A couple weeks ago 1-year old bulldog mix named Chunk came to Bottle Babies Rescue with limited control / use of his hind legs. Yesterday Chunk’s foster mom took him for a consultation with a veterinarian to see if we could find out what was causing his mobility issues.
First, the good news is his X-rays showed no abnormalities. We also got the ok to schedule his double entropion eye surgery and neuter on the same day. This was a good start.
Then came the bloodwork results.
Chunk’s bloodwork showed his white blood cell count is more than double the highest number considered within normal range. It also showed he has a tick born illness. One of the side effects is neurological issues like limb lameness. We found out he did have some occurrences of leg weakness prior to coming down with parvo, and then while fighting parvo his legs became significantly worse. His 10-month old body probably couldn’t fight both at the same time.
We don’t know what the long term outcome will be at this point. He is doing a round of doxycycline to hopefully help improve his bloodwork, and will have it rechecked when he goes in for surgery.
They suggested continuing to have him use his wheelchair as long as he seems comfortable in it, work on strengthening his muscles, and suggested hydrotherapy as a good way to do so.
Nutritionally they said we are on the right track.
We are working on getting estimates for his upcoming surgeries - we anticipate it being around $1,000-$1,300. Yesterdays visit alone cost over $400, his food is $114 for 30 lbs, and we will be looking into hydrotherapy near his foster family’s home which is will be another reoccurring expense.
So if you take away one thing from this post and Chunk’s story please let it be the importance of flea/tick preventatives and vaccines - they work, and not doing them can have life altering consequences like they have for Chunk.
Find additional info from this rescue here!
