Merit Update- She had MRSP

It has been almost two years since my last entry on here. It has been a long and rocky road for Merit. Along the way, we struggled to understand the new and upcoming bacteria to attack dogs.

Merit was diagnosed with MRSP in the bladder. MRSP was so new back in 2009 that it took me on countless hours of researching it with health officials in the US and UK. My vet specialist did not even know much about MRSP. It was my researching that helped educate her. Through the connection of The Bella Moss Foundation, I have now been working with other pet owners whose animals have come down with MRSA or MRSP.

MRSP has now surpassed MRSA cases in the US. It will be the next pandemic of dogs in the US due to the over use of antibiotics. Europe has already realized this and is now decreasing its use of antibiotics in animals. Sweden has reduced MRSA cases in their hospitals due to the reduction of antibiotics to its patients.

Merit had a long road to recovery. With very little information to go on by our internal medicine vet, we basically were left to learn about this horrible infection. Merit had a relapse and had to go on a second round of antibiotics. After that, we decided that we would not inflict her with anymore dangerous drugs that could possibly kill her and decided to work on improving her overall immune system. We connected with a holistic vet in the UK and through a protocol of homeopathics, nutrition, vitamins and chinese herbs, we improved Merit's heath. We pulled her from all visitations to nursing homes, stopped all dog training and outside visits for literally for 10 months.

What we learned through all of this that while we struggled through the process, we learned that we were not alone. Every day, dogs and cats and other animals (now cattle) are coming down with MRSA and MRSP. There is a need to educate veterinarians that hand santizing and good cleaning of facilities is absolutely a neccessity. Animal hospital workers need to wash hands between patients and stop the practice of contacting animals casually in waiting rooms. Many times they are the carriers of this bacteria.

We learned that vets need to reconsider their need to give out antibiotics like candy. It is often more beneficial to do a culture before pumping the wrong antibiotics. A vet should never vaccinate an unhealthy dog no matter if shots are due. Most dogs have a 7 year immnunity to diseases once the intial vaccinations are given. In our case, Merit was vaccinated while being treated for an ear infection. She had reactions at the vaccination sites which showed that her immune system was compromised by the antibiotics and thus allowed an opportunity for MRSP to take hold.

Since Merit's MRSP episode, we have made lots of changes. We have beefed up the quality of her nutrition even though we felt it was pretty good to begin with. We add lots of beneficial supplements to her diet. We already had a chemical free yard,...no lawn fertilizers and weed killers. We made sure household cleaners were green products that were safer for humans, animals and the environment.

Now we are trying to educate others. We are putting together a blog about MRSP and we are helping others whose dogs fall victim to this bacteria. Hopefully we can help others save their dogs lives.

Mom's Nightmare

It has now been a month and a half of going to the vets to clear up what my mom thought was a bladder infection. Three antibiotics later and possibly no improvement and I have a confirmed staph resistant infection. The doctors think I got it in the nursing home or hospice that I visited. I can't go back there anymore for fear that I may contract it again. I can't go to my doggie obedience class because mom doesn't want to make other dogs sick. I can't even go and visit my grandpap because he may get it too. I am so sad. I only wanted to help people feel better and instead I picked up some people disease. If this antibiotic does not work, mom says I will have to go on another that can possibly damage my kidneys. No wonder she seems so sad and won't let me give her kisses.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy Birthday to me!
I'm no longer three.
I'm so happy I could pee!
Happy Birthday to me!

Sorry mom, I could not resist howling out loud. I am so happy to be celebrating my fourth birthday in my new home. I year older and here for a full year. No bars, no cages, no death sentence.

Its not the "C" word.

Yesterday my mom took me to a new veterinarian. She said she was a specialist. Mom left me there and I got scared because she was not with me and I the place had cages like the one that they put me in before mom took me home. I didn't like that place and I thought she didn't want me anymore. The people there shaved my belly and stuck with me with needles and put tubes in me. They spread gooey gel all over my belly and the doctor rubbed a paddle over my tummy. Once she pressed too hard and hit one of the stainless steel staples that another vet in me.
It was a long time that I was there and I was about to give up seeing my mom again. Suddenly the lady took me out of the back and I tried to figure out if I could escape but mom and dad were sitting there when I came through the door. I started crying for joy because they did not leave me. I was really panting too. Suddenly they took me back inside and I did not want anythng to do with this but I decided to stay close to mom and dad. The doctor came in and talked to them about my problems. She said I did not have cancer like my regular doctor suspected but that I had a really nasty bug inside. Now I really don;t remember ever swallowing some nasty bug.

