UPDATE on my Coonhound Dixie 1/25/23

This was Dixie.



And this is Dixie now.




I'm probably going to catch a bunch of flack for this, but that's okay. I have thick skin.

In July of this past year, I noticed Dixie's mouth was swollen up. I opened her mouth and she had a stick wedged into the roof of her mouth, with the ends of it stuck in her gums. This wasn't the first time this had happened, and so like normal I pulled it out. And that was the start of it.

What followed was 6 months of nearly bi-weekly vet trips and now nearly $2000 worth of vet fees. Her mouth is still swollen. She has been to 2 vets. She's had an X-ray, bloodwork, biopsies, and 2 exploratory surgeries (looking for a splinter of wood). She's been on 4 antibiotics, which do nothing, and Prednisone, which initially eliminated the swelling completely, but now only reduces it.

Both vets she's been to, and 2 others I've spoken with, do not know what is going on.

Both vets she's been to suggested that the only thing left to do, other than putting her down, is to take her to MS State University vet school.

She has an appointment there on the 25th of this month. It is for diagnostic testing... a CT scan, a rhinoscopy and I don't know what all else. The estimated cost is 2-3K. That is just for the testing, not the fixing.

I've been saving money for awhile to buy a side by side, so I have a few thousand dollars saved up but it's going to go on this first round of testing, leaving not much for treatment.

And so, here's where the flack comes in.... I created a GoFundMe to try to raise enough money to pay for her treatment.

If you want to blast me for asking for help for her, go for it. If you want to donate, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! If you want to donate but can't, please copy the link and share it to your social media accounts, as maybe you have a crazy dog lady on your friends list who will donate. And lastly, if you don't want to donate, maybe just say a prayer that things turn out okay for her?

Thank you all in advance.... whichever way you lean, lol.

https://gofund.me/4bbd6f62

I'll say a prayer for you to do the right thing. Although I'm sure if the animal has been suffering you'd know in your heart what must be done. If not and you want to spend your money on her, I say go for it for both your happiness.
I do have a couple "crazy dog ladies" and I will let them know of your plight

I completely understand. Lost my best lil gritty dog 2 weeks ago. I guess something from her last coyote or coon was passed to her. She was about 45 lbs of determination, would not give up a track and go head first in to a coyote and not let go. I miss her but would never spend another $1000 on a dog vet. They are dogs. Yes, I love them. But when you take care of 11-15 sometimes you lose one. I had brought my dog in the house for her last few days while I treated her and she still passed. I have no regrets of not taking her to some vet.
For your dog - it appears she still has something infecting her mouth. it needs cut out, drained, and treated. Learn how to cut, drain, sew and give shots to your animals and it will save you tons. Worst part is most of the good medicines even for animals requires a presciption - but there are still a few good vets out there that understand not everyone will pay thousands to treat animals. Above all, I would say pray God gives you wisdom on what to do. I have a $1000 wrapped up in two redbone (all GrNT though) and I thought that was ridiculous. Remember they are dogs, not your kids, not humans....

I hope it gets figured out. She looks like a good girl. I disagree with the above post as I've got a very spoiled golden retriever here along with a spoiled cat. To my wife and I they are our kids and companions that give nothing but love and are happy to see us. It's easy to get attached and I know both of us are especially my wife.
Our golden is on seizure medicine that costs $75 a month and although it hasn't stopped all of her seizures it has reduced the frequency. She's worth every penny to us.

Good luck to Dixie and you.
Give her a hug from me.

I get it Ang. But you outlive a lot of dogs if your lucky. If your going to keep hounds it happens.

Prayers for her and You.

Sorry to see that. Dogs can be heartbreakers.

Definitely will be praying for u and ur situation Angela.

Hope it turns out OK. Just a thought, as I understand it, Locust thorns are toxic, do they occur in your area? Good luck.

Paul leading the charge. I'm not surprised, what a guy.

