# INFO ON AIHA (hemolytic anemia)



## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

*The morning of Oct. 9, 2003 I was checking the teeth of my goldens,Buck, Hunter, KayCee and Honey. I was shocked to see Hunter's gums were white. My first thought was "Oh no, I took him off Interceptor and he got hookworms." Years ago I had seen white gums in puppies with hook worms and never forgot. I had switced Hunter from the monthly Interceptor heartworm prevention pill, which also controls hook, whip and round worms, to that 6 month injectiable heartworm (only) prevention, ProHeart 6.*

*I called my vet and made an appointment to bring Huinter later that morning Later I was on the patio with them and KayCee went just off thepatio and peed. Hunter then peed in the same spot instead of out on the back fence like he usually did and I notced his urine was the color of rusty water. Just before going to the vet I walked him down the street and got a urine sample when he "went" on a post*

*Got to the vet and found he had lost 9 pounds simce his last visit, the day he got his PH6 injection. With his thick fur tall, long body it was not really noticible. Also he had a temp of 103. After examinig him, testing the urine sample, Rickey said he wanted to run tests that afternoon, so I left Hunter there. *

*Rickey called late that afternoon and said they suspectd it was autoimmune hemolytic anemia and he needed to keep Hunter a couple of days. He said for me to come in and see Hunter and we would talk over treatment, etc. Once there he explained out the disease to me, how the body thought the red cells were bad and was killing them, wat drugs was used for treatment, etc and that he only saw one case every one to one & half years, We went over everything in the previous 2months and the only thing differet in Hunter's lfe had been the ProHeart6 injection. He said "When it comes time for his next ProHeart injection, we are gong back to the Interceptor.*

*I was in to see Hunter 3 times the next day, Friday, and then Saturday morning. They close at noon on Sat. and not open on Sunday, but he arranged for me to come in at feeding/meds time Satrday afternoon, Sun.morning and afternoon. I took him fresh boiled chicken each time Iwent in and he enjoyed it. I was allowed to take him outside to do his businesses and spend time with him. H was on IV so I had to take his IV bag.*

*Sunday afternoon I got a call from Rickey. Hunter's HCT had dropped to 9.8 (normal for him was 52) and they had given him 2 units of blood, and Rickey thought he was going to remove Hunter's spleeen, often done in cases of AIHA. Said for me to come on n early an see Hunter. I was there in 15 minutes, but by then Rickey had changed his mind Had done ultrasound and it appeared Hunter had liver cancer. The next day his 2 part time vets also did ultrasound (he wanted other opinions) and they agreed--Hunter had liver cancer.*

*By Wed. the 15th we knew the pred, doxy-something, etc was not working and it was decided to add cyclosporin to the mix. The next day, Thursday Oct. 16, Hunter refused to eat his boiled chicken breats for the first time. His HCT dropped super critical,he was given 2 more units of blood, but that night after I left him a7:15, he went into seizure and died at 8:40. Rickey called me at home to tell me and we decided on necropsy to learn more about the cancer since cancer can run in canine families and I had his littemate sister, KayCee.*

*When the histopath report came back on liver, spleen and stomach, NO CANCER ANY WHERE. The liver report was"drug indued necrosis of the liver."* *OVER THE NEXT MONTHS, THRU THE NET I FOUND THAT MANY DOGS HAD DIED OF "LIVER CANCER" WITHIN 2-3 MONTHS OF GETTING ph6 INJECTIONS BUT NECROPSIES WERE NOT DONE. A FEW LIKE ME HAD NECROPSY DONE AND FOUND IT WAS NOT CANCER AFTER ALL.*