Holy Hot Peppers!

It is my usual daily walk through the vegetable area with my mom. I look for her to take me. Ahh...she forgot to put my eCollar on but I guess she figured we are only going to the backyard so I should be fine as long as I stay near her. We walk out back to look at the plants and everything looks okay. Potatoes look great, onions need to be pulled, cucumbers are forming nicely, lettuce is going to seed and there is some garlic ready to pick. She heads to the earthgrow boxes of tomatoes and cauliflower to put water in the storage well. She turns the water off and starts back to the house. On the way back she takes a look at the bell peppers and eggplant and reaches down to touch an unidentified hot pepper just before going in. Some are about 2 to 3 inches long and are just about rip. She is tempted to sample one to see how hot it is but decides that she better not because she may regret it and head back to the house because it is starting to rain again. I get to the porch first and she stops to deadhead some flowers off the planter. Big mistake.

I take off ahead of her and make a mad dash to the front street. When she rounds the corner she sees the neighborhood bully dog walking up the street. She reaches for the remote control and realizes that she forgot to put the E. Collar on and her worst nightmare is coming true right in front of her very eyes. She braces for the bloodshed, fur flying and emergency room visit for the both of us. . The woman starts screaming hysterically and is trying to drag her big fur friend into my neighbors front yard. She is a petite feet tall, weighs all but 100 pounds and she has this massive German Shepherd in a death grip. It is taking all of her strength to hold him. My mom yells for me but I just can't control myself and I am still on the move. Doesn't mom know that I am just going to try to intimidate him alittle like he does to me all the time. She gives one big mad sounding yell to come and I suddenly stop. I now know I am in big trouble. My mom gives me an emergency down and I drop like a rock in the driveway. She breathess a sigh of relief and thanks God for taking me to dog obedience classes every week. The woman is pale white and probably thinking that she is never coming up this street again. I guess I showed that dog who is boss of this street. Suddenly I am brought back to reality when my mom takes me by my collar and haul me inside as she mumbles under my breath, "Why did I not give her the dog pamphlet for our local dog training center". Unfortunately I have a good memory and didn't forget that this dog goes on attack mode each time he walks by us when mom takes me for a walk.

In her haste, she forgets to wash her hands. Now there is sweat rolling off her brow partly from the humidity, partly from the stress of the situation and most likely from the surge of hormones that leads to a hot flash. She wipes her forehead and mouth. Suddenly she is shouting that her skin is on fire. I don't see any fire but her face is getting red. She is gulping water and wiping her face. She mentions something about touching the hot peppers with her hand.

I can tell that mom is having nasty thoughts in her head. Because she has that look on her face. She is mad at me for taking off and now has me in a down stay. I don't move a muscle or n dare to look at her. She is still splashing water on her face with no success. She gets the Dawn dish detergent and puts it on her hands. After all Dawn is boasted as the degreaser they used to clean wildlife in the Valdez oil spills. Everytime I think she is fine, the burn starts again. She scrubs her face over and over again.

Finally she speaks to me and says that there is one bright moment in all this pandemonium. She says that she can not wait to go to dog obedience class this week and thank all the trainers for teaching me an emergency down and a good recall. And to boot, I never moved from her downstay for 20 minutes which is a new record time for me. How do I tell her that she needs to get rid of those peppers.

Why is Mom Sad?

Two days ago my mom came home and checked her messages on the phone. She was told to call my friend the veterinarian. So mom called to find out the results of my urine sample. See, I have been having problems for the last couple weeks with some blood in my urine. They put me on antibiotics and did an xray when that didn't help, more antibiotics and now I have to get an ultrasound and urine culture from my bladder. I heard mom say they don't want to wait if it is bladder cancer. I don't know what that is but she started crying so it sounds pretty scarey to me. I really like it here and I want to be with my new family for a long time so I hope and pray that everything will be okay. So I am crossing my paws and asking my mom's last dog who has crossed the bridge to put in a good word with the Big Guy in the sky.

