My dog has Lyme Disease!

You may have already read my lens about how I came to get Coco. Well, what I failed to mention, was that we lived in a heavily wooded area. On any given day, there may be a fox or a deer in our yard, and once in a while, a bear. Oh, and there are bunnies galore! I guess you could say we were definitely "high risk" for fleas, ticks, and lyme disease. Having had dogs in the past, I always used Advantage for fleas. Now it was time to worry about ticks. But you cant use topical treatments on young puppies.

So, one day while Coco was still young, I was holding her on my lap. I took her little sweater off so I could brush her. As I am running my hand through her hair, I feel something which feels like a lump. Upon further examination, I discovered it was a swollen tick! I thought I was going to freak out. I ran and got my husband. We took her out on the porch and called the vet in a panic. I started asking the office 50 questions, and they talked us through the tick removal. That was that. No more ticks. Or so we thought....

When I realized that I still wasn't going to be able to use a topical treatment for another few weeks, I decided to spray my yard. I was determined to kill every darn tick and flea around. Well, I must have succeeded, because not only did I kill ticks and fleas, but also my grass! I saturated my yard so heavily that I ruined our new lawn. I thought my husband was going to kill me, considering he really never wanted a dog in the first place.

If you are a pet owner, you have probably heard about preventative treatments for protecting your dogs and cats from fleas and ticks. There are several different kinds on the market. The most popular being Advantage, Frontine, and Advantix. Its probably best to seek the professional opinion of your veterinarian for his/her recommendations for your animal.

Ok, so it's 2 years after we found that one tick. Home free, we thought. She never showed any symptoms of lyme disease and I was on top of her once monthly Advantix treatment. It's a friday night, and I kiss Coco goodnite. She doesn't sleep in our bedrooms. She sleeps downstairs on the back of the couch. That's her spot. I think she just likes to be up high to see everything and watch over the house while we sleep.

I wake up on Saturday and do my normal routine. I go downstairs, right to Coco, give her a kiss good morning and take her out. Well, when she jumps down from the couch, I notice she is limping on her front paw. That's odd. She was fine when we went to bed. I thought maybe she fell off the couch when she was in a deep sleep and landed on her leg wrong. Well, I figured I would watch her over the course of the next two days and see how she progressed.

By Saturday evening, she had done a complete switch. She was no longer limping on her front right paw, now it was the left! She totally switched legs. Well, that's weird, I thought. What the heck is going on?

Wake up Sunday, and Coco doesn't want to walk. She is completely lethargic and doesn't want to move. I picked her up and carried her outside to go to the bathroom. She found her spot and then limped back into the house. She got a drink and went back to her spot. Ya know what I'm thinking? Great! It's a Sunday! The vet isn't open. Always on a weekend this stuff happens. Whether it's your children, your animals, or even yourself, stuff always happens on the weekend!

All day I had to sit and watch my dog obviously suffer. She wasn't throwing up. She wasn't doing anything. Just sleeping. By the end of the day, I literally, had to pick her up and carry her outside to get her to go to the bathroom. Once she went, she stood there looking at me, waiting for me to carry her back into the house. Oh my God! What's wrong with my baby?

Of course, at this point, I did what every other person with access to the internet would do. I typed in all her symptoms, especially how the pain kept switching legs, and tried to find the answers. The one thing that kept popping up was Lyme Disease.

Lyme disease is a bacterial illness that is transmitted through a tick bite. It can cause problems with the skin, joints, heart, and nervous system. Hmmm....I thought. Can't be that...I pay $60+ every four months for Advantix. Come to find out, that the topical treatment is NOT 100% effective. Had I read the package closely, I would have known that all along. Now, at least I have an idea what I may be dealing with.

Monday morning, first thing, I called the vet. The office said to bring her right up. We get there and the first thing suggested was to do bloodwork for lyme. As we waited the 15 minutes for the results, I thought, at least it's treatable....They call us back, and sure enough, she is positive for lyme. It could have come from that tick 2 years ago, or one could have slipped thru even with the Advantix. We'll never know for sure.

She was given pain medication and a month's worth of antibiotics. The vet also gave her a shot for the pain and said to use the painkillers "as needed". Within 1 hour of the paid meds, Coco was up and walking around. She was not limping and started eating. Hallelujah! I watched her closely all day for the shot to wear off and the pain to return. It didn't. I never had to give her any of the pain pills. Her recovery was amazing.

Its been about 2 months since this happened, and so far, so good. I am taking her to the vet in about a week for her annual shots. The vet has now recommended the vaccine for lyme since she is prone to it. I never even knew there was a vaccine for lyme. Talk to your vet about it and see if it's right for your animals.