*IN HINDSIGHT WE REALIZE HUNTER HAD NOT BEEN QUITE RIGHT FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS. IN THE PAST WHEN HE HAD SEEEN A SQUIRREL COMING DOWN A TREE, HE HAD MADE A MAD DASH TOWARDS IT. BUT IN THOSE COUPLE OFF WEEKS HE HAD SAT ON THE PATIO WATCHING THE SQURRELS. WELL, OUR OLDER GOLDEN BUCK HAD CAUGHT MANY SQUIRRELS. HE WOULD SIT MOTIONLESS AND WAIT TIL THEY WERE ON THE GROUND THEN CHARGE AFTER THEM. WE THOUGHT HUNTER HAD FINALY LEARNED THE ART OF STALKING FROM WATCHING BUCK. ALSO HE WOULD BRING HIS BALL OR BOMB FOR US THROW, BUT IF ONE OF THE OTHER DOGS GOT A JUMP ON IT, HE DIDN'T GO AFTER IT. KAYCEE HD ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT, FIRST O NOT AT ALL AND WE JOKED THAT HE HAD LEARNED A LESSON FROM HIS SISTER. LATER AS WE LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE DISEASE WE CAME TO REALIZE THAT THE AIHA HAD SET IN AND WAS STARTING TO TAKE IT'S TOLL ON HIM. BUT IT WAS LIKEA JIG SAW PUZZLE, NO PIECE ALONE MEANT ANYTHING, BUT PUT TOGETHER, IT FORMED A PICTURE.....AIHA. AND SEVERAL MORE WHO LOST THEI DOG TO THIS FOLLOWING PH6 REAZLIED IN HIND SIGHT THAT THERE HAD BEEN LITLE THINGS FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS OR EVEN WEEKS, BUT WAS NOT TIL THEIR DOG COLLAPSE DID THEY KNOW SOMETHING WAS WRONG*

*WHEN HUNTER WAS DIAGOSED MY VET WAS SEEING ONE CASE OFAIHAEVERY YEAR TO YEAR & HALF. NOW HE SEES SEVERAL A YEAR. i HAD NEVER HEARD OF IT BEFORE HUNTER WAS DIAGNOSED. NOW I HEAR/READ OF IT OFTEN ON DOG FORUMS. WHY IS IT ON THE INCREASE MY VET THINKS DOGS ARE GETTNG TO MANY VACCINATIONS AND IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE BEING MESSED UP. THERE IS THAT BIG COMO VAX, THEN LYMES, LEPTO, RABIES, KENNEL COUGHT TWICE A YEAR (PRBABLY OTHERS i AM NOT THINKING OFF), THEN MONTHLY HEARTWORM PREVENTION (IT S0%NCESSARY IN MOST OF THE COUNTRY, NO CHOICE ON THAT), FLE/TICK STUFF MONTHLY---I HAVE READ A NUMBER OF TIMES WHERE FOLKS ARE USING IT MORE OFTEN THAN ONCE A MONTH, OR PUTTIG ON THE fRONTLINE AND THEN USING OTHER STUFF BETWEEN DOSES AS IT WAS NOT WOKING A FULL MONTH. SOME USE REVOLUTION THA IS SUPPOSE TO BEFORE THFLEAS, ETC AS WELL AS HEARTWORMS, BUT THEN ARE USING FRONTLINE OR ADVNTAGE ON TOP OF THAT......DOUBLE DOSING, MORE OR LESS. AND NOW THEY HAVE COME UP WITH A VAX TO CUT BACK ON TARTAR, A DENTAL VAX. SO OUR DOGS ARE BEING PUMPED FULL OF DRUGS, COVERED IN INSECTICIDES, ALL THE TIME NO WONDER IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE GETING FOULED UP BYTHE WAY, THERE ARE ALSO STEROID INJECTIONS, ANTIBIOTICS, ETC, THAT SO MANY GET EACH YEAR. BETTER ADD THEM IN ALSO.*

* MY AVATAR IS THE LAST PICTRE TAKEN OF HUNTER. BELOW IS MY HUNTER WITH MY OLDEST SON.*


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

We almost lost my 8 year old daughter (human) to autoimmune hemolytic anemia. We worked with many specialists at the time. The biggest component is a genetic predisposition to autoimmune disorders. Then a trigger event brings on an autoimmune disease. 
If they could figure out what causes the immune system to attack the body, it would be a huge victory for medicine.


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## Dreammom (Jan 14, 2009)

I lost two dogs to this horrendous disease in 20 months time. It is a roller coaster ride for human and dog...

