Daisy finally has a diagnosis – spirocerca lupi. It’s as rare as it sounds! In fact, it’s so rare that we too, are hearing it for the first time.
Daisy was found in a cemetery and caretakers told us she has been in this condition for the last 3 to 4 months and expected her to die two weeks ago. They were surprised she was still hanging on.
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| Daisy, the cemetery dog |
Daisy has been at the vet since Monday night, huddled in a corner. She is rather feral and terrified of humans. She trembles in fear when you approach and the vet had commented, poor Daisy, so much fear, she doesn’t know we are trying to help her.
With this new diagnosis, she will be starting treatment as soon as they source for the medication. She will also be doing a faecal check.
Daisy :
- Severe emaciation, severe anaemia likely caused by severe inflammation and chronic gastrointestinal bleeding, lack of iron
- Highly stressed, painful when touched – slightly better with pain medication
- No vomiting / no regurgitation yet – which is actually part of the symptoms but she might have some difficulty swallowing. Vet says she is a very tough dog
- Left kidney degenerated and abnormal looking – could be cancer or born that way, no way to confirm
- 4 legs stiff, swollen and painful
- Spondylitis – typically seen in dogs above 8 years old. Daisy is estimated to be 4 to 5 years old
- Multiple fractures on left and right ribs. I asked the vet how long her multiple fractures had been there and vet said few days. Which made me really sad because it was me who chased to catch her and she fell, causing the fractures on her ribs. Vet said not to feel bad because Daisy’s bones are very soft, possibly from malnutrition. Normal dogs would not fracture their ribs just by rolling on the grass ☹️ Poor poor Daisy
- Blood smear – to check if she has leukaemia or a severe infection. Results pending.
- Granuloma in her oesophagus may become cancerous over a long period of time. If we had found out in in the early stages, her future would have been less bleak. At this stage, it is way too advanced.
- A lot of extra bone growth in her 4 legs – it is too late to reverse it but if we can get the right treatment, we may be able to retard the growth and hopefully she will be in lesser pain.
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| Chest / lungs x-ray; lots of infection |
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| Leg x-ray; lots of extra bone growth in her limbs |
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| Daisy's blood report |
Treatment :
- Pain management, antibiotics, low dose steroid
- Blood transfusion – on hold for now with close monitoring. Daisy is stable now and there is a concern that the new blood may trigger a reaction and her body starts rejecting it, causing further complications
- Treatment for spirocera lupi – generally treatments last for 4 months. X-rays every 3 to 4 weeks to check for changes in her chest / lungs.
Vet recommends we do a CT scan of her chest and abdomen, and also endoscopy next week. Main purpose for this would be to check for cancer. However, we have decided to put that on hold for now; for a couple of reasons. Firstly, knowing if she has cancer or not, will not change what we are doing for her. Secondly, she is very stressed with humans handling / touching her, and she has multiple fractures – we want to minimise movement for now. And she isn’t exactly the best candidate to undergo GA right now.
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| Daisy huddled at the vet |
Written by: Fiona