I'll bet they missed a piece. Couple years back our dog ran a stick into her chest while running through the woods, took her to vet "removed" the stick gave her medicine & sent home. Month or 2 go's by never healing, vet says takes time due to all the tissue damage. Finally they decide to do surgery didn't find anything except infection, removed tissue, put in drain, gave medicine & sent home. Fast forward another month or 2 still not healing, she's losing alot of weight and just miserable, after multiple calls they decide to do another surgery. This surgery they find a piece of stick still in her the size of my pinky, removed that and she healed and was back to normal in no time. I was livid she suffered for months due to their negligence (a highly regarded vet surgery center not a country vet). I was also jacked we had to pay for the same thing 3 times. Good luck & prayers she makes a full recovery.

Snyde901, I got more confidence in the do everything from live stock to hamsters vet. I have suspected a splinter of locust or hedge since Ang first told me about it. An MRI will show a splinter

I agree Danny, didn't clarify our first visit was to the country vet, next two trips he referred us to the animal hospital.

As long as she can eat and not getting blood poision I'd pay what ever it took. My bassett hound had food alergies Her hair ALL fell out before we could find what it was. 3 cancer operations and 14 years later she passed. Low balling it I bet me and my wife spent north of 20,000 on her. WORTH every penny........

This ^^^^ common x-ray wont show wood..

Sorry to hear about Dixie, prayer sent for all y'all.

I totally understand. Lost a dog about 8 years ago and the depression (which I did not figure out at the time) caused me to be so sick I could scarcely get around for a while.

Can't afford to help much, but did send a little. Best wishes!

MRI will though jbyrd63, After that diagnostic is done, if it does not show cause, if it was my dog, I would quit spending money

Thank you very much to everyone who has donated.

Yes, a regular X-ray will not show wood. CT Scans, Ultrasounds and MRIs will.

Yote30

I wish you luck and hope you find out whats causing this, I've seen stuff like this in the mustangs and after months what ever it is works its way out.

Prayers sent

I am hoping for the best for you and Dixie. My wife and I have spent a small fortune on dogs, cats, horses and a miniature donkey over the years, no regrets, well maybe some regrets on the cats for my part.

I am not much of a praying type so went the other route. Hope she gets sorted out.

Hope your dog gets better yotetrapper.
Thats a good chunk of money to spend on a dog,but its only money,so do what you gotta do,one way or the other.

No flack from me. A good dog gives all they have, give her every chance you can.

It's a possibility that whatever branch she bit had some sort of toxicity, BUT I would have thought that would show up on bloodwork? But maybe not if they weren't looking for that.... I dunno.

My regular vet is an old timey country vet that does livestock and all that. I believe he's in his late 80s so he's been doing this awhile. And he's never seen anything like this. He told me he didn't know what else to do but send her to the college for the testing.

I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous lol, but. My Gma always had dogs and when I was a kid she had a B&T hound named Skippy. I seen it happen twice, once he was snake bit and the other time he looked like your Dixie.

She fed the dog buttermilk and both times he come out of it. She claimed that for dogs, buttermilk had some kind of healing agent. Old hillbilly thing that sounds silly but it worked. Let the smear the queer pile on begin.

That does sound pretty crazy, lol. But at this point I guess what could it hurt?

Look what it did for biscuits, that stuff has got some magic in it.

Hope for the best for Dixie

Wish I could help you financially!! Ol most pray!!!

Did the vets get a culture of the infection it looks like a staff infection?

Now that's a theory. I've never seen a staph infection, but if sounds like it could fit the symptoms. None of the vets have mentioned the word "culture" to me. I know they did bloodwork and a biopsy but not sure if they did a culture.

TTT

I think there is merit to many "old time" procedures. Use of medicinal plants in success have been around forever. Milk Thistle comes to mind . That is a common medicinal , powerful plant that reduces poisons, infections, and helps heal and give the body what it needs to overcome specific illness .

I would think, buttermilk can have some similar effect and properties as Milk Thistle , on certain infections.

I surely hope you find what is ailing Dixie. Her body is doing everything in trying to tell that something is still going on in there. I even wondered about a tooth infected , resulting in some minute splinter...please keep us posted, Angela.