Wolfie my 15.5 year old Husky had just had an emergency hysterectomy... when I picked her up at the Vet I knew something was horribly wrong - they told me she had not eaten all weekend. I brought her home...took her out in the yard to pee, she urinated pure blood. I called my Vet, they said it could just be left over blood in her vaginal cavity and I should keep a close eye on her. Later that evening she collapsed on me.. back to the Vet we went, where she was hospitalized for a week. Wolfie lived almost a month with the disease, but her hematocrit never went above 18, and was so low it did not register at the end.

Aiyana my 12.5 year old Golden, had her vaccines on August 1'st. at that time my two other dogs reacted to the vaccines, I noticed nothing out of the ordinary except what I thought was normal old age in Aiyana. Then her hind end gave out, she was started on meloxicam, did better for 2 days then began vomiting...it took a week to diagnose her. Her first hematocrit was 27.4, she rose to 29.5 after a week on prednisone. She held between 27 and 29 for almost two months, then began to crash with a drop to 20, then 13 when we finally decided to let her go. 
I have regrets about not doing a transfusion when she dropped to 13, but her eyes told me it was time. 

All I can say for anyone fighting this disease is...hold them close, pray a lot, and reach out for support. The battle can be won, I was not fortunate enough to be able to see my dogs through, but others have.

ETA: The site Betty linked was a lifesaver for me and many others fighting this disease. 

I also want to share something my Vet shared with me while Aiyana was fighting this disease. Back when he was in Veterinary School 30 years ago... all dogs survived AIHA, it was highly treatable and responded well. Now it doesn't, and they are not too sure why...There are differing opinions on survival rate some say 50/50, some say 60/40. My Vet sees more like a 30 % chance of survival. Before Wolfie was diagnosed they were seeing 1 -2 cases a month, now they see 1-2 a week - which is way too many.

blessings,

Julie


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

THAT IS THE SITE I FOUND WHEN I STARTED RESEARCHING AIHA WHEN HUNTER WAS DIAGNOSED. I HAD SEVERAL E-MAIL CONVERSATIONS WITH HER ABOUT THIS DISEASE AND SHE EVEN MADE A DONATION TO MEISHA'S FUND IN HUNTER'S MEMORY. I MAKE DONATIONS TO THE FUND, OCCASIONLLY IN MEMORY OF SOMEON'S LOST PET, ONCE IN HONOR OF MY VET. EVERY PENNY IS SPENT ON THE RESEARCH OF THIS DISEASE.

JEAN BRUDD IN COLORADO TOOK ALL 3 OF HER DOGS IN FOR PH6 THE SAME DAY IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS, NIKI WAS DEAD--LIVER. TASHA WAS DEAD--AIHA. CASY WAS ON DRUGS AND OVER 6 YEARS LATER IS STILL ON THE MEDS AND REQUENT VET CHECKS SHE STARTED A SITE, www.thepetguardian.com to warn of ph6. OVER TIME SHE HAS OPENED A GIFT SHOP, ADVERTISED ON HER SITE, AND A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF EACH SALE GOES TO ONE OF 3 CHARITIES YOUR CHOICE. ONE IS MEISHA'S HOPE FUND, ONE IS FOR A PLACE THAT TAKES IN OLD OR HANDCAPPED UNADOPTABEDOGS AND GIVES THEM A HOME FOR THE REST OF THEIR LVES, AND I FORGET WHAT THE 3RD IS. HER SPECIALIY IS GIFTS FOR GRIEVNG OWNERS, BUT HAS OTHER NEAT STUFF. I GOT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL 3-=D GOLDEN RETRIEVER PICTURE FRAME, MUCH PRETTIER THAN IT LOOKS ON SITE. I HAD MY DONAIONSGO TO MEISHA'S HOPE FUND.

