Bubbi's Story

Bubbi is a little red Pom that came to us from a pound in Missouri. An owner relinquish. He acted pretty depressed and didnt seem to see very well. About two weeks after we got him he developed a huge blood blister on his eye and his lymph glands got huge. He was totally blind. He was also limping pretty bad. He was taken to the vet and the glands checked to see what was going on. Nothing showed up so he was sent home on antibiotics and some pain meds.

Then he started getting bumps all over him that would open and look like abcesses. He got a huge one on his nose and several more on his face. There were two on his chest and some on his feet. It was terrible. He was such a great little dog and seemed pretty happy. He got around really well despite being blind. The vet thought he might have a form of cancer called subcutaneous lymphoma which would be way out of our budget to treat. And the chances were slim it would work. So we went home.

He did pretty well for awhile. He loved to sit on anyones lap although you had to have a pretty strong stomach since he looked pretty hideous. He really liked to lay in the sun and on the couch. Then the bumps and abcesses got bigger. He even had one in his nostril that was blocking his breathing. I was afraid he wouldnt be able to breathe. Bubbi wasn't acting his usual peppy self. Everyone including me thought he may need to be put down so he wouldnt suffer. The thought of it just made me sick. It just really didnt seem very fair and I hate to give up.

So we went back to the vet to see what it would cost to do chemotherapy. A biopsy was needed to find out what this really was. Bubbi already wasn't feeling very well and after that he really looked terrible. All the girls at the vets office looked sad and asked about putting him down. We had to wait 4 days to find out what the biopsy said.

Then finally some good news. It wasnt cancer. It was blastomycosis, a fungal infection. The vets at Horseshoe LAke had only seen one other case in their Illinois practise. It is found in Missouri and not often in Illinois. It is caught by breathing in a spore that then reproduces and spreads. People can get it too but it is not contagious once you have it. You have to breathe in the spore. The article said many a dog had been put down because it looked like cancer. Whew!! Bubbi almost was one of those. It was not contagious and it was treatable. But it could be fatal and could spread to the brain or spine. The medicine-Iatrazole was expensive and could cause kidney damage. Since Bubbi was only 1 or 2 years old the prognosis was better.

Bubbi has been on the medicine for two weeks. His eye is almost clear and the sores are almost healed. The huge one on the top of his nose is almost gone. The one in his nostril will be a hard one to cure but it is about 1/4 of the size it was. He has gained 1.5 pounds and is acting like a puppy. He plays hard with a pup in here. He has even started running around the yard when he goes out. He will never get his sight back because of the disease.

Bubbi went for his two week check up last night and the vet did not recognize him. All the girls were so happy to see him and couldnt believe how well he looked. Even his coat is fluffier and shinier. He will be on the medicine for at least another 6 weeks. Each pill cost $11.00 and makes four doses. He gets one dose per day. You do the math. But it is alot cheaper than chemo and he has alot better chance of licking this. Bubbi is one lucky little dog.