Apollo continues to be the happiest dog ever despite his continued skin problems. His main issue is allergies now...his Dermatologist did allergy testing this fall and he is basically allergic to everything, so the recommendation is to do a series of allergy shots to help his body's immune system build up a resistance/ability to fight against these allergens (or at least that is how I can explain it). This will take a couple months and another big chunk of money but he is worth it and it is suppose to make a BIG difference.
He has had several ear flare ups since this summer, but he is so good about letting me keep them clean and taking his medicine that a good diagnosis from the vet and a good antibotic and they cleared right up. His itchiness is pretty much under control with the allergy meds he is on, so that helps a lot, we just want to get started on the allergy shots so that hopefully his hair will grow back and he will look like a proper dog!
Not that he cares whether he has hair or not, he is such a goofy, happy-go-lucky boy who lives to jump in anyone's lap for a good ear rub and face kissing. His main desire in life is to have someone who wants to throw a ball for him all day. We got a Chuck-It and took him out to the farm my sister lives/works on and just let him run and run in the open pastures...boy did he have a good time. Didn't get any pics that time but I will try to get some soon.....
My Christmas wish for Apollo is that we get some fundraising going so he can get started on those shots, so that hopefully he will get to a place medically for someone to want him and he can have a forever home in 2010! His problems are manageable, he will never be a normal dog, but lots of wonderful dogs have allergies...one of my personal dogs does and I wouldn't trade her for the world. I know there is SOMEONE out there that doesn't mind a few extra baths, meds and maintenance vet visits...the trade off is one AWESOME dog who loves everyone and shows people how to enjoy every moment in life with enthusiasm and happiness!
Aw, he is precious. Dogs are so much better at dealing with adversity than we are. They see the bigger picture I guess. Thank you for all you are doing! I wish I had some money to give you. Is the donate widget still active for Apollo? It said it ended in May...I was going to put it on my blog and share.
ReplyDeleteAtta boy Apollo!! I'm so grateful he found his way into your rescue. We had a belgian sheepdog who has similar issues. She was also a rescue dog, and we had 9 amazing years with her before we had to put her to sleep a little over a year ago at the age of 14.
ReplyDeleteBut I thought I would share our experiences with her, in case in might help Apollo.
Fleas: A single flea bite would put her into agony and could cause a flare up. Advantage and frontline kill fleas AFTER they have bitten..so it didn't help. Avon's skin so soft repels fleas and mosquitos, and helped our Wendy girl so much.
Wendy very quickly developed allergies to protein sources...so we had to keep trying new sources. We'd be lucky if we got more than 4 or 5 months on a food before she developed a sensitivity. the older she got, the worse the whole thing was. first was lamb and rice, then duck, rabbit, salmon, catfish, buffalo, elk, even kangaroo!!
Benedryl helped the itching and chewing. Rimadyl, an anti-inflammatory usually used for arthritis helped her skin inflammation. (this we discovered by accident as she also had arthritis.
Best of luck with apollo. :)