This is a general message for all. I found this site after looking for more info on blasto (i was concerned about symptoms that I feared was a relapse). I have been paranoid about this and am vigilant about watching for it.
My border collie/german sheppard was diagnosed in 2001 with blasto. My caring vet took the time to research the possibility when I told him I was often at West Hawk Lake/Lake of the woods with my dog. At the time, it was extremely rare and I am grateful I had a vet who immediately thought to check on it.
I too had the conversation with my vet about putting Buster down and while I waited in the reception area for the results of buster's chest x-ray I was told to give it some thought. Buster was lucky in that he had no signs in his lungs yet. The reason he was at the vet's was because the day prior he had been limping and was playing frisbee with one leg tucked under his body. He was acting normally, which is very active, but he was running with three legs and it didn't bother him in the least!
A closer inspection showed that 1/2 of his large pad on one foot was just gone, and it seemed to be a clean cut. By that I mean, if I didn't know better I would have assumed a vet had taken it off because it was precisely 1/2 that was gone.
After the e-rays showed no broken bones, etc. the vet indicated the remaining possible causes were not good ones. A blood test confirmed blasto and the chest exray confirmed it was not in his lungs yet. Lucky us! This gave Buster a good chance to survive as it was only in his leg at this point. I was open to the idea of amputation as I had already seen Buster on three legs and if he didn't mind I sure wouldn't! Amputation is common when the infection starts in a leg like buster's did.
Buster remained active and normal (except the limp/tucked up leg) until the meds were started. A compound pharmacist had to be hired from a pool of two in our entire City. It was indeed expensive but not only did I have the entire vet's office cheering me on, now I had a whole pharmacy looking out for Buster as well!
The meds made Buster very tired and he stopped eating. It was painful to watch such an active dog sleep all the time. I mention this because I was shocked that such a serious disease did not affect his energy until the meds started. This can only be dangerous for those people out there who think their dog is okay because they seem okay energy wise.
After a few months of treatment and hand feeding (includiing hiding meds in cheese and steak which does not work with a border collie as they only have to ingest one pill to remember next time to eat around it!) and yes quite a few dollars later, a beaming vet told me the disease was gone! Buster was going to be okay...that was 6 years ago. Now at age 10 Buster is still extremely active, still has four legs, his pad grew back, and I am informed that the meds did not permanently affect his liver or kidneys.
Take heart and for all of you out there on the fence of whether to treat or not, remember Buster's story and this: I am not rich but I also have not claimed bankruptcy over this. Every day with Buster is now a blessing and I am grateful to my vet and to websites like this one that gave me the info I needed at the time. At the time, Buster was the only dog in Manitoba to have been treated, survived and to have completely erradicated the disease from his system.
Some tips on saving money while treating blasto:
1. Ask your vet to call other vets or do so yourself for left over meds. It is sad, but the dogs that don't make it usually have owners who leave the rest of the meds at the vets for someone else to use.
2. The drugs used with my dog permitted me to treat him at home. The IV treatment requires them to be housed at the vet's which increases costs dramatically.
3. Bandage your dog yourself. The vet charges a premium for this service ($40 approx each time) and the dog usually chews it off anyway. My homemade bandages were left alone by my dog whereas the ones the vet put on were gone by the time we pulled into the driveway. I used the kind that people use for sprains secured with masking tape (liberally) and threw a plastic grocery bag over it all if we went outside (which would also be secured with masking tape).
4. Talk to your vet about your economic situation. Maybe they have further suggestions.
My heart goes out to all that have lost a pet this way. I hope this info helps someone.
There is hope, take heart from a happy ending.
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Topic: Take heart-my dog survived! (Read 734 times)