BayWing

Farli went to see Dr. Adams on Thursday 7 Sept. She tested all of the cranial nerves and their function was normal. She showed rotary nystagmus, head tilt, and severe ataxia. The techs also took blood, feces and urine for their senior dog complete exam.

By Friday 8 September, Farli seemed to be getting her sea legs. I don’t think the ataxia was any less, just that she coped with it better. She seemed to walk straighter when called for a cookie than when just looking for the best place to pee. Both Thursday and Friday I carried Farli so she did not have to deal with the steps. On Saturday she seemed to be coping with the steps better.

Sept 9 Saturday night, I was going to give her a bath. I put a soft, bath mat with good traction in the tub. She started to struggle when I picked her up to put her in the tub. When I placed her on her feet and let go, she fell down than then started rolling. It was a roll by definition because it was about the long axis (along the spine). But the rolling was in a flipping fashion and very jerky.

Wesley and I picked her up and put her in the bathroom. She had to be held or she continued to roll-flip in place on the floor. We carried her to the couch so Wesley could hold her in place to keep her from hurting herself. She did settle eventually. Sometime that night Farli came back to bed and lay down on top of Ritka (who was hiding under the covers). Ritka growled, but Farli could not hear her (hearing loss). So I slid Farli off Ritka. This triggered another flip-rolling session. At this point I thought moving Farli triggered the flip-rolling.

Sometime on Sunday, Farli was laying on the floor and started flip-rolling without anyone touching her. Sunday evening, Dr. Adams called to ask about Farli. She looked up information on Veterinary Information Network (VIN) and read some things to me over the phone. I appreciated her efforts. We both thought it odd that the rolling started on Saturday with the onset on Wednesday. This is not typical for Idiopathic Vestibular Disease. We talked about other possible causes, diagnostics and treatments.

Dr. Adam called me back on Monday. She had talked to a neurologist from the east coast. The neurologist said that Ehrlichia can cause the ataxia, etc without other symptoms. Dr. Adams and I thought a course of doxycycline while we waited for lab results on ehrlichia would be worth while. So on Tuesday we went back in for more blood work and chest x-rays to look for any tumors or infections that could be both in the brain and the lungs (I’m not sure I have that explanation right). Besides x-rays were on the list for the senior exam. The lungs looked ok on the x-ray. The x-ray did show quite a bit of arthritis in the spine – so hip surgery would probably not reduce the pain enough to be worth while (I had been thinking about that since she has hip dysplasia).

On Wednesday 13 Sept, Farli seemed to be doing better. The head held straighter, walking straighter etc. She even cantered in our walk around the baseball field. But Thursday she seemed worse again. Friday night she whined to Mom a bit like she wanted something fixed. Then as Mom rubbed her hind end Farli settled down to “purr”.

Sept 16 Saturday night, Farli was very restless and whined a lot in the middle of the night. She could not seem to get comfortable and had some roll-flipping events in bed. However on the good side, several times on Friday and Saturday she lay on her right side without roll-flipping. In the past, laying on her right side (with her head tending to be upside down) seem to trigger the roll-flipping.

Diane

Wesley and I have been licensed falconers since 1981. I trapped a female Harris Hawk, Rusty, in Hebbronville on 23 Dec 1991 as my gift to myself for completing my master’s in biomedical engineering. Soon Rusty decided that she was Wesley’s bird.

We have flown several other Harris Hawks over the years. One we returned to where is was trapped as he did not adjust well to living with humans. One, Minerva, was just too smart and untied her leash before she was fully manned in flew off. We were able to keep tabs on her in the ‘wild’ for the next two years where she did fine. But we were never able to re-trap her to take her back to Hebbronville area where she was trapped originally. Minerva understood how to open the refrigerator (and would do so as meat came from there). As has been said, it helps is the grad student (or falconer) is smarter than the subject organism.

In 2002 we trapped to young males near Carefree AZ. One tended to bite the first few days – something most Harris Hawks we had dealt with in the past did not do. Wesley named them Beater and Biter after the swords found in the Trolls treasure in the Hobbit by JRR Tolkien.

