Perhaps your email (or at least info on the initial symptoms) should be made into a sticky. It might make folks more aware of what to test for when/if their dogs fall ill with mysterious symptoms. Blasto was SO common in my area when I lived in the MidWest and I'm so thankful and grateful my dogs didn't fall prey to that. Especially since we lived on and sometimes IN the river (we had river front property and it flooded every spring and sometimes once during the winter as well).
I'm sending good thoughts and prayers to you and your handsome boy.[/QUOTE]
If you suspect blastomycosis, the first thing I would do(looking back) would be to have vet do chest x-rays. Hot Rod did NOT have a cough, or skin lesions. He still had boundless energy--we went for a 3 mile run on the farm the day before he became ill, and had done the same 3-4 times that week.
The first sign of illness was that he favored his back leg just slightly , then the front leg, and then on Sunday he became lethargic, almost unable to stand, and he would not eat his regular food. His front leg became swollen. His temp was 104 to 106 the entire week. The diagnosis changed daily, until they did the chest x-ray. They began the fungal medication (?can't remember name) at 1:00 a.m. and he died at 6:00 p.m. before another round of medication could be given. My vet has sent many body tissue samples to the lab, so I will post results of those tests.
I'm sending good thoughts and prayers to you and your handsome boy.[/QUOTE]
If you suspect blastomycosis, the first thing I would do(looking back) would be to have vet do chest x-rays. Hot Rod did NOT have a cough, or skin lesions. He still had boundless energy--we went for a 3 mile run on the farm the day before he became ill, and had done the same 3-4 times that week.
The first sign of illness was that he favored his back leg just slightly , then the front leg, and then on Sunday he became lethargic, almost unable to stand, and he would not eat his regular food. His front leg became swollen. His temp was 104 to 106 the entire week. The diagnosis changed daily, until they did the chest x-ray. They began the fungal medication (?can't remember name) at 1:00 a.m. and he died at 6:00 p.m. before another round of medication could be given. My vet has sent many body tissue samples to the lab, so I will post results of those tests.
I'm so terribly sorry for your loss. You and your family will be in my thoughts.
