SO, Luke is nine, too! And he's still here! That's great. You've been at this a couple of weeks longer than we have, so it's encouraging to see you! Bennie's is in bone, like Luke's and not in lungs or eyes. He is a very strong dog, he must be, as he raced until mandatory retirement at five, which is when I got him, through Greyhound Companions in New Mexico where we lived until late winter, 2007, then we moved to Duluth. His racing career was in Colorado, he came from a kennel where they actually loved their dogs and he was a success at his racing, top five in Colorado. He is very determined, but sensitive and terribly sweet and dear. Nothing scares Bennie, and his tail wags in a complete circle counterclockwise when he's really happy, sometimes right before he and heather break into a roo roo roo song, which fun we had two days ago. Yesterday was not so tail waggy. I could only get little bits of food into him. That part is so hard. I worry that the meds are hard on him, but he does seem better than at first, and the swelling is smaller, and he hasn't continued to lose more weight, although he did lose 8 lbs before we diagnosed it. I wonder if Greyhounds big strong hearts are a help. And they have that high red blood cell thing, too. I don't know, but we are getting through this, one day at a time, so far. I will tell you , as much as I hate to say it, Ben got his in our own back yard. There is not so much of it in Colorado, and we are in Northern Minnesota, on a stream bank, in a woods full of deadfall and rotting organic matter, which is very beautiful, if you don't know what's in all that stuff..............we've been in this house for about 14 months, and I had thought it was perfect for us, with the big fenced run run run yard for the Greyhounds to get up some speed, but Bennie likes to dig, and I would bet money that's how he got it. There was a huge crop of fungi this fall.The weather was perfect for that.( i went mushroom hunting with a friend who knows what she's doing, and the abundance was amazing.) I used to love wild mushrooms. I know blasto has nothing to do with that, but if I never eat another mushroom it will be too soon. I just want to say it.
so. I don't know if it can lie dormant in a dog..... I don't think so as once the spores get inhaled, they change to budding yeast.... in their lovely dark damp host's bodies. It's so awful to think of it..... There is a great map in the info newsletter, showing where it is really prevalent, but it is in a lot of places not shown on that map, too.... which I will bump again.... although I am sure you have read it, as you have done what I have done and scoured this amazing resource of loving friends contributions...
Here is a picture of Bennie this morning. He is camera shy.. there is a new small sore on his rear leg, which you might be able to see..... skin, maybe, now involved...
Have a great day, Luke and family.... We'll talk again, I hope!
Barb and Bennie
Author
Topic: my bennie, a nine year old Greyhound (Read 590 times)