Swords were forged by the Elves in the First Age and called Glamdring and Orcrist which translate as Foe-hammer and Goblin Cleaver (or Orc Cleaver). But the Gobblins (or orcs) called the simply Beater and Biter. The blades could detect the presence of Orcs and warn its bearer by glowing blue. Gandolf took Glamdring for his own and the Dwarf Lord Thorin Oakenshield took Orcrist. In 2003, Biter was footing more than Biting and I told him he should be called Footer.

Wesley was very sick in 2004 (see http://austringer.net/wp/?m=200404) and we decided to
that it would be best if one of our three hawks lived with Andrea – our San Diego Apprentice who turned General in 2004. Biter/Footer was the hawk most likely to attach himself to someone else’s kill. I felt he needed some time flying solo to encourage him to make his own kills. Also Glamdring had escaped once when Andrea was hawk sitting for us and Andrea had to re-trap him as he was too fat to recall well. Andrea claims that he has never forgiven her for the re-trapping and the beak coping. So we sent Biter/Footer to live with Andrea. Andrea and I wanted a name that was less dangerous sounding. I liked the author and civil war historian Shelby Foote, so Footer became Shelby. Shelby moved back to San Diego to live with Andrea in the summer of 2004. Sometime along a Project Wildlife ended up with a Harris Hawk that needed a home – they new Andrea and that is how Aidan came into Andrea’s life. She flew both Aidan and Biter/Footer/Shelby through spring of 2006.

My job took me to Wyoming for 2.5 months starting mid Feb in 2004. Andrea and her friend Terry came up for the California Hawking meet toward the end of January 2004. The hawking season runs through the 3rd week in March. So I asked Terry if she would like to hunt Beater for the rest of the spring season. She had Scamp, a captive bred Harris Hawk on loan. We had flown the boys together on our trip to San Diego in December and again in January so we knew they got along. Beater is a good game hawk and one of the faster/quicker Harris hawks I know. But he is very skittish and not as “sticky footed” as I’d like – which means he will let go of prey if he gets scared. Terry and Beater had a good end of season. And sometime along Terry had to return Scamp.

Andrea decided that she only wanted to fly one hawk this coming season. Possible because she has 2 horses, 3 dogs and a full time job in addition to hawks. Shelby is a great combination of game hawk and easy to handle. He is not as fast/quick as Beater. He seems smarter as he is not as fearful. He is nicely sticky footed. He was once more tolerant of dogs than most passage (trapped in the fall of the first year – on fall passage or migration) Harris hawks. I even took him to flyball practice during the manning period to get him exposed to more dogs. Unfortunately a Hoverwart (German guarding breed that in this case looked like an over grown Golden Retriever) got loose and thought hawk looked like dinner. John, the dog’s owner, and I raced over to find Shelby (then Biter) had Rocky’s collar and Rocky was willing to leave. But since then, Biter has been fearful of golden colored dogs (including vizslas). Wile living with Andrea, Shelby learned the value of JRTs (small and white). Andrea felt I should try flying Shelby as a really fun bird to hunt. We would see if he could adapt to Vizslas. Anyway so when we went to San Diego this July we brought Shelby back the Concord. Shelby has been living in our kitchen to acclimate to the dogs. He had to share the kitchen with Ritka when she came home from the hospital.

We have taken Rusty out several times in August and Sept. Unfortunately we have not made contact with game. Rusty ignores jack rabbits and missed the only cotton-tail she has had a chance to chase.

We went to the Byron Field twice. The first time, with Wesley’s sister, Emily and her husband, Mike. We did not see any cotton-tails that trip. Quite disappointing as we had always see several back in January. On second trip the Byron field, Rusty did see and fly after one cotton-tail, but it slipped under the chain-link fence and got away when Rusty had to go over. At least we had a nice flight. We took her to a Lagoon Valley Road one day and flushed only one Jack Rabbit (again a field with many jacks last January). Rusty ignored the jack rabbit. I think there is a pattern here. Male rabbits do get stupid in the spring when their hormones take over. They are much easier to find then. But in San Diego we can usually find them in the fall as well. sigh.

