www.Straydog.org Update - POSTED EVERY DAY AT NOON

Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 6 2004

Erin's report ...

Results of Rudy's testing at Animal Diagnostic Clinic of Dallas

   Written Thursday night

     Rudy is here with me in the computer room of our house in Plano. He is listening carefully and curiously to the taps on this computer keyboard. He's left now to sniff and investigate other parts of the house. My first classical guitar student of the day should be here in a minute, so I've got to write this quickly:

Rudy's in the lead with his mother trying to catch him as he runs the perimeter of their kennel.

Rudy puts on the breaks to avoid hitting the corner of the fence.

All of the above photos of Rudy were taken this morning. While I was in the kennel he shares with his mother and brother, he ran and ran and ran, which he's always doing and which might have something to do with his weight loss.

     We got reports on all the blood work except the results of the tick disease test, which will possibly be in tomorrow. Tick disease is easily treated, I think Dr. Bronstad said.

     If it's not tick disease, then Dr. Bronstad thinks it's probably irritable bowel disease. He told us to really watch Rudy's stools, and if he has diarrhea, then most likely it's IBD.

     The blood work came out fine. The x-rays and sonogram showed normal looking kidneys and liver. On the sonogram Dr. Bronstad said his stomach looked a little funny, but then he didn't say anything more about that. (Maybe sometimes pictures just look funny?) Also on the sonogram there are some funny lines on the colon part, so that is perhaps an indication that it's IBD the doctor thought.

     To treat IBD first you'd have to make sure that it is IBD and that would be invasive. While he's under anesthetic, a scope would be put down Rudy's throat all the way into his bowels. But the scope can't go as far as we might need it to go, Dr. Bronstad said. The next step would be surgery to look at his bowel walls and take a biopsy. Then if it is IBD, he would put the dog on steroids for a long time and then gradually diminish the steroid dosage and also use antibiotics. "What would you do after this", I asked. "You'd probably want to change his diet and find a different meat source in case he's allergic. You could try lamb, or rabbit, or venison, or fish--something different from what he's ever had before". (We could start this right away, I was thinking.)

     We have a lot of dogs that seem to have IBD I told the doctor. Yes, he said, he is seeing a lot of cases of it too.

     Dr. Reeve's had suggested that we get other tests done today to test Rudy's total estrogen levels, adrenal gland tests, a full thyroid panel and antibody tests, but Dr. Bronstad said that the blood work, in his opinion, didn't warrant any further looking into Rudy's metabolism.

     For right now we're supposed to carefully watch Rudy's stools and wait for the tick disease report. I know it will be easy to change Rudy's diet to a different source of meat (in case it is IBD).

     Rudy is lying down next to me in the computer room. When I get up to do something he follows. He's a really good dog, and looks so graceful, like a deer--a skinny little deer!

     Thank you again very much Gayle for helping us in getting this diagnosis and trying to get to the bottom of Rudy's dilemma. This was an expensive visit and we appreciate your caring so much for Rudy and our poor dogs with such problems!

     I hope all is going well with Ojay back in your home tonight! Let us know!

     I'm going to walk Rudy again and see if he'll poop!

Rudy has perfect looking stools!

     Before I could get Rudy harnessed up to go for a walk, he pooped right on my living room carpet! It consisted of good, solid stools, so I was able to pick it up easily and get it all washed and re-scented before my evening students arrived.