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Casper D Dog

Casper's Updates

I am putting the latest updates on Casper and his latest pictures on his blog so that I can just put updates in one place. Please come visit us at http://casperddog.blogspot.com

Casper Latest

Casper been going through ups and downs in his blood and platelet counts the past few months. The latest blood test showed that his PCV is in the normal range and his platelets although not yet within normal range is still adequate to keep him from becoming critical. After all sorts of other tests, he has been diagnosed with Cushing's disease also. The specialist said that this is the result of him taking high doses or prednisone for so long for his Evan's Syndrome. Sigh! When they took a urine sample from him a few weeks ago, he developed a nasty red spot on his groin that grew from nothing to an inch in diameter within an hour. It was surrounded by bruising. The next morning it was twice the size. The doctor said that the Cushing's has made his skin so thin that the cystosentisis they performed to get the urine sample triggered him to bleed and bruise. I put an ice compress on it to help the bruising go away. It healed after a week. Casper was great. He just lied on his back and balanced the ice compress on his belly. I think he liked having it there coz it felt nice and cool. He is also having more problems with the bathroom stuff these past few months coz the meds make him thirsty and hungry all the time. But still he is smiling and so adorable. He is playing with his toys and we take him out so that he can have some fun. We can no longer take him to dog parks coz he cannot have any vaccinations or flea treatments. Those might trigger a relapse. And his meds make him susceptible to infections. And too much exercise may cause him to relapse. So we take him to stores where he rides in the shopping cart and we have dinner or lunch on outdoor patios so that he can join us. We take him to places where there are no dogs so he can't get fleas, or get infected from any sickness they may have and so that he does not get too excited. He can only meet up with dogs that I know have no fleas, is not sick or is not a carrier for any disease and one that will not engage Casper in too much running around. It has been a big adjustment but he is taking to it well. He is always in good spirits. We are still hoping that he will be able to beat this disease and perhaps one day not need to take these medications. But we are taking it one day at a time and enjoying our time with him as best we can.

Roller Coaster

This disease has been one bumpy roller coaster ride. Since our last post, Casper's PCV has gone down to 43 to 39 to 34. Today it is back up at 39. Whew! Can't say the same for the platelets though. Those have gone down from 448k to 391k to 260k and now to 98k. The doctor is worried about that so we need to get tested again next week. I've been instructed to put him on a low fat diet to control his weight and coz his triglyceride is a bit high. I've been reading stories about other doggies who have gone through this and it is a long road we have ahead of us.