THEN THERE ARE THE TRUMAN COLLARS. THE LADY THAT MAKES THE LOST HER MOUNTAIN DOG TO AIHA AND25% OF THE PRICE OF THE COLLARS AND LEASHES IS DONATED O MEISHA'S HOPE FUND. I ORDERED COLLARS FOR HONEY AND KAYCEE FROM HER AND WAS VERY PLEASED. KAYCEE'S WAS A GREEN PLAID---IRISH--AND HONEY'S IS A MULIT COLORED PLAID---MUM. SHE HAS MANY DIFFERENT PATERNS AND 2 STYLES OF COLLARS. I DO NOT REMEMBER THE SITE, BU IF YOU WANT TO CHECK, JUSTGOOGLE TRUMAN COLLARS.

THIS IS SUCH A HORRIBLE DISEASE AND THOSE TWO LADIES BOTH LOST A MUCH LOVED DOG TO IT AND ARE DOING WHAT THEY CAN TO HELP RESEARCH. I AM NOT SO TALENTED SO ALL I CAN DO IS BUY PRODUCTS AND THEY MAKE THE DONATION AND MAKE DONATIONS MYSELF.

A DOG BEING DIGNOSED WITH AIHA TOTALLY NEEDS OUR PRAYERS AND GOOD THOUGHTS. AND NOW KNOWING HUMANS CAN COME DOWN WITH IT, PRAYERS AND GOOD THOUGHTS FOR THEM ARE NEEDED VERY MUCH.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

It was probably the scariest time of my life. One day she was fine, a couple days later she was totally yellow (jaundiced) and couldn't walk down the stairs without falling over from exhaustion.
She is now 24 and totally fine, but we know the autoimmune defective genes are in the family. I also have an autoimmune disease.




3 goldens said:


> A DOG BEING DIGNOSED WITH AIHA TOTALLY NEEDS OUR PRAYERS AND GOOD THOUGHTS. AND NOW KNOWING HUMANS CAN COME DOWN WITH IT, PRAYERS AND GOOD THOUGHTS FOR THEM ARE NEEDED VERY MUCH.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Dreammom said:


> I also want to share something my Vet shared with me while Aiyana was fighting this disease. Back when he was in Veterinary School 30 years ago... all dogs survived AIHA, it was highly treatable and responded well. Now it doesn't, and they are not too sure why...There are differing opinions on survival rate some say 50/50, some say 60/40. My Vet sees more like a 30 % chance of survival. Before Wolfie was diagnosed they were seeing 1 -2 cases a month, now they see 1-2 a week - which is way too many.
> 
> blessings,
> 
> Julie


WOW this is an interesting note! I admit I know very little about this. I have too many other issues on my plate right now to get myself in this mind set but I will soon. I had a friend just yesterday lose her dog to this. It was a short battle. The dog was only dx on Thursday, it had a blood transfusion Friday to Sat, and was sent home on Sunday. On the way back to the vet yesterday, she died.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Since having our Cody battle this and go into remission, I feel so very blessed. I really feel that AIHA should be a topic everyone educates themselves on. As an autoimmune disease, there are so many avenues to explore........ nutrition, vaccines, and any sort of chemical they come into contact with.... all can impact the health of the immune system. Personally, I've become much more interested in providing at least some fresh food and certainly nothing with artificial preservatives (BHA,BHT). Cody is not vaccinated, but the others are on a limited vax schedule. Heartworm med is a necessary evil here, but given on a 5 week schedule instead of the "once a month" dose that is strictly for ease of remembering to dose, and topical flea products are given very sparingly. I hope and pray that a cure can be found. I know the Morris Foundation is doing research.
PLEASE take the time to make yourself aware. If you ever are unlucky enough to have a pet stricken with this disease, knowing the symptoms, understanding treatment, and getting treatment quickly could make all the difference to your pet.


