Update on Karmel 17/11
Karmel has been on 1 Megasolene tablet per day for the past couple of months, and this has kept the Pemphigus Foliaceous symptoms from reappearing. Her hair is slowly growing back where she previously suffered hair loss from the pistules, and with a daily spray of Humiderm, her skin is less dry. In herself she is a normal happy galga.
Yesterday she had another trip to the vet, for more tablets and to give a blood sample.
Regular visits to the vet with Karmel are still necessary as we try to find the minimum dosage of megasolene for the maximum control of this disease. She was down to 1 tablet every other day, but lesions started appearing on her beautiful face, so we had to up the dose to 2 tablets per day for a week.
That week finishes today, and from tomorrow the dosage is reduced to 1 1/2 tablets per day for 3 weeks. If this keeps the disease under control, we will try 1 tablet per day.
I have been contacted by someone else whose dog has been diagnosed with pemphigus foliaceous and it is interesting to compare notes.
Karmel is losing hair all over her body, as the pistules from her illness dry up. I have used comfrey for hair restoration on my horses, when they have had an injury involving hair loss, but, it’s sticky, so no good for a dog which lies down sleeping much of the day! Can anyone recommend a natural remedy which I can buy in France, which will help restore the hair and return my galga to her beauty?
Update on Karmel – 02/08
We visited our vet this morning to discuss the results of the biopsy. The diagnosis is Pemphigus Foliaceus, a genetic skin disease. This is a good site to read about it.http://www.dermvet.com/pemphigusfoliaceus.htm
Interestingly, research has shown that 6.3 years is the age of a dog when the disease manifests itself. Karmel is 6.
Treatment is lifelong. to help her auto immune system keep the disease in check.
Thanks to Pat Getz of Greyhound Protection League for sending this one.
FOSTERING A GREYHOUND – ONE WOMAN’S EXPERIENCE
When you’re a seasoned veteran and fostered as many greyhounds as I have, it’s easy to make mistakes. So, after conducting much research, I decided to compile a list of common pitfalls foster Mom’s and Dad’s make, so you’ll know what to avoid should you decide to make the leap into the world of fostering.
1) Do not get laid off from your job 2 days after you pick up your foster. This only leads to bonding, which we know is bad; and eventual ownership. Try to impress upon your company that letting you go will lead to your submitting an unemployment claim for the animal, in turn costing them money.
I received the following warning from Pat Getz of Greyhound Protection League.
We all know that chocolate is bad for dogs, so the product Cocoa Mulch, for use in gardens ‘to keep cats away’ is especially dangerous. Personally, I don’t see how a chocolate product manufacturer can know about using chocolate in gardens!
Here’s more information.
It’s something we all dread – our dog escaping and running off, and we can’t catch it. However well-trained we think they are, their hunting instinct is stronger, as is their fear, if they have experienced terrible suffering at the hands of the galguerros or gypsies.
Here is some extensive advice ‘Finding Your Lost Greyhound by Michael McCann and Finding Them is Only the First Step by Michael McCann’, which has been sent to me by Le Bulletin des Levriers.
I hope none of us ever need to have to refer to it!
A problem has developed in the feet of my galga. My vet thinks it could be an allergy problem but, as she is one of the hundreds to come out of Spain whose history is unknown, we don’t know if she has suffered this problem before.
I would be interested to know if anyone else has experienced a similar problem, the diagnosis and treatment.
At the end of the Spanish hunting season in January, hundreds of galgos are abandoned every year, and many of them resort to living on their wits to survive.
It can take weeks, sometimes months, of patient work by volunteers before a dog is finally caught and taken to a refuge.
Not all of these dogs cope with the change in situation, and if they then travel to another country and are put in a domestic environment, it can be even more traumatic, and their first instinct is to escape again.
One such dog recently arrived in France.
There are always appeals for foster homes for dogs, but many people are hesitant to volunteer because they are afraid of becoming too attached to the foster dog, and not being able to let it go to a new home.
Certainly there are risks involved, not least of which are the tugs at the heartstrings! But it is really extremely worthwhile and rewarding, and it gives a dog more of a chance of getting a permanent home, whereas it is less likely to happen in a refuge.
One of the main advantages is that it enables the foster dog to be assessed.
What is its attitude to other dogs? Can it live with cats? How does it cope with boisterous children? Can it be toilet-trained? Could it live as the only pet, or does it need another canine companion? What sort of things frighten it?