Anniversary Visit

Sunday, my mom and dad and grandpap took me back to Columbus, Ohio. I had no clue where we were going because it seemed like forever riding in the car. My mom said it was over 3 hours...no matter it felt really long. Eventually we pulled in a parking lot where there were lots of furry friends. I didn't recognize any of them and it did not look like my dog park haunt.

My mom told me that I was back to where they got me. This was Mingle with our Mutts and mom and dad took me to visit the nice people who pulled me from a kill shelter a year okay.

Mom was so excited and dad was taking lots of pictures. She got to talk to the nice lady that took me in. I heard her say that it was nice to finally meet her in person because another lady was the person that brought me to her.

We spent another two hours there. It was lots of fun watching people come to find a new fur friend for their home. Stop the Suffering had three furry friiends adopted that day. I heard the nice lady try to get my mom to take a furry friend for my grandpap but he did not bite. He said he was too old and he wanted to spoil me. I am so glad that my mom did not leave me there and it was so nice to get back home again. Look at the pictures of our day.

When it rains it pours!

It has been a rough month and a half. It seems like every week my mom is hauling me off to visit my veterinarian buddies. I really liked going there at first. I got to see other dogs and the vets are really nice. They make a huge fuss over me and even give me a treat or two.
In May my mom cleaned my ears a bit to brisky and caused them to ulcerate. She didn't know that the skin is really thin and can irrate easily. I had to get lots of drops, flush, ointment and antibiotics to clear it up. I really didn't blame her. She was concerned because I was getting lots of wax build up and spring allergies were aggravating them.
By the time they cleared up, it was time for my annual vacination. I got two one day and had to come back in a week for two more. But before I could come back, two huge masses appeared on each side of my body. My mom got concerned and she took me back. The vet stuck me with another needle and instead of sticking something in, she was taking something out. My mom said they wanted to send it out to a lab to have it checked. So we postponed the next shots and waited for the results. My mom was so happy to hear that it was a reaction to my vacinations.
After a week or so, I came back in for the last of my shots. I only had a little lump this time. My mom told me that we were done at the vets and I was happy. I think she spoke too soon..., because the next week we were back in the vet's again. I heard my mom tell him that I had blood in my urine and that I was peeing alot. Yep, more tests and more meds.
But yesterday, was pawsatively the worst. When we got to the vets, they took me from my mom. This was something new. They never did that before. Off I went to this room. It was very sterile. My friends from the pound told me that if I ever saw one of those rooms I should run because it's where they take dogs and they never come back. Too late, the door closed behind me. Next they put me on a table and someone put on a thick padded vest. Did they think I was going to bite someone? Next they rolled me on my side and held me down. Oh, no!....was this how they get rid of dogs. Next, I heard a funny buzzing sound and they lifted me off the table. It was over and I was still alive....pheeew. I followed the nice lady to the door but she shut me in! I was trapped inside. I tried to be good...but what started out as a few seconds quickly turned into a minute, and then five and soon ten. I scratched a few times and then barked. Finally it was time to howl. Didn't my mom tell them that I suffer from separation anxiety. I hate being left alone. But finally someone came and left me out and I wanted to head straight for the door but my mom made me stay. The vet and mom looked at a funny picture on the wall. I heard them say it was my insides but no way do I look that disgusting. The vet told mom that everything was okay and I did not have any bladder stones. I could have told them that I never eat stones. I have more brains than to eat stones. Anyway, the vet showed mom all these stainless steel staples that were left inside me. She counted 12 of them. No wonder she could feel something poking up when she rubbed my belly. Now I wonder what rookie forgot to take them out. I wonder if dogs can sue.
Mom told me that she hoped that was the last she sees of the vets until she comes back for my bordetella update in six months. I sure hope so too.

New Dog on the Block

Well it has been an entire day on Dogster.com and I am trying to find my way around her. I tried to tell my human mom to just use her nose to find her way but I guess it doesn't work as well as us dogs. BOL!

Anyway, we are excited to be on here. For a few hours my human mom managed to clone me by mistake and added me as family member. I told her that no matter how many times you clone me, the original will always be the best. She agrees. I look forward to making lots of new friends.