Hi all, I don't know if such a detailed post on medical things is allowed but I'm in desperate need of some insight as I am in a country where the main language is not my first! I have posted this in Ask Vets as well.
*I have arranged the images chronologically in the imgur link, background is below. I apologize that they are in Spanish, please let me know if you have questions, need clarification or translations!*
About two and a half weeks ago I rescued a dog that was wandering around the city I live in. We are in Mexico, and I'd seen her on the lost perritos groups on Facebook and had been looking for her for days. When I finally found her 2.5 weeks ago (3/17) she was in pretty bad shape. I took her to the vet (3/18), she was covered in ticks, malnourished, anemic and had Ehrlichiosis (we didn't know this for sure yet) and Distemper (Moquillo in spanish, initially tested via PCR), they said she was about 3 or 5 years old. I named her Grace O'Malley (I know, terrible name for a Mexican dog, but I found her on St Patrick's day), Gracie for short. We got rid of the ticks and started some pretty intense treatment for the Distemper. We finished that up and began on antibiotics for the Ehrlichiosis. She was doing so much better and gaining weight and coming back to life.
About 4 days ago, her nose started bleeding, we went to the vet on the 2nd day (4/1) and tried Epinephrine, Afrin and a few other things to stop the bleeding, nothing worked and it kept going. The first vet had said he was going to give up and recommend sleep if the bleeding hadn't stopped by the morning of the 4th day. I do trust this vet and respect him, but I wanted a second opinion because despite having lost a large amount of blood she was still eating, and drinking, her tail wagged when she saw me, she still followed me around the house and liked to go for long walks. I felt like there was still fight in her.
On the eve of the fourth day, I was able to stop the bleeding by giving her Etamsylate over the course of a day IM after it was recommended and I read about the dosage and went to the human pharmacy to get it. Though I was able to stop the bleeding, I had already scheduled another visit to a different Vet that was highly recommended to me, so I went to this yesterday morning (4/3). They ran all of the same tests, but also ran a general panel to assess her vital functions (the first vet had not done this), as well as the blood test for distemper as opposed to the PCR test that the first vet had administered. They gave her vitamins and fluids in the meantime as we waited for the results. The results came back a few hours later and they were not great. Her kidneys were damaged, she had non-regenerative anemia, she was also confirmed positive for Distemper and the Ehrlichiosis.
They told me that the diagnosis was bad, that they had to immediately cease the previous treatment as it was essentially poisoning her. They administered a shot to her (the second vet did not write down the treatment as meticulously as the first, so I don't actually know what this shot was) and told me that we can wait until tomorrow (Friday 4/5) to do another blood test to re-assess her counts. They have told me this seems all but completely hopeless. I have been asking people all over for advice as and I guess that is what I am here for (though I'm not really sure what sort of answers you are allowed to provide here), is it hopeless?
This is my first dog, and above all else I want what is best for her, but am willing to help her keep fighting if that is in the cards. She is very comfortable, seems relatively happy given the circumstances, still eating, drinking, trotting around the house with me, getting up and down from the couch, wagging her tail and is enjoying as much pollito as I'll let her eat. I do not think she is suffering.
*I have arranged the images chronologically in the imgur link, background is below. I apologize that they are in Spanish, please let me know if you have questions, need clarification or translations!*
About two and a half weeks ago I rescued a dog that was wandering around the city I live in. We are in Mexico, and I'd seen her on the lost perritos groups on Facebook and had been looking for her for days. When I finally found her 2.5 weeks ago (3/17) she was in pretty bad shape. I took her to the vet (3/18), she was covered in ticks, malnourished, anemic and had Ehrlichiosis (we didn't know this for sure yet) and Distemper (Moquillo in spanish, initially tested via PCR), they said she was about 3 or 5 years old. I named her Grace O'Malley (I know, terrible name for a Mexican dog, but I found her on St Patrick's day), Gracie for short. We got rid of the ticks and started some pretty intense treatment for the Distemper. We finished that up and began on antibiotics for the Ehrlichiosis. She was doing so much better and gaining weight and coming back to life.
About 4 days ago, her nose started bleeding, we went to the vet on the 2nd day (4/1) and tried Epinephrine, Afrin and a few other things to stop the bleeding, nothing worked and it kept going. The first vet had said he was going to give up and recommend sleep if the bleeding hadn't stopped by the morning of the 4th day. I do trust this vet and respect him, but I wanted a second opinion because despite having lost a large amount of blood she was still eating, and drinking, her tail wagged when she saw me, she still followed me around the house and liked to go for long walks. I felt like there was still fight in her.
On the eve of the fourth day, I was able to stop the bleeding by giving her Etamsylate over the course of a day IM after it was recommended and I read about the dosage and went to the human pharmacy to get it. Though I was able to stop the bleeding, I had already scheduled another visit to a different Vet that was highly recommended to me, so I went to this yesterday morning (4/3). They ran all of the same tests, but also ran a general panel to assess her vital functions (the first vet had not done this), as well as the blood test for distemper as opposed to the PCR test that the first vet had administered. They gave her vitamins and fluids in the meantime as we waited for the results. The results came back a few hours later and they were not great. Her kidneys were damaged, she had non-regenerative anemia, she was also confirmed positive for Distemper and the Ehrlichiosis.
They told me that the diagnosis was bad, that they had to immediately cease the previous treatment as it was essentially poisoning her. They administered a shot to her (the second vet did not write down the treatment as meticulously as the first, so I don't actually know what this shot was) and told me that we can wait until tomorrow (Friday 4/5) to do another blood test to re-assess her counts. They have told me this seems all but completely hopeless. I have been asking people all over for advice as and I guess that is what I am here for (though I'm not really sure what sort of answers you are allowed to provide here), is it hopeless?
This is my first dog, and above all else I want what is best for her, but am willing to help her keep fighting if that is in the cards. She is very comfortable, seems relatively happy given the circumstances, still eating, drinking, trotting around the house with me, getting up and down from the couch, wagging her tail and is enjoying as much pollito as I'll let her eat. I do not think she is suffering.