Ritka went for a re-check with the ophthalmologist. Her eyes looked good for the ocular exam. The previously present inflammation has resolved. Atropine drops can be discontinued. Prednisolone can be decrease from drops 3 times a day to 2 times a day. She will be at 2 times a day for two weeks. Then once a day for two more weeks and then discontinued. Dr. Eaton said that the blood vessels that leaked blood into her eyes will probably take about 4 months to return to normal. That is one reason she will be on pred for a total of about 8 weeks.

The discharge instructions included:
“Thank you again for bringing Ritka in to see us today. She is truly a very special girl and a wonderful patient!!”

Dr. Julien Guillaumin also came by to see Ritka just for a visit. Ritka had him on the floor with her happy greeting to see him. Dr. Guillaumin was interested in where the skin sloughed off. We don’t think the hair will grow back.

Diane

Local News 8 – Regional – West Nile Virus Found In Sage Grouse

This short report notes that sage grouse in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Oregon have been confirmed to have West Nile Virus (WNV).

WNV is an infectious viral disease with a significant mortality rate in birds. The fact that the already-marginal populations of sage grouse are now at risk from this disease is definitely a bad thing. Within the past couple of years, sage grouse were considered for being put on the endangered species list, but were not listed as either endangered or threatened. The steady decline in population seen over many years was not taken as an indication that the sage grouse needs the protection of the Endangered Species Act. Of course, listing sage grouse would cause a lot of changes in the region, affecting ranchers, hunters, developers, and energy interests in various ways.

I got home today about 3pm. Since Farli was in the back yard and is losing her hearing, she did not know I was home. I took advantage of this to give Ritka an extra meal as Ritka needs to gain weight and Farli needs to loose weight. When I looked out the window, I noticed Farli seemed to be trotting in circles. That seemed odd. Farli then tried to go through the dog door on to the porch and got hung up in the door. I opened the door and brought Farli inside. She held her head cocked to the side, tongue hanging out and panting heavily. She seemed scared and wanted to be with me. As I went about the house looking for cordless phone, phone number, etc. she followed and seemed to become increasingly uncoordinated. She spread her legs and seemed to scuttle like a crab. Farli liked me to hold her, using my hand against her to help her balance. She did not seem to want to lay down. Farli’s temperature was 101.7 F so that was normal.

I found the Vet’s phone number and called. Dr. Adams was not there today. After I described things to the the receptionist, she went to ask the docs questions. They were busy and I was given a cell phone for Dr. Adams when she works at home. I called there and described Farli’s behavior. Dr. Adams said it sounded like Senior Dog Vestibular Syndrome. She felt Farli should be seen, but I could wait till tomorrow. I sat on the floor talking on the phone. Farli sat in my lap and began to calm down. I called the clinic back and they worked me in for a 9 am appointment.

I carried Farli to the couch and settled her there. She calmed down as I cuddled her. I’ve been working on my laptop sitting beside her on the couch. She has stayed there as long as I don’t leave too long to do a few things. I brought her dinner so she could eat without getting up. I put a little chicken flavored water on it to make sure she drank as well. Eating was awkward with the head tilt, but there was no loss of appetite so that is good. Farli is my dog that loves to eat.

I carried Farli out to see if she wanted to pee. Ritka peed, but Farli just circled the yard like a crab unless I put my hand on her to steady her. Then she stood still, but wobbled. We’ll try later.

Farli tried to get up to greet Wesley when he got home but he convinced her to settle down.

Ritka is not sure about Farli getting the attention today. Ritka is used to being the center of attention as the “sick dog”. Ritka thinks Farli got sick just to hog the attention.

Farli, Ritka and I visited our regular vet today. Farli was checked because the Rimadyl is no longer controlling her arthritic pain. The most painful part for Farli is the transitioning from standing to sitting. Farli will go back for a full orthapedic exam next week. I brought home some Tramadol HCl which Dr. Adams said could be combined with the Rimadyl. We will see how that works.

Dr. Adams thought that Ritka looked good – including how the sore on her side is healing. We won’t know for a while if the hair will grow back. Ritka is still eating well and is up to 41.4 lbs. Stools are formed but soft. The folks at the vet school said it should take a few weeks to heal so I think she is probably progressing fine.

