Mickey the Itchy Hunter …
Posted by Rick - 17/07/07 at 01:07:39 pm
Ever since we’ve had our beloved dog, Mickey, he has had skin issues. At first he was diagnosed with mange. Then the vets thought it was a food allergy. Eventually it was determined that he was allergic to dust mites and mold.
For the past 8 months he has been receiving allergy shots twice a week. In addition to the shots, he was on antihistamines two-to-three times a day. He often needed to go on antibiotics if he scratched until he opened his skin, and occasionally he would need to take steroids both as a topical cream and orally. The latter makes him act a bit odd. Aggressive, but only when pushed. Normally he is very easy going even when prodded by his younger, smaller, ruder canine companion, Haley. But when he is on steroids he has a wild look in his eyes and is more likely to respond with force when Haley pushes his buttons. Recently we started a new treatment for Mickey’s allergies.
When Mickey had surgery recently to remove a benign cyst on his back, the doctor who did the surgery said that his blood work showed that the steroids were having an adverse effect on his liver. Luckily this could be countered with yet another drug; however, this news gave us the courage to switch to the newer treatment our allergy specialist vet had suggested many months ago. We had been hesitant to try this new treatment because it was relatively untested. We were concerned by the lack of long-term data, and how our older dog would respond. Knowing that the current treatment was hurting his liver was the spark we needed to change treatment directions. Our vet’s opinion that we would be much happier with the new treatment—and more importantly, that Mickey should feel the benefits of the new treatment—helped us make the decision. The bonus is that with the new treatment we shouldn’t need to administer additional drugs.
Mickey has only been on the new drug for a few weeks, but so far we are very pleased with his progress. He’s less itchy, his skin looks much better, his coat is softer and shinier, he smells better, and—most importantly—he seems much happier. So keep your fingers crossed with us please.
In other Mickey news, he got into a tussle with a mother raccoon.
A few nights ago, I went to let Mickey out for his last wee of the day, but didn’t turn on the light to check for yard critters. As soon as the door closed Mickey’s head went down in his familiar “hunting” pose. I looked toward the driveway and saw what Mickey saw: a mother raccoon with two or three kits. By the time I opened the door Mickey was off the porch and heading for the raccoons. I tried to call Mickey, but he was locked on to his target. I started after him repeatedly saying “Mickey, no!” but by the time I got close Mickey had lunged for the mother raccoon and the scuffle began. I grabbed for Mickey while the raccoon screeched, and luckily was able to grab him by his collar and pull him away.
Mickey suffered a few scratches on his mouth and chest, but otherwise came away in good shape considering. I think I was more frazzled than the dog. Plus I lost my slippers in the fracas, and each time I went out to fetch them in the dark I would hear what I assumed was the wounded raccoon. So I waited until morning.
Sarah called the vet as soon as we had checked Mickey over, and the vet informed us that Mickey was probably going to be fine, but that we had to bring Mickey in the next day for a rabies booster. Apparently it is Vermont state law that domestic animals get booster shots when they have encounters with wild animals.
Mickey is fine, thankfully, but for the time being he gets his walkies on his leash.
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Well, I send my best, my fellow canine pal! Stay strong!!
Comment by Luna (Steph's beloved pet) — July 17, 2007 #
I’m so relieved this story had a happy ending!
Comment by Sherry — July 17, 2007 #
Glad that is all that happened. I worry constantly about this myself but it is out of my control because I have cats. Luckily cats don’t rush headlong into a skirmish the way dogs do.
Comment by meeyauw — July 18, 2007 #
I’m glad Mickey’s getting something that helps better And I’m glad he survived his tussle with minor scrapes…mama raccons can be fierce.
Comment by John Tischer — July 19, 2007 #