Tucker doesn't like kibble ...

[FBODGRL]

Glad you got a recomendation for another vet!

Thats good they are doing the babesia now as well. I just hope you can get some answers!

[BabyReba]

Results are in, negative for all strains of babesia. Still waiting on the folate/b12. They also ran another CBC and we just got that as well, and his anemia has improved a bit again, so he's had two CBCs in a row showing gradual rise in RBC, platelets and hemoglobin. And today, he ate his first whole meal of dog food in weeks -- I've had to cook for him and hand feed him every meal to just get him to eat enough to not lose weight, but this morning he acted hungry and actually ate his food like he had a normal appetite.

Is there any scenario in which a dog could have an illness that causes anemia that just gradually disappears?

[Misskiwi67]

Is there any scenario in which a dog could have an illness that causes anemia that just gradually disappears?

Yup! Could be any of several other tick diseases or other bacterial disease that the doxycycline is treating.

[dogs4jen]

I sure hope that's it!

[BabyReba]

and if that's the case, then i will be over the moon. seriously.

[julie64]

on Tucker eating. Keep getting better Tucker.

[BabyReba]

This weekend was kind of awesome. Tucker ate almost all of his meals (left a few kibbles behind here and there, but mostly ate everything) and he actually played with Button. Briefly, but it's more than we've had in a long time. I think he's starting to feel better!

Weird and sad coincidence: Rob talked to the woman who owns the neighborhood dog food store where we buy our stuff, and she told Rob that her daughter's American bulldog suddenly became seriously ill this weekend. Acted sort of lethargic on Sunday, decided not to eat and then chewed a bone and started bleeding profusely from a cut in his mouth, more than the cut should have bled, I guess. So they took him to the ER vet last night, and they did bloodwork and found that he was so profoundly anemic that he had almost no red blood cells left and is now in critical condition in the animal hospital today. It happened very quickly, just like with Tucker, but he's way worse than Tucker was. They live less than a mile away from us. I can't help but wonder if there's some way his illness could be related to Tucker's in some way.

[Cat24]

Was there any testing done for poisons? There are lots of outdoor products that can cause anemia if dogs get into them, would your neighborhood have been sprayed with anything both dogs might have walked through?

[BabyReba]

that's kind of what was rattling around in my head ... we didn't test specifically for poisons in his system (not sure what the other dog has going on today), but the community they live in is one of those very developed Florida communities with golf-course style green spaces and landscaping. we live in an older neighborhood where that doesn't happen, though we do walk over in her area two or three times per week. i'm wondering if there's a way they did spray for something that we didn't know about and maybe tucker was exposed briefly, but since she lives right there, perhaps her dog got a more serious dose of it ...?

not sure, but it's rather scary to think about.

[Leslie H]

That is really scary, though I'm glad Button is feeling better.

[BabyReba]

and he continues to improve! yay! we go in next week for his next CBC, which will give us an idea how much he's improved. i'm hoping it'll show a significant jump from last time.

sadly, the other dog we know who was suddenly stricken with serious anemia did not make it. poor boy was hospitalized and was in such rough shape that even with supportive care, he died. they did find that he had internal bleeding, which we have not, to date, found in tucker. so it could just be awful, awful coincidence that our two dogs had a very similar, sudden symptom.

i feel terrible for them.

[heartbullies]

Hooray! I wish you had an answer if it meant whatever happened could be prevented, but I am so so thankful our snaggletoothed cute-eyed friend is on the mend.

Sent from my ATRIX using Tapatalk

[julie64]

Very happy to read this. Keep getting better Tucker. I'm sure Button is happy to be getting his Tucker back.
: ( on the dog that didn't make it. Very sad.

[FBODGRL]

So glad Tucker is continuing to improve!

Fingers and paws crossed here that the bloodwork will show a significant improvement.

[Ilovethepits]

I am also so glad that Tucker is on the mend.

I find it very interesting that other dog in your vicinity got sick too and it makes me wonder about some sort of pesticide or poison. I am so sorry about that outcome.