Way back on 24 August Diana Foster wrote to offer her “Neck’s Best Thing Collar” for Ritka as an alternative to the cone head look. Originally I did not think we would need the collar as the cone was to keep Ritka from chewing out her IVs and feeding tube. Then Ritka started chewing and licking the hematoma sore on her side. Diana had one on hand in her first aid kit for her dogs. There was a flyball workshop the week-end after Ritka came home from the Vet Med Teaching Hosptial. I would have gone to help with the workshop, but I felt I needed to stay home with Ritka those first few days. So Diana took it to practice. Steve O’Donnell picked it up at practice and delivered to where my husband (Wesley) works at NCSE www.ncseweb.org. What a great flyball team to help look after each and every dog.

Ritka has been wearing her “Neck’s Best Thing Collar” as a “vest” to keep her wound covered. The vest has a soft fuzzy outside with non-stick foam ribs on inside. The ribs (or strips of foam) keep it stiff in one direction and flexible in the other. It can be easily cut to fit for a neck or leg brace as shown below from the web site:
http://www.sitstay.com/store/health/med1.shtml#EQNBT

Anyway our modification seems to keep the vest from touching the wound.
Wesley and I cut out some of the foam and used the cut out pieces to to make stand-offs to try to keep the “vest” from touching the wound. Hard as Ritka will lay on that side. The inside surface is slick and sealed which makes it easy to wash, but hard to get glue or tape to stick to it. The cut surface does absorb stuff, so we cut slits where we wanted the glue to adhere (contact/rubber cement). Below is a photo of our modification:

Wesley also made a chest strap from velcro from the hardware store. The velcro that comes with the collar was not long or sturdy enough. Below, Ritka modeling the collar turned vest:

Ritka continues to do well and gain weight. I’ve added her regular kibble, Evo, to the ID. We have phased out the rice, but I have continued the cottage cheese just cause Ritka likes it and she eats the kibble better. The cottage cheese and rice was a low-fat, easy to digest diet – it’s not a good weight gain diet. However, we need the GI tract to work more than she needs to gain weight. She eats well enough and often enough she has gained weight.

The dead skin has come completely off and the wound looks good.

or close up

We went back to visit the Animal Emergency Hospital to let them see Ritka back on her feet.

She was wriggly and very happy to see the folks that saved her. Dr. Shawell said I should keep the dead skin and wound moist. Time form lots of bag-balm and antibotic ointment.

Other than the sores from the hematomas, Ritka is feeling fine. I don’t think she has her former endurance yet, but she does have plenty of short term energy.

Stools are still pudding like.

Food is a mix of rice cottage cheese, ID canned food, and rice.

Diane

The hematoma on Ritka’s side seems to have dead skin on top. It looks like the skin will come off.

Topview:

Ritka is still wearing the muzzle which she seems to like better than the cone head look.

Side View

Ritka is still eating great. We finally weighed her this evening at 38 lbs – I’d like her to gain at least another 5 or 6 lbs. To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what she was before all of this. Farli, on the other hand, was 48 lbs., which is a tad heavy for her.

I was asked about her meds. I don’t know all that she got at the hospital. At home she is on
pepcid 10 mg 2xday
Metronidazole 125 mg 2xday
Sucralfate 500 mg 2xday in 5ml water an hour from any food or other meds
Atropine Sulfate 1 drop per eye once a day
Prednisolone Acetate 1 drop per eye 4xday

The she supposed to be offered 1/2 cup of food every couple hours.
We started with a 50/50 mixture of cottage cheese and rice and are gradually shifting to a prescription dog food over a week or more. I was told it was OK if she did not finish each meal, but they did not want her stomach to get too much at one time. So far she has eaten 95% or more of each meal. Farli volunteered to lick the bowl clean. Her “droppings” are like pudding still – but so much better than like tea (brown liquid).

She is wearing a basket muzzle as she is picking at the sore on her side. The sore is from IM and subcutaneous injections she had the first few days at the Emergency Center. Her clotting system was not working then and she bled under the skin, etc. She now has about a 2″ diameter sore that is mostly scabbed over. But it dried stiff and then cracks as her skin moves over her ribs. It should heal fine; I just need Ritka to leave it alone.

Diane