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[Jen]

Forgive me, but I've forgotten just who lives where.
Maybe we could all re-acquaint ourselves with each other's locations.

We are near Muncie, Indiana. We have about 23 acres total of riverland/ woods/ wetlands.
This is where Dirtbike was infected. We (Including a doctor) also suspect 4 other "unexplained" doggie deaths in this 1 mile radius to have been from undiagnosed Blasto.
(I've been informed by our daughter, who has recently moved to Chicago, that we should just tell anyone up there that it's Southern Indiana, because in Chicago they pretty much consider anything below Gary or Merrillville to be...Kentucky.)
Cheers-
jen

[Wilson3]

great idea!!!
Wilson australian shepherd male neuterd around 6 or 7 years old ( he was a dumped dog so we are not sure on age) around 55 pounds
Cudahy Wisconsin
started with not using back right leg
then these fallowed

high fever 104 and 105
lesions 7 of them
all 4 legs swelled up 3x's the size
lymph nodes
joints and bones involiment
back left foot VERY swelled up and open almost lost his foot
front right wrist vERY swellen w/open lesion about 2 1/2 inches draining and very gross
lungs very bad and very rapped breathing
could not walk
VERY slight cough
lost about 5 pounds total

was on itraconazole for 8 months 125 mg for 10 days 2x's a day
then 1 x's a day for a few months then raised dose to 175 mg 1x's aday highest dose for his weight

supplements added to his diet

missing link w/glucosamine
animal essentials
      plant enzymes & probiotics
   helps with the immune system and digestion and absortion of food
milk thistle fro liver support
dandelion root support his liver and kidenys

raw bee pollen for energy and immune system added about 1/2 through treatement
animal apawthesary
   ol-immune booster

pasculite clay on his foot

feed canindae and fromm mixed together wet or dry with canned foodw/ever meal
evo,innova,or wellness grain free
also compaion natural pet food raw froozen diet
tons of treats that where all protein and all natural

was on treatment 8 month after a clean bill of health stayed on meds for an extra month a bit over
i put his pill whole right into a teaspoon of can food he took it very well i was lucky

wilson is still on echinacea for his immune system and flax sed oil for his joints

he did loos part of the tip of his tongue

wilson had gotten blasto from a punchter wound running in the woods in racine county wisconsin along the root river

wilson3

[luvmyjacks]

Back from holiday and find Will is doing really well - fat, happy and very needy/clingy. 
We are in Toronto, Canada and he and Roxy (who didn't survive the blasto) were exposed in Georgian Bay cottage country.  If you are from Ontario and vacation near Penetang, Midland, Muskoka: your dogs are at risk and your "back home vet" won't likely figure out they have blasto until it is too late. 
Make sure you tell them you might have had exposure at a cottage, spring, summer or fall.
Great post subject.

[gunner]

We live in West Texas, kind of in the middle of no where between Midland and Del Rio.  Gunner got Blasto when we helped with a huge landscaping project at a wildlife preserve just 45 minutes down the road.   

[CLS]

Hi everyone,

I live in a small town called St. Pierre-Jolys, in Manitoba, Canada. It's a half hour south of Winnipeg. I also live by the river bed on 3 acres, with lots of bush. We still are not sure where Sadie caught her blasto, because she had Lyme Disease first. That, we're pretty sure came from Lancaster, Minnesota, where we camp a lot. 2 days after she finished her pills for Lyme, she was almost completely paralyzed, and we couldn't understand what was going on. But of course by the time the vet could see me, 2 days later, she was fine. About 2 weeks later she went into another vet clinic,due to lameness, lose of appetite, vomiting and a cough, I was fed up with the one I was with originally, and she was diagnosed with blasto,and never returned home. She passed 2 weeks after being admitted.

Because she had a lowered immune system form the Lyme disease and was only 10 months when she passed, she could have contacted it anywhere.She could have carried the disease for some time, but the Lyme pills kept it at bay until she was all done her prescription for Lyme and then whammy.

We did camp once in the Whiteshell, which does have reports of blasto. But our neighbour 2 doors down, also on the river, her dog had blasto 3 years ago, and they're positive it's from home, because they didn't travel anywhere with their dog. She made a full recovery, but lost an eye. Plus she was only on meds for 1 month!!?? Crazy. I told my neighbour about everyone here and how long all of you have been dealing with this and she was so surprised.

I am very happy to be able to read the continued happy stories of all of you who supported me during Sadie's blasto, but I am also saddened to see new people on this site, but everyone here is amazing and very supportive.

I continue to pray for everyone here! Colleen

[Wilson3]

luvmyjacks wonderrful to hear that will is doing so well!!!! i bet you worried the whole time you where gone )
and i bet will was sooo happy to see again!!!
wilson3

[evayola]

We are in Montgomery, IL which is about 45 miles outside of Chicago. We believe Marge got the blasto from the mulch we put down around the house. Our other dog, Homer, hasnt had any signs. Marge loved laying in the mulch though because of the cold. I guess that's what did her in. Hopefully the frost will kill it all. This year we are going to do rubber mulch which is from recycled tires.