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## AndyFarmer (Jul 9, 2007)

Good post Betty, thank you.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

*I DESCRIBE AIHA AS A THEIF THAT SNEAKS IN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, ONE THAT BURGLAR BARS LIGHTS, LOCKED DOOR, SECURITY SYSTEM DOES NOT KEEP OUT. YOU DO NOT KNOW IT IS COMING, YOU DO NOT KNOW IT HAS BEEN THERE UNTIL YOUR DOG GETS SICK.*

*WHEN HUNTER WAS DIAGNOSED ON OCT. 9, 2003, I WENT RIGHT TO RESEARCH AND WHAT I FOUND SAID 50% OF ALL DOGS DIE WITHIN A WEEK OF DIAGNOSIS, ANOTHER 30% WITHIN A MONTH OF DIAGNOSIS. HUNTER DIED OCT. 16, 2003, ONE WEEK AFTER BEING DIAGNOSES.*

*AFTER HIS DEATH I WAS ALL OVER THE WEB AND I FOUND, OR WAS FOUND, BY ABOUT 45 WHOSE DOG HAD DEVELO[ED AIHA FOLLOWING PROHEART6 INJECTION. OF THEM, ONLY 2 WERE STILL ALIVE. A BEAGLE, CLETUS, IN CHICAGO AND A COCKER, I AM THINKING IN GEORGIA. THE BEAGLE HAD HAD A COUPLE OF RELAPSES AND HIS OWNERS WERE ALREADY OUT $15,000 KEEPING HIM ALIVE AFTER THE ORIGINAL HUGE VET BILL. I LOST CONTACT WITH BOTH AFTER A YEAR OR SO, SO I HAVE NO IDEA IF THEIR DOGS ARE STILL ALIVE OR WERE EVENTUALLY TAKEN BY AIHA.*

*tHIRTY YEARS AGO OUR DOGS DID NOT GET NEAR THE VAX THEY DO TODAY. THERE WAS NO LYME, LEPTO, KENNEL COUGH, AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT ALL ELSE. ALSO EVEN THAT SHORT TIME AGO, HEARTWORM PREVENTION WAS NOT ALL THAT WIDE SPREAD. I8T WAS ALSO ABOUT 30 YEARS AGO THAT I HEARD OF PARVO FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND PARVO VAX.*

*I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT ALL IS IN THE "JUMBO" COMBO VAX THE DOGS GET TODAY, BUT IT IS A TON OF THINGS, THEN THERE ARE ALL THE SIDE VAX. BY THE TIME WE PUMP ALL THIS INTO THEM, GIVE THEM HEARTWORM PREVENTION EVERY MONTH (A MUST HERE IN tEXAS, ESPECAILLY DOWN HERE ON THE COAST), PUT FLEA STUFF ON THEM EVERY MONTH, AND I HAVE READ WHERE SOME ARE DOING TI MORE OFTEN, I THINK OUR DOGS IMMUNE SYSTEMS ARE GOING TO "HELL IN A HAYWAGON" A THE OLD SAYING GOES. THEN OF COURSE THE POLLUTION, ADDITIONS TO DRINKING WATER,ETC, ETC. NOW THEY HAVE A VACCINE TO PREVENT TARTAR ON THE DOG'S TEETH. NO THANKS, MY GIRL GETS MORE THAN ENOUGH CHEMICALS AS IT IS.*


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

We have a lot of autoimmune disease in my family, and I've attended numerous medical conferences on it.
Unfortunately, there is a STRONG genetic link to the tendency to autoimmunity. That's probably why we're seeing more of it, especially in certain breeds. 
In both dogs and humans, the tendency is toward autoimmune disease, but not a particular one. That's determined by what the "trigger event" happens to be.
In order to get an autoimmune disease, you must first have the genetic predisposition toward getting it. Secondly, you have to have a trigger event.
That's where the vaccinations come in. If the dog (or human) has a strong genetic predisposition toward autoimmune disease, a vaccination can trigger an AI disease. There are lots of different ones, from the common "collie nose" to the less common ones like AIHA or lupus, or the myasthenia gravis form. But they all seem to ride on the same genetic flaws. 
But here's the catch....expose to the disease in an unvaccinated dog is MORE likely to cause the autoimmune disease response than exposure to the vaccination is! Most of our vaccinations are killed vaccinations, and not likely to cause a disease eruption or flare. People, like me, with diagnosed AI disease have to get annual flu shots, but we can't get the live virus form.
Once a dog is diagnosed with AI disease, it makes sense to stop vaccinating because now that he HAS the disease, anything that stimulates the immune system can cause the disease to flare. That includes boarding, daycare, surgeries including dental, vaccinations, and a host of other things. 
A friend of mine lost a 3 year old golden to myasthenia gravis. He obviously had a strong genetic predisposition to AI disease, and the specialists felt that, in his case, the trigger event(s) were 3 surgeries done within 6 months for intestinal blockages (he thought he was a goat). Apparently the surgery drugs mimic MG and caused his AI disease to take that particular form.
However, the flaw in a lot of people's thinking is that vaccinations do NOT cause autoimmune disease. They can TRIGGER it in a dog who is GENETICALLY PREDISPOSED to have AI disease. 
If the genetic flaw is absent, you can vaccinate the dog every day of its life and you will not cause an AI disease.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

