs. The teamwork between my dog and I are what makes it enjoyable to me.
Take care of your dogs and have a great season.
Last fall I had him in for regular vaccinations and brought to their attention a sore on his chest I assumed came from a tick bite. The vet told me to use neosporin on it and wasn't concerned. Sores are a symptom on blasto infection. In spring I noticed another sore on his leg, but that one seemed to go away on it's own.
He started to lose weight in May. Blood tests were positive for Lyme's and the tick-borne disease angioplasmosis. They started him on antibiotics and after about 4-5 days he was perking up. I thought we were over the hump. Then he quit eating altogether and he really started shedding the weight. Originally at 84 pounds, he was 64 pounds when he died.
A chest X-ray the day before he died showed his lungs to be full of the fungus and a urine test came back positive for it, but after he died. The typical treatment is steroids, which are the same used for humans and very expensive. The night we put him down there was another couple in with their dog who had been treating their dog for 3 months and still having problems. It's a nasty disease.
This post is intended as a warning to other bird dog owners who hunt in the Great Lakes area. My Vet didn't test for blasto, despite some symptoms I now in retrospect believe should have tipped them off. The vet told me they had 8 cases so far this year at their clinic, with 50% fatality. The fact that they had fought it recently with other dogs, combined with the sores that should have tipped them off, leaves me a little bitter. I'll not go back to that Vet again, or recommend them to anyone else.
This Saturday is the grouse opener in Wisconsin and I'm going golfing. I would much rather be in the woods with Major. Another pup is on the way in 2011, but this fall is shot for me. To me bird hunting is more than stomping the woods or field and killing birds and so my hunting will be a few trips with friends who have dogs. The teamwork between my dog and I are what makes it enjoyable to me.
Take care of your dogs and have a great season.
