Meet Pirate, an elderly tri colored intact male who was pulled from Broward County Animal Control on October 7, 2011. He had been picked up as a stray wandering the streets of Ft. Lauderdale by BCAC five days earlier.
When he came in he had a large abscess on his face and numerous puncture wounds on his head and face from being attacked by another animal.
He also had very limited mobility due extremely inflamed arthritic joints, was severely emaciated and infested with ticks. Despite his condition he has consistently exhibited the best qualities of Sheltie temperament, and has accepted all help and treatment, no matter how painful, with patience and gratitude.
Blood tests indicated that Pirate is suffering from Ehrlichia, an extremely serious tick borne illness along with an advanced urinary tract infection, eye infection, hookworm infestation and severe anemia and dehydration. Blessedly, he is heartworm negative.
Pirate's testing and treatments are expensive and the costs so far have been borne solely by two of our volunteer fosters. Due to the economy, donations have decreased while the number of Shelties in need have increased.
It is more important than ever to remember that dogs like Pirate are the reason for rescue. True, he may never be adoptable due to age and health but, this old gentleman deserves to be comfortable and safe for whatever time he has.
Please consider donating just $5.00 to help us with Pirate. He deserves every chance in the world to know happiness with a loving family of his own.
And of course, we will proudly list your name on our Angels page.
Thank you,
Barbara Davis
About Ehrlichia: Ehrlichia canis is the cause of classical ehrlichiosis in dogs. This Ehrlichia targets MONOCYTES and is transmitted by Rhipicephalus sanguineus, the "brown dog tick."
Clinical disease in dogs:
Ehrlichia canis infection in dogs is divided into 3 clinicopathologic stages:
acute phase of disease:
fever, anorexia, lethargy
lymphadenopathy
thrombocytopenia
This phase begins 1-3 weeks after exposure.
Most dogs recover at this point, but others progress to the subacute and chronic phases
subacute phase of disease:
hypergammaglobulinemia (polyclonal or sometimes monoclonal gammopathy), thrombocytopenia and anemia
usually subclinical, but can last months to years
chronic phase:
lethargy, weight loss
PANCYTOPENIA, BONE MARROW SUPPRESSION AND HEMORRHAGE
Mortality can be high in dogs that progress to the chronic stage of disease.
Three hundred military dogs were lost to this "Tropical Canine Pancytopenia" form of ehrlichiosis during the Vietnam War.
Progression to subacute and chronic disease is generally attributed to an ineffective immune response on the part of the dog. German Shepherd dogs appear to be predisposed to the severe, chronic form of disease.
Animals with ehrlichiosis can also exhibit uveitis, retinal hemorrhages and CNS disease, due either to CNS vasculitis or hemorrhages. In addition, dogs in the early stages of disease may manifest a lymphocytosis with cell granularity typical of lymphocytic leukemia.
Pathogenesis:
The acute stage of disease is due largely to a vasculitis. The organism replicates in circulating monocytes, and subsequently in mononuclear phagocytic cells throughout the body. The infected monocytes bind to vascular endothelial cells and initiate a vasculitis and subendothelial cell infection. (Because of the vasculitis, dogs with ehrlichiosis may also demonstrate edema, but this is less characteristic than in RMSF.)
The chronic stage of disease reflects bone marrow suppression.
The thrombocytopenia in ehrlichiosis may be due to consumption of platelets, sequestration of platelets in the spleen, immune-mediated destruction of platelets, decreased bone marrow production of platelets, or some combination of these mechanisms. Overall, however, the basis for ehrlichial thrombocytopenia remains unclear.
Diagnosis of E. canis infection in dogs:
clinical signs
Morulae inclusions in blood monocytes are transient, so you can't depend upon seeing these to make a diagnosis.
serology
An IFA test has been the standard approach for many years to confirm a clinical diagnosis of ehrlichiosis, but ELISA, immunoblotting and PCR assays are becoming available.
Treatment of E. canis infection in dogs:
tetracycline
doxycycline
Resolution of thrombocytopenia is a good indicator of positive response to therapy. Platelet counts generally begin to rise within 48 hours of starting therapy and are normalized within 14 days.
Long-term maintenance of antibody titers preclude using serology to monitor response to therapy.
We will continue to update you on
his progress.
We don't always have the time to update this website to reflect our
current dogs in need, but believe us when we say, they are here.