BTW, an interesting study has shown that dogs who get flea/heartworm preventative have lower incidences of cancer than dogs that do not.


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## Swanolck (Jan 17, 2007)

This is all very interesting.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

hotel4dogs said:


> BTW, an interesting study has shown that dogs who get flea/heartworm preventative have lower incidences of cancer than dogs that do not.


EDIT: I misread the original post, so mine made no sense. Sorry everyone!


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

yeah, my rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmne disese I read once that it should not actually be called arthritis. Simply put, my body attacks my joints. 

When my vet and i were going over everything in the previous 2 months when Hunter was diagnosed, he eevn asked me about a change in food or treats....there had been none. Let me tell you, that scared me so bad i was afraid to give the other dogs ANYTHING different. On the all breed forum they were talking about rotating dog foods every few weeks, etc and all I could think of was "you could messing up their immune system." 

That is interestig about the heartworm prevention dogs having lower rate of cancer I would like to read that whole thing. Do you know who did the study?


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I don't know who did the study, but if you go to UC Davis vet school's web site and search "Rhonda Hovan" and cancer you will find an excellent article she has written about cancer, and she references the study.




3 goldens said:


> yeah, my rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmne disese I read once that it should not actually be called arthritis. Simply put, my body attacks my joints.
> 
> When my vet and i were going over everything in the previous 2 months when Hunter was diagnosed, he eevn asked me about a change in food or treats....there had been none. Let me tell you, that scared me so bad i was afraid to give the other dogs ANYTHING different. On the all breed forum they were talking about rotating dog foods every few weeks, etc and all I could think of was "you could messing up their immune system."
> 
> That is interestig about the heartworm prevention dogs having lower rate of cancer I would like to read that whole thing. Do you know who did the study?


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## SamRBailey (Apr 23, 2009)

When I was growing up, we had two dogs and a cat. Now, mind you, the dogs were mutts... but still... we NEVER took them to the vet other then if they cut themselves or something like that. They never got shots, or pills, or anything preventitive. 
My dogs lived until 17 and 15 years old, and my cat until he was 16.

How is it that now we have all these pills and shots and prevention medicines, and the two cats I had since I moved out both died at 4 and 5 years old... and my Golden has allergies and seizures at 3 years old?

What has changed SO MUCH in the 30 years since??? 

I don't get it. :no:


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

SamRBailey said:


> When I was growing up, we had two dogs and a cat. Now, mind you, the dogs were mutts... but still... we NEVER took them to the vet other then if they cut themselves or something like that. They never got shots, or pills, or anything preventitive.
> My dogs lived until 17 and 15 years old, and my cat until he was 16.
> 
> How is it that now we have all these pills and shots and prevention medicines, and the two cats I had since I moved out both died at 4 and 5 years old... and my Golden has allergies and seizures at 3 years old?
> ...


`

EXACTLY. Our dogs got rabies vax and distemper....and I lost two to distemper after getting vax, Beauty at 8 months, Rascal at a 3. Both were English Setters. My vet today tells me that back then the vax was not all that great and often times caused the distempe. I am taling late 50's early 60's. most of our doga all lived to be old. They were taken to the vet for serious injuries, but we treated minor cuts, etc ourselves. And we often had dogs cut on barbed ire during hunting seaon.