[Rosie]

Its been quite awhile since I posted. I didnt find this site until after we had to put our lab Macy down. We live out in the country in Urbana, Illinois, and had put mulch down and also planted a garden. Macy was in heat, so her first symptoms of lethargy I attributed to her being in heat, since she always got a little mopey when in heat. Then she quit eating her dog food, but would eat table scraps if offered. She did look thinner all of a sudden, then she started squinting her eye's. Thats when we made her a vet appt for the next day. Well, the next day she was blind. We took her to the vet and after hearing all our symptoms, he said he was 99% sure it was blasto. He was treating a dog for it at the time.All these symptoms surfaced over only a 6 day period. After that vet appt, when we got home (we didnt put her down till the next day, as we wanted our daughter to be able to say her goodbyes) I got to looking at Macy's skin, and she did have one little tiny nodule on her head.As hard as it was, when he said that her sight would never be restored, and what I read on the internet said the same thing, we chose to put her down. She's been gone now almost a year and a half. She was only 3 1/2. We have since got a new lab, which happens to be Macy's half sister. We talk about Macy alot, and really miss her. I worry alot about the blasto still being in our yard somewhere, and I watch our new dog closely for symptoms. I check and read this sight everyday, even tho I dont post much. My heart breaks everytime I see a new name on the board. I just wanted to post to let you all know our area. Good luck to everyone still fighting the fight. It make's me smile when I read about the one's that beat it.

[weluvmoose]

Our dog, Moose, got Blasto in Ontario, Canada near Lake of the Woods.  Three dogs have died after being exposed in the same area.  We caught Moose's early and he is doing well having been on Sporanox for 2 months so far.  We left Ontario in August - symptoms did not show up until early November - so if you travel be on the lookout months after you return home!!  Don't know what we will do next summer when we travel again???  I do not want him to get it again and i don't have anyone I can ask to keep him!!!  Boarding may be our only option even though he hates it - better than getting this again!

[luvmyjacks]

This is slightly off topic, but ..... I have heard (and it might not be true) that some dogs regularly going into an area with a high incidence of blasto are put on itraconazole in a low dosage before they go to these places.  Make sense?  If I were to go to cottages in Georgian Bay again next summer, which is likely, I might ask that my other two dogs are given a short term prescription to help kill any blasto spores they inhale.

[weluvmoose]

Thank you luvmyjacks - possibly a good idea in case we take him back to Canada - I will look into it. 

[BRANDO]

Brando and I lived in northern Wisconsin, primarily the Eagle River area in VILAS COUNTY.
 
The disease is high in this county especially around the Chain of Lakes and Wisconsin River....

A young boy from Eagle River just passed away on January 5 from Blasto...  He was a sophomore at Northland Pines in Eagle River.

I think Brando got blasto from the water of Yellow Birch in Eagle River, WI....
I have been reading all the posts and am amazed at the locations of Blasto.
The northern portion of Wisconsin is mostly tourism and pets come for summer visits and leave. 
Months later symptoms show up and the vets in their area are baffled.  It's dismissed as another illness.  As I am reading from the posts and from my 'own' experiences.

When Brando has blasto the second time both vets in the southern part of Wisconsin thought it was just a cyst but I knew better.
The paw was draining and woudn't heal.  A smear of is paw was taken and Marshfield labs said it was bacterial.  I immediately took him back to Minocqua vets and he began the healing process.. 
Then I knew it was Blasto.... 

Hopefully I can help anyone with this horrible disease that takes humans and animals every year....

What confuses me is so how littile informed the public about this disease.  THANK GOODNESS THAT I CAME ACROSS THIS WEBSITE!

In the paper of Vilas County News Review they stated, 'rare blasto' about the young boy that died and that frustrates me.  It's not rare just more $ needs to be allocated so we can become familar with this illness because it's out there and isn't going away.  A vaccine would be great! 

Spread the news to everyone about BLASTO!
Everyday I am learning about blasto and the more I know the better I can help others....

THANKS
Sharon and BRANDO, 2x blasto survivor
Allenton, Wisconsin

[evayola]

I am so happy to hear that Brando has made it through it twice because I heard that typically dogs dont do well with relapses. Congrats and good luck with the test results. We all know how hard it is waiting for those to come back.

[Jen]

   Thanks for all of these responses. I've never seen such a busy day on this site that wasn't all despair and sadness.
   It's kind of plain to see that Canada/Wisconsin/Illinois seem to have the heaviest concentration of infection. I'm a bit further south, then Gunner's in W. Texas, and we've had a few from other southern locations.
   The landscaping/mulch seems to figure in strongly as well. These are great angles. With all these connections and our trial and error experience, we may be helping to fill in some blanks.
Dogs are surviving, and we're actually helping.
Thanks!
jen

[luvmyjacks]

Jen I agree with you.  It seems as if this site is like a huge snowball, gathering strength and speed.  Yesterday felt different and it is fabulous to see that those who are over the hump in a sense are still here daily, weekly, and in some cases hourly, ready to provide a safety net for the newcomers.  Personally I feel a responsibility to check in and offer whatever small measure of support I can to pay back all the help I received.  My computer is in a room I frequent off and on all day so it is quite easy and I don't go out to work.  But, this past little while I've felt and then seen a change here.  We now have a really good team of people dedicated to winning the blasto battle and the forum seems so energized.  Someone mentioned earlier that a few months ago there were few happy stories with people signing off that sadly their beloved dogs had passed.  Now they are saying that after they DEMANDED a different test, or insisted on starting treatment they are seeing improvement.  Before there were clinics that suggested euthanasia and owners that had no real choice but to agree, but now all of us are more aware of the possibilities of a cure and I think something is in the wind.  I know lots of us have sent warning e-mails to friends and they are passing that info on to other friends.  When I stop to chat in the local park people will say "oh I know who you are, your dogs had that horrible disease".  We CAN make a difference and that is very motivating.  Every time Will looks me in the eye with that look of unconditional love I promise him I will try harder to help another one of his voiceless buddies.