The comment above that mentioned Staph really has me thinking now. Because I didn't really cover this part in the initial story about her, but in addition to the swelling and oozing mouth, she has a similar spot on her right side, over her rib cage. It started out as a cluster of lumps, and the country doc lanced it once. Throughout the past 5 months, that spot would come and go, sometimes being almost gone and other times popping up in a series of 4-6 fluid filled lumps. Neither the mouth, or her side, started oozing until within the past 6 weeks or so... but now they ooze an odorless (as far as I can smell) mixture of pus and blood pretty much continuously.

Staph or worst cases blood cancer. Hoping and praying for good outcome.

Hey, clear me a spot in your PM's Angela.

Hoping the best for Dixie

Maybe this could be made a sticky for a while

What antibiotic did they give her. I would’ve tried giving her penicillin and a injectable ivermectin orally.

Hopefully they can get a solid diagnosis and get her on the mend.

She has been on 500mg Amoxicillin, Amoxicillin Clavulanate 875 mg, Clindamycin, and Cephalexin 500mg.

I aint no vet or great and wise dog dr but oak and walnut have a poison too.

Have you tried a drawing salve on the area.

Well, it's kind of an open wound now so not sure that would be a good idea.

I sure hope you get a diagnosis Ang and the treatment isnt expensive

https://dogtime.com/dog-health/54207-staph-infection-dogs-symptoms-causes-treatments

I no way back probably 30 years ago I had a small cut on my arm and all my other scratches and scrapes would heal, but that one never then one day it festered up and started spreading so I went to the doctor, they gave me oral antibiotics that didn't slow it down,went back they gave me a hi dose of something in the rump, it stoped it dead in it's track and it healed very quickly.

Rawleigh salve if it’s open? I’m just thinking of everything my dad used treating beagles.

If Dixie will let you, you could try squeezing and kneading the area to try to knock the remaining wood loose, to help her body expel it. Most of the swelling is from her bodies attempt to push the wood out.

Keith

She has some of those symptoms but not all of them. I don't believe she's ever ran a fever, she eats like a horse, and if she has any pain it's minimal... she's definitely not in much pain.

But she does have itching, abscesses, inflammation, and pus around the wound.



Thanks Danny. I truly believe that if we can just get it diagnosed, the treatment won't be that expensive. If it does end up being Staph, a strong antibiotic will clear that up. If the stick is still in there and shows up on the scans, a simple surgery should remove it.

The dog is not yet 3 years old, and that's just too young to die from something that I truly believe is a simple issue once we find it.

https://wagwalking.com/condition/antibiotic-resistant-bacterial-infections

Take a look this also talks about culturing

O kay here goes you can mark me down as crazy but grandpa use to take a potato raw dice it up and apply it to a wound on a dog or mule that was injured with a cut or infection of some type. If it worked within twenty for hours you would know. The object or infection would be drawn out.

I'm thinking we may be dealing with 2 things, and that the staph infection is one of them. Notice in that last article how it says it's more likely in dogs with a weakened immune system such as those taking Prednisone? Dixie's been on Prednisone for 5 months straight.

For the first 4 months or so, she had no weeping open wounds like she does now. I think the stick is in her mouth yet, causing the facial swelling. The prednisone that reduces that swelling led to a weakened immune system which let staph come in.

I work tomorrow, but Pete is taking Dixie to the vet in the morning to take a look at the wound on her side, which now looks absolutely terrible, to see if he can do anything for it until we get to MS State 10 days from now. He's going to ask the Doc about the possibility of a staph infection and see what he says.

This is what her side looks like tonight.

Sorry to say, If it were my dog I wouldn't let it suffer with open wounds for another ten days. If the vet tomorrow can't figure it out and get her pain and suffering under control quickly, it sucks really bad, but I'd have her put down. I have had to do that a few times over the years and it hurts my heart but in the end I believe it was for the best.

I hope you get it figured out though. I wish her and you the best.

She really does not seem to be in pain. Even if you touch the area. Which doesn't make sense, but she doesn't. It does seem to itch her though.

Very sad situation, prayers for you all.

That is good. In that case I don't blame you for waiting it out. I just assumed it was painful as it looks like it would be.