AsI think on it, they wree all outside dogs. Back then no country foks kept dogs inisde. They lived outside and slept in a dog house filled with hay durng the winter and just outside in pen or yard during the summer. They were mostly allwed to be loose all the time and often drank from the pond rather than their pail of fresh water. They were fed Purina dog chow and with our large family , no scrapes excpet bones (I would not do that today). They were hunted hard and heavy during the winter. They did not get sick. They were hunted until old. tthen retired...if you can retired a quail dog. Most everyone inour community were hunters of quil, and varmits and hand sporting dogs or hounds and all lived like this. In all the ears of growing up, the ONLY peoeple I knew who had dogs other than hounds, sporting or "mutts" had a collie and a Peke...and they moved out from a city. Thecollie Lassie, stayed outsdie,the Peke, Little Bit, stayed inside. Oh, ther was one other, a family with a Boston Terrier, named Stinky also former city folks


Today our dogs are kept indoors and are given "top of the line foods", constant fresh water, and all kinds of vax and pills. Perhaps all this combined is the problem. Perhaps our dogs are to molly-coddled today. Iknow my Honey is in or out as she pleases and it is mostly in. I feed herTaste of the Wild food along with the home cooked chicken stew I make for her. She gets heartworm prevention monthly--I have no choice about that here on the Texas coast--and her rabies yearly, by city law, which I am trying to fight. But I do not get her vaccines and my vet said they are not needed. I only use flea control when I find fleas and I try to prevent them from ever entering he yard to get on her. 

WE lost our cat Pippi 3 years ago this month. She was 17. She started as in indoor cat, but when about 3 decided the litter box was not for her and even tho we changed boxes, tried different litters, she would not use it and we had to put her outside, declawed and all. We had her a "cat house" on the front porch with carpet in it and also a way for her to get into the garage. She neverwne past the yard on either ide of us. loved our grandkids to pieces and only wanted in the house if one of them was holding her After kitten vax, she only got rabies for the rest of her life, and even then not every year once I knew they were good for longer and was causing cancer at injection sites. She was never sick a day in her life, her only vet trips were for rabies vax. She ate Purina cat food plus fresh cooked fish (she refues any canned or kibble that was "suppose" to be fish. We have often thought had we been having her jabbed all the time we probably would not have had her so long. Old age finally caught up with her. She lived a wonderful, long healthy life without all the vax, etrc.

My Hunter had had all his puppy shots, his yearly vax, including at that time lepto, his monthly heartworm pills (til PrHeart6 jab), Frontline almost monthly. Did all that mess up him up , was it a bad batch of PH6 (batches put on the market for 2 months before his injection were recalled because of a problem with the time release part). We will never know, I jut know I lost my beautiful, sweet, gentle boy to that horrible AIHA and I never want to have another dog with it.


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## SamRBailey (Apr 23, 2009)

3 goldens said:


> `
> 
> EXACTLY. Our dogs got rabies vax and distemper....and I lost two to distemper after getting vax, Beauty at 8 months, Rascal at a 3. Both were English Setters. My vet today tells me that back then the vax was not all that great and often times caused the distempe. I am taling late 50's early 60's. most of our doga all lived to be old. They were taken to the vet for serious injuries, but we treated minor cuts, etc ourselves. And we often had dogs cut on barbed ire during hunting seaon.
> 
> ...


I am so, so sorry for your terrible loss and the way it happened. 

My Bailey had his first seizure on Sep 18th, 4 days after his distemper shot, and his heartworm pill. He had his second seizure exactly one month later, Oct 18th, again, 4 days after his heartworm pill. the next month, he got the pill, but had no seizure. Then on Dec 18th, again, 4 days after heartworm, he had his third. I stopped his heartworm pills after that, but alas, he had 2 more seizures, Dec 31st and Jan 23rd. I could no longer say it had to do with the heartworm pill. so on Jan 24th he started on pheno. 90mg 2x a day. He is 79lbs. 
I still, however, feel it was somehow related to either the vaccination or the heartworm pill. I will never again give him the heartworm... I will have him tested for it once a year if I have to, but it's not big here on Long Island. I also will fight with my vet to avoid the distemper. And due to it being law, I know he has to get Rabies, but at least that's once every 3 years now.
It's like MRSA... how that developed because people over medicated, and bodies became immune to medications. We are over medicating our pets now too.


