I just happened to visit the newspaper’s website for Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (across the river from me) and I noticed they had an article about blastomycosis (what I believe Surf died from).
It’s so heartbreaking to read that just across the river the vets are much more aware of it. They proclaim to drastically beat the average survival rates by saving 95-97% of the dogs that have it. They do mention that the treatment costs up to $100 a week and needs to be administered for three to nine months.
The vet interviewed says they see a case a month in their office. “About anywhere there is swampland there is Blastomycosis.”
Just think how different life would be if I had brought her to a different vet when she coughed the first time.
To read the article: http://www.sooeveningnews.com/articles/2006/06/21/news/news81.txt
Julie
Lisa, you can’t think about the past, you can’t change it and you can’t play with your heart like that. You loved Surf, and we all did. You did the best for Surf and she knew that you took the best care of her as you could. Remember her good times, all the times you called her knucklehead and she did silly things that you loved so much like eating all your stuff and getting into trouble.
And now you have Monty to drive you nuts, oh and Zeus, I always seem to try and forget about that Zeus character..
I love you Lisa!
Chris Hurt
As a human that contracted blastomycosis and was misdiagnosed for three months, I know that this is a very dangerous disease. I was treated for a cold, then bronchitis, then the flu, then for bacterial pneumonia in the hospital until the lesions came out. A pulmunary doctor finally recognized the significance and did a bronchoscopy of my lung and found the initial infection along with eight biopsies of the lung and one on a lesion that confirmed Blastomycosis.
The funny thing is that my dog never contracted this disease and I do not know how I got infected as it comes from rotting wood or soil. I could understand if she got sick, then me, but I have no idea where I got infected, and I am not immuno suppressed other than being a paraplegic.
If you want pictures of my infected lesions so that dog owners know what to look for, let me know. I have had 33 lesions on my left arm and around 27 on my right arm and that is just the arms as I have them eleswhere as well. This is a serious disease for all that can catch it and most people won’t know they or their animal is infected as it takes 45 days for the infection to show up on X-rays as in my case.