Best thing is she is still eating and drinking. To me, she can heal. I would have cut open, lanced, drained everything she has infected. Sounds like you have tried multiple rounds of antibiotics so it likely is viral or antibiotic resistant. Initial photo of face very much looks like a snake bit dog face. She very well could have some type of related necrosis injury from the related venoms and could result in some tissue loss but again likely will heal if still eating and drinking. I would definitely try the oral treatment of the injectable ivermectin. I have used it for years in all my hounds/beagles and now with covid research there is also much evidence of it being a virus replication disrupter. One generic bottle of injectable ivermectin was around $30 and will last you for years and years as a very good wormer and parasite control as well. I have never once used a heartgard type product for any dogs and never once had an issue with heartworms. A vet years ago who field trialed around 30 bird dogs told me about it.

Keep reading and keep seeking info and you likely can overcome this with Godly wisdom and doing things yourself. Have faith!

We always used the ivermectin orally mixed with Pepsi to treat heart worms in beagles I’m at a loss. Usually penicillin, ivermectin, salve, would cure anything.

So Pete took her to the vet today and he took a sample of the fluid from the side wound and looked at it under his microscope. He said it appeared to be a fungal infection. He prescribed ketoconazole which according to google is an antifungal medication that is used to treat certain infections caused by fungus.

He also prescribed a powder called Neo-Predef which is a 3 way powder that is an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and pain reliever that goes directly on the wound.

And no, Jayme... he doesn't think the dog should be put down.

This is GREAT news! Sounds like you are on the right track, and should have things cleared up sooner rather than later.

Well, maybe. When I talked to him on the phone he didn't sound all too sure of his diagnosis. And Pete said he kept shaking his head like he was frustrated when looking at everything.

But this is something new to try at least which is better than doing nothing. I guess I'm cautiously optimistic.

Well I'm no doctor- but I do have an educational background in biology, chemistry, physics, and genetics. (I used to work for Colorado State University in the Tuberculosis Research Lab. We worked with biohazard lever 3 types of Tuberculosis. Strains that didn't have a cure, or the medication was only moderately effective.) Fungus is SUPER easy to identify. Once identified, you *usually* have a pretty clear plan of attack. If it is a fungus you're dealing with, you should notice a HUGE improvement in a short amount of time. Perhaps even by tomorrow evening. In our lab studies, fungus was very susceptible to treatment. Responded VERY quickly most of the time. To me, this is great news, and I hope his diagnosis is correct.

Thanks for your insight Raptor. That DOES sound a bit more promising. I'll be praying that that's the case.

Praying it improves.

Sure hoping she pulls through. Maybe the meds will do the trick.

That is good news. I hate to have to have that done. Our most recent ones were both inoperable cancers.

I have found nothing on this earth more loyal than a dog. What a great example of unconditional love. My heart goes out to you. I pray your prayers are answered.

My prayers are with you yotetrapper. I’m going through something similar right now with my beloved English setter. Some dirtbag trespassed on my property and shot her. Eric

Shot your dog on your own property? Is he in jail or the hospital one? I'd probably be in jail.

My English setter is one of the gentlest dogs I ever owned. Has a strong desire to please. First one I ever owned. I really like him. ABeardedTrapper I hope your dog heals and the guy who shot him gets herpes

So the vet never took any samples from her muzzle, not that it probably mattered but hopefully there's not two different types attacking her? Anyway it sounds some what positive.yaaaaa!!

How is Dixie doing since she went on the ketoconazole and the Neo-Predef?

I don't notice any difference. If anything she's as bad/worse as she ever was. When they said January 25th for the appt (which was the first they had) I thought that seemed fine as she'd been about the same for a month or so, without really getting any worse. But now she seems to be getting worse.... as in the wounds look worse.

She still has a voracious appetite, does not seem to be in any pain, and even plays now and then. It's not like she's dying or anything, but now I feel the 25th can't get here soon enough.

Today I called the vet and asked about wrapping the wound, as keeping it clean otherwise is about impossible. He said it would be great if I could keep it on. So far so good, lol.

I second that. I saw my dad jump in a creek to save his beagle that got his collar caught on a branch and was going to drown.

Yotetrapper, How is Dixie doing? Eric

Try chocolate candy bars, It has worked for others in your situation.

Dixie is headed in today for her testing. Her condition is about the same other than the spot on her side is a little worse. It's as though something is slowly eating away her skin. Really weird.

