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[brisgrdnangl]

Hi,

Brea's Guardian Angel Here;

There is no one situation here that is exactly the same. Blasto is without a doubt a very difficult and if not caught in time a deadly Fungal disease that has impacted all of you on various levels.  My empathy goes out to all of you who are going through this with your life companion.  Being close to Scott & Bri, I have watched a very energetic and rambunctious Bria go down to a very sick young female.  Overall she is doing remarkably well. I think at this point it is very safe to say that Bri's Dad's fast acting concern aided in Bris' ability to fight this fungas that has otherwise taken others down very quickly.  Although she is far from being herself her Blood levels on her kidney/liver values after her first round of Rx came back beautifully, watching the edima in her lower R Rear leg will be a concern moving forward possibly requiring an increase in her RX. Keeping her comfortable is Rimadyl ( an anti-inflammatory/Pain Rx) and Flouresimide for aiding in losing some retention of fluids in her leg.  Her fever has come down to a baseline temp of 101.2 and she is holding steady with her weight at 74 lbs.   Opting out at this time for the Antigen testing but may consider it to simply watch the recovery period while on her RX. X-rays showing a snowy effect is a symptom of Blasto and makes for uncomfortable breathing at night but lungs are clear and energy levels overall look great.

Not against Internet Surfing for Info just a sidenote; Have faith in your companions Dr., if for any reason there is doubt, speak up...or request a specialist.  Bris' Dr. comes from Extreme High Education and was trained by specialists in this area who have worked with cases that have ranged from survival to loss of life.  This disease is not commonly heard of in this area, the field which we takes the shepherds have several areas of stagnant waters and acidic, moist soils, we have seen fog and humidity all promising breeding grounds for the spores that Bri took in intranasally.

My empathy goes out to all of you..Stay Strong, Pro-active and Optimistic....for those of you who have lost your companions...My Deepest Sympathies

Bri's Guardian Angel

[Kash-]

I hope we don't come off as being anti-vet or sound too much "your vet probably doesn't know"-ish here.  But there have been experiences of Vets not knowing about blasto.  I'll venture to say that there are plenty of animal owners here that were instrumental in their dog's therapy and just maybe even in their Vet's education about a not so rare, but difficult to diagnose disease.   

I'll bet as a practitioner you'd rather have involved pet owners, rather than the all too common lax owner?  I think that beating a difficult disease is more of a team effort.  I know I'd rather work /with/ a vet, and I know that I choose vets that work with me.  That's not to say that we/I don't need and expect the medical experience that a professional offers.  But part of that is explaining to us, why dosages are different or why they want to pursue one particular therapy over another. Or even offering us the choice of therapies and their pro's and con's.

This isn't a Vet only issue.  In fact it's probably worse in the M.D. community than it is among DVM's. Just understand, we're glad that Brea is getting the best of the best.  It 's great that you took time to stop by and chat us up. It's even greater that you're Brea's appointed Guardian Angel.   Just understand that those of us that have beat blasto and those of us that didn't have a wealth of experiences, that should be considered a resource.   We want others in our shoes to know our mistakes and avoid them.    If you look around, you'll find that our number one advice, probably, is find a good vet with expertise and experience.    Other than that, we're just a bunch of internet wackos. 

[Wilson3]

sorry you are here..but a great bunch of people are here
it sounds like you are well n your way in the right direction thankfully you have someone in the know
i bumped up some pictures to give you an idea of could yet be down the road
blasto as you know is very nasty and tries to fight very hard to stay alive
stay strong and positive there will be horrible days to come and Brea will need your strength to fight

wilson was on compound/generic itra he is a 52 pound aussie dose was 125 mg for 10 days (one in the morning and one at night)
then 125mg once a day for about 3 months he seemed to not be showing any more improvement so his dose was uped to 175mg for 5 more months
previcax for pain/swelling/fever
on for  about 4 months once the swelling was gone 100% fever went completely
read as much as you can on this site...many times vets are to fast to want to end the fight when it can be beaten not saying we are vets but to many bad experiences it sounds from many on here
me being one 3 drs. say wilson would never make it until i finaly demand his normal vet he said wilson had a chance an sure enough 2 years
off meds 
ask any question someone has felt or gone through the samething
please keep us posted you will be in my thoughts
wilson

[breasdad2009]

Hey, saw you live in West Chicago, same here. Where is the field you've been going too?? Scary!!

Research on the internet I find is the one thing to help our dogs. I got the "don't believe all you read on the internet" from Cool's vet. They diagnosed him with classic blasto, HUH! turns out he had "classic" hermangiosarcoma. I did the Mirravist urine test, came back negative for blasto, it was assumed it was a false negative. There was nothing that could have saved him but I could have spared him 2 weeks of misery.

Hoping Brea will see some relief soon from the evil blasto!

Janine and Cool forever in my heart

I go to the Park District on wilson rd, can't remember the actual name of the park..I've only been going there for 10 yrs!! lol. thereis a pond, running creek and a swamp across the RR tracks into Fermi's property. this is where I've been taking the dogs ( the swamp) since early spring. woulnt be surprised if it was the cause. not going there anymore, or even by the water. theres 180+ acres over there. plenty of land for them to have fun short of having to go in the water.

[breasdad2009]

update on Brea. shes doing really well. her breathing seems to have gotten a bit better, not so rapid. her spirits are great, her appetite is holding very well. Breas Gaurdian Angel is truely that!! Donna has been nothing short of amazing and supportive. as well as everyone on here. although my optimism is somewhat gaurded, I remain very thankful. her temp was 101.9 this AM. unfortunately, Breas swollen leg seems to be the same. the lesion of her nose is scabbing over pretty well.

[Wilson3]

Glad to hear Brea is doing well!
Very lucky to have such caring people!
Please do remember blasto also can live anywhere in woods...a dead tree that is rotting on the ground and then chase a chipmunck under it, even the dead leaves all piled up and yes mulch.
blasto can be there today and gone for the next 20 years from that spot,it all depends on the weather if it will grow.
I know easy for me to say right now Wilson is no longer sick. But he still lives as he always did,his spirit would die other wise.
Even during treatment we went to the woods,when he could not walk I would carry him from the car to a nice spot and sit with him and I talked to him for hours all about what we where going to do once he was better. His spirit always seemed better after we went. And yes we sat but Lake Michagan and buy the pond in Grant Park,watching the ducks and seagals.
His nose never stopped and I mean never stopped breathing in the fresh air and all the great outdoor smells.
To be honest I think Wilson miss the one on one time we shared back then.
Brea is truly lucky to have you and her Gaurdian angel 
take care
Wilson3