Woof! Living here in AZ sure does have a kibble trail that at times is not pet-friendly. Rattlesnakes, scorpions, heat, cactus, dust storms, Valley Fever, and etc. Valley Fever in dogs, is something that pet parents need to take seriously.  Did you know that both us dogs and our parents can get Valley Fever? Mini Me helped me dig up kibble about this nasty disease. Hold onto your bowl because it isn’t fun or pretty. #valleyfeverindogs

Valley Fever In Dogs Is Serious

First furiends, what is Valley Fever? Valley Fever is an another bad dude, called fungi and it gets around by air. And here, is where the kibble trail begins to come together. See, out here in AZ, we have these terrible dust storms, in these storms, bad dudes are carried around looking for a home. Well, Twinkle Star became that home! Grrr As Twinkle Star was breathing, one of these bad dudes entered her nose and made a home inside her. Once these particles entered Twinkle Star, they first went inside her lungs, however, they were not happy there and decided to take a walk around. Grrr, I think the one million fleas need to be released!

Once the particles enter our bodies, it will take almost a month for any symptoms to show up. Remember when Twinkle Star dropped weight out of nowhere back in May? Mom took Twinkle Star to the vet and had all blood work done, with everything coming back to normal. Then, Twinkle Star was having trouble walking, she would hop and not put any weight on the one leg. Yep, Mom took her back to see Doc and all tests were done again; everything came back normal, except that Twinkle Star injured her ACL (woofee, that is another blog I will do down the trail). And then, Mom had no choice to schedule Twinkle Star’s surgery, weeks before surgery, Mom kept feeling something odd on Twinkle Star’s thigh; one week, before surgery, that odd thing came to the surface and Mom knew something wasn’t right. Pawonder how does she that? Is she able to sniff out trouble? You see furiends, Twinkle Star was very sick and that is why her blood tests came back negative; Mom didn’t know and is very sad that she didn’t push Doc harder.

Then, three days before surgery, Twinkle Star developed by an open wound. Mom thought something bit Twinkle Star, yep, it did, Valley Fever. Mom asked Doc to remove the bump and send it to a place that has these really cool tools; after this place examined the bump, they told Doc, it was disseminating Valley Fever.  Uh? Mini Me went to Google to look that one up! It means, the disease traveled inside Twinkle Star’s body, which would explain the bump, the sore, the weight loss, lameness, and her problems doing business. To put this a small bowl size, Twinkle Star’s life could have ended way too soon, the disease was overtaking her body. Grrrr, back off! This family already has a #cancerfightingninja, Farley, which means we are fierce and will fight!

Thank paw Mom asked for the bump to be removed and studied, because, Valley Fever in dogs can send us to Rainbow Bridge too quickly.  Doc told Mom that this is as serious as cancer. Hey, Valley Fever! Guess what? You met the wrong Mom and came to the wrong house because our Mom is about to kick your tail. Twinkle Star will need to be on medicine for a very, very long time; and, will always be at risk. Mom is talking about getting her a face mask to wear. OMD Mom! Sometimes I don’t think you are normal! BOL just teasing Mom.

Furiends, do you have Valley Fever problems in your area? AZ, CA, NM, TX, and UT get it, what about your area? Do you know of any parents or furiends that had it? How are they doing? Would wuv to hear from you.

Bark At Ya Later

Mr. MaGoo and Mini Me