But anyways, today is the day where hopefully the doctors can figure out what is going on with her. If you're the praying sort, please say a prayer that they can get it figured out! Thanks.

May the Lord bless you and Dixie with favor.

Please keep us updated, I was thinking about this yesterday

So what kind of infection is not viral, not bacterial, and not fungal? Any guesses? Apparently an Oomyces infection. Yeah, I'd never heard of it either.

Apparently an Oomyces infection presents as a fungal infection, but isn't...quite. It's it's own classification, I guess. Anyways, the way one catches such a thing is by spending time in stagnant, dirty water such as ponds and swamps... places Dixie loves dearly.

They THINK the culprit that she has is the Omyces v. pythium also it could possibly be v. laganedium... they did further testing to determine which and we should know the results of that in a few days.

But the treatment is generally the same for both although they might switch a medication if it turns out to be the other one.

They said 5 years ago, a Oomyces infection in a dog was fatal but that over the past couple years they have been having good success with an experimental and unapproved drug cocktail.

It is 2 antifungal medications... Itraconazole and Terbinafine... along with a... get this.... plant fungicide. 22% Mefenoxam. This latter is not available as a medication and must be purchased online or through a farm store. She is dosed .64ml of that orally.

Along with that she was given a slew of other meds... more prednisone, gabapentin, tylenol/codeine, and Prilosec. The wound must be kept clean, she has to wear a cone of shame, and she needs blood work every few weeks to monitor for success and for possible side effects.

OH and Oomyces is contagious to both other dogs and to humans.

Her prognosis is good, but she's far from out of the woods. They said her wounds will get worse before they get better, and that she'll be on the meds for months... or longer.... basically until they either cure her.... or don't.

So the good news is we have a definitive diagnoses. The bad news is it may or may not be curable.

The GoFundMe campaign raised enough to cover today's visit and there's a bit left over to cover her ongoing bloodwork and medication costs....so THANK YOU all so very much!

It's been a lonnnnng day.... so I'll answer any questions tomorrow.

Good news YT.

That's a relief to know what you're dealing with. Hope she does well with the treatments.

Well, there's some positive news in there so that's good. Hope Dixie heals up quick with the new meds, thanks for letting us know.

The more I read on it, the less like good news it sounds.

Good luck Dixie

I went through something similar a few years ago with my lab and had to take him to the University of Georgia's vet clinic. They gave me the answer I needed and sorted everything out. Money well spent!

I wish you all the best with your dog. We seem to spend a small fortune on our dogs every year, but they are family members and are worth it.

I look forward to more positive updates!

Was it some type of oomycetes infection, like Pythiosis or Lagenidium. that your dog had? I read that labs were the most common breed to get it.

Dog showing some improvement now I hope?

If I say a little I'm not sure if it's just wishful thinking. I'll definitely say not much. It does appear as if the wound in her side is not oozing as much as it was. The facial wounds are still draining a good bit though. But the vets said it would likely take 3-5 MONTHS before seeing much improvement so it's not surprising. They also said they expect the wounds on her side to get worse before they get better as there is some tissue there they believe is dead and will slough off.

They prescribed a 3 drug cocktail and so far I only have 2 of the 3 ingredients as I had to order the third from Amazon. It will be here tomorrow and from my reading the missing ingredient is the most important one. So maybe once we get that we'll start to see more minor improvements.

That dog means alot to you. I hope it heals up.

I hope this isn't inappropriate, but wanted to ask how Dixie was doing.

Not much change. But they said it would be 3 months when we first do bloodwork to even see if the meds are having any affect.

However, I took her in to my local vet who surprisingly had just in the past couple weeks diagnosed another dog with Pythiosis. Once he did, he called and talked to someone who is supposed to have a lot of knowledge about Oomycetes that works at Auburn. That expert recommended some shot my vet called a "super serum". So now he's trying to get in touch with the MS State vets to see if that's something they should try on Dixie too.

Is she listless or does she want to hunt?

She wants to run for sure and has a good appetite.

Thats good. Maybe she will be back hunting this fall.

Sounds like will be a long road for her. Hope the other dogs don't get it as well.