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## Blaireli (Jun 3, 2008)

Betty, thank you for writing this. This is the first time I've seen this post and, I have to admit, when I read the first sentence, I started crying. Haha, I'm such a sap.  Yes, everyone SHOULD educate themselves on this devastating disease. Sandra was right when she compared it to a thief in the night. As you all know, my poor Heidi girl was not fortunate enough to be a survivor of AIHA. Her body turned against itself and the fight was insurmountable. There's not a single day where I don't think about her a million times per day. If her death has done nothing other than to make people want to learn about this disease so that they may recognize it in their pups, I do not feel as though it was pointless. Maybe that was Heidi's gift to all of us. 



Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> Since Blair's sweet Heidi is in the initial stages of battling this horrific disease and I am blessed enough to be sharing my life with a survivor, I thought it important for everyone to become aware of this disease. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but the fact remains that there are many out there in Blair's shoes. And many vets have not had experience treating it.
> 
> The Miesha's Hope website was started by Joanne Dickson. It includes a full overview.... from definition, diagnosis, treatment, and even a success chapter (which included our bridge member, Angelo). There also are many links which can prove helpful.
> 
> ...


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

I really do not know if "catching early" does much good or not in preventing death Perhaps it does, perhaps not What I do know for dead certain is that without treatment the odds of the dog surviving is about ZILCH, ZERO, NONE. So if nothin else you need to be aware and get treatment started as soon as possible.

And another side to tell the stories is to make folks understand that sure vax are needed, but not over vax. Each time your dog gets a mulittude of vax at the same time, there is more chance of a reaction, including AIHA. And the alto this sounds contradictary, it is better to get them spaced. Get the rabies, the Lyme, the Kennel Cough on different days, a couple of weeks apart. Compare it to my diabetes. I can eat a cookie one day, another a few days late, another a few days later and not have a "sugar overload". But if I eat them all at the same time, I have a sugar overlaod and can have bad problems. I feel that is how it is with getting EVERYHING the same day for our dogs--a vax over load.

And once they are safel vaccinated, don't rush in every year getting vax. Each time they are stuck is a risk of reaction, some minor, some serious. Cut back on flea/tick stuff if at possible. I can't cut back on heartworm stuff, not here on the coast where we have mosquitos year round, but I am sure cutting back on everything else I can. 

One thing I found while "talking" to so many who lost their their dogs to AIHA folowing PH6 injection--many reazlie in hind sight that their doghad not been quite riight for days or in our case couple of weeks. But it was such little things, like pices to a jig saw puzzle that didn't mean anything until put together and then it made a picture.

For instance, Hunter had tried his entire life to catch a squirrel lie Buck did, but he always went after them when they were half way down the tree rather than on the ground. Well, suddenly he was sitting and watcing rather than chasing and we thought he had learned to stalk from watching Buck. He would bring his ball or toy or us to throw and if one of the other dogs got a jump on , he didn't go after it. His littermate sister, KayCee had always been like that--only the lead dog got it and if she was lead, she was not going after it. We thought after all those eyears he had picked tht up from her. Only later did we realize the AIHA had set in and was starting to take it's toll. Others had their dog collapse and then in hind sight saw symtpons, but didn't put them together. Others could see nothing in hindsight to indicate a problem before theiir dog collapsed. Most that collapsd died within a couple of days of diagnosis,.Of the 45 or so that I found or found me, at that time only 2 were still alive, a cocker in Alabama or Georgia, I can't remember which, and a beagle in Chicago whose bills had already hit $15,000. My bill for Hunter was $2300, He was put in ICU Oct. 9 and died Oct. 16, 2003. That bill included his care, daily blood work and tests, 2 units of blood twice, x-rays, ultrasounds, tons of meds, antibiotics, IVs, necropsy. The maker did end up paying almost 1/2 of it and making a generous donation to Texas A&M Vet school.

So watch your dogs and if they act strange, just litle things, if their gums are pale, if their urine is dark, get them ASAP.


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