How Scott Used Google to Save His Puppy

The is a true story about how Scott saved his puppy's life using the internet.

I just couldn't do it, so I searched the Internet for everything I could find. The vet called me and said he was thinking Bacterial Mennigitis and wanted to do massive antibiotics during the night. I just said to him "Give her Prednisone". He was stunned. He said "You are not a Vet!"

We purchased a very young Beagle puppy. She was the joy of our lives. Then she turned very sick. She stopped eating and drinking and she had a very high fever. Two vets didn't know what was wrong with her. Nothing showed up in blood or urine tests. She has been on an IV for two days with antibiotics, but no improvement. We were just running up a thousand dollar bill for a $25 puppy. My kids were crying themselves to sleep. The vet told me my choices were to take the puppy over the Michigan State Vet Clinic, or put her down. My wife took the puppy to the clinic. Another $1000 bill was run up in no time. The vet there said they had no clue, and that to figure out what was wrong with our dog we needed to do about $3000 of additional tests. Our puppy had severe neck pain, fever, and shivering. We took her back to the first vet. My wife decided to put her down. I just couldn't do it, so I searched the Internet for everything I could find. The vet called me and said he was thinking Bacterial Mennigitis and wanted to do massive antibiotics during the night. I just said to him "Give her Prednisone". He was stunned. He said "You are not a Vet!" Then he said "If she has Mennigitis you will kill her by putting her on Prednisone." Well since we were going to put her down, I took my chances and cried myself to sleep. At 6:00 am the next morning the Vet called and said "Come in here and pick up your puppy!" I was in tears and said "What??". He said "She is running around, eating, and has no fever!" He said "The Prednisone saved her life!" "How did you come up with that?" I said I used Google, and then took a chance!. Neither Vet had ever seen this illness before. Here is what I read on the Internet about a Beagle named Dallas.

"Antibiotics were used unsuccessfully in several studies of beagle pain syndrome,
even in animals that showed signs of bacteria in feces or urine (no bacteria were found in cerebrospinal fluid). Dogs treated with Prednisone, a corticosteroid, (1.1mg/kg of body weight, by mouth every 12 hours) showed dramatic improvement within the first 12 hours of treatment. All clinical signs and laboratory abnormalities disappeared. Dogs maintained on a low-dose, alternate-day administration of prednisone (.25 to .50mg/kg every other day) for several months remained
free of clinical signs. Symptoms returned within two weeks of stopping the
corticosteroid treatments (Jour. Amer. Vet. Med. Assoc., Nov. 15, 1992). It was shown in some studies that the corticosteroids treatments could be gradually reduced over a
one to two month period and then eliminated without the return of symptoms. It is important to monitor the dog for symptoms in the future and restart corticosteroid treatment if symptoms return. Side effects of steroid treatments include increased appetite and increased thirst. “Because of the high dosages of steroids, Spencer drinks water by the bucketful and wants to eat everything in sight. The medication also tends to make him quite sluggish, so he lies around a lot. Basically he acts like a 10-year-old dog except when food and water are involved,” explains
Patricia Robidoux.

Dallas was treated initially with I.V. Manitol and Dexamethasone to quickly bring down his brain inflammation. Within the first 24 hours he dramatically improved, although he remained blind and was still weak. He began eating normally and his tail was once again wagging. He even barked when he heard us come into the clinic to take him home. After the initial I.V. treatment he was put on a course of Dexamethasone pills, .50 mg every eight hours, to keep the inflammation from returning. Every two weeks we reduced his dose by one pill per day. Finally, almost 4 months later we eliminated the Dexamethasone. Dallas has remained symptom free for the past five months, and although he is now farsighted, his vision is fairly normal."