Update and Symptoms

I spoke with Dr. Johnson this morning and the tick panel came back negative. Now this test has been known to produce false results so that is being kept in mind. Since she is not improving, I am taking her back to Dr. Johnson tomorrow for X-rays on her back and back end. Once he reviews the X-rays we will discuss how to move forward.

Eva and Brice's mom recommended that we put a list together of all of her symptoms to see if anyone else has had the same type of experience.

Lucie's Symptoms

(Keep in mind that all of these symptoms my not be related to one illness. Her illness started with us finding bumps on the outside of both ears. Then we noticed her having a little trouble getting up from her back legs. As time went on it became more difficult for her to get up and her energy level went way down.)

• Bumps on both ears that are losing skin (Vasculitis) She also has bumps on the backs of her front legs, elbow area.
  
• Loss of energy (Rarely runs and plays any more. She will get a burst of energy every so often but after she is active she is completely worn out.)
• Trouble getting up from a down position (You can see it's hard for her to lift her back legs(end) and then she is a little shaky while she walks until she has walked around for a little bit. This is at its worst after she has been sleeping for a while.) She also use to run up the steps but now she takes them slow most of the time.
  
• She sleeps the majority of the day. While the other girls are playing, she is sleeping.
  
• Her appetite is good. She use to always follow me into the kitchen to eat but now most times she does not. I believe it's not because she doesn't want to eat but that it must hurt to move sometimes more than others.
  
• No diarrhea or vomiting.
• There have been no changes in her diet.
• She has not ingested anything out of the ordinary that we are aware of.
• She is drinking plenty of water. 
• She does nibble on some leaves and plants outside. I'm going to get a good picture of them to show Dr. Johnson what she snacks on.
• She has not been de-wormed. She has also not been on any types of medications. 

The first blood tests that we did were fine. They did a complete workup and everything was normal. When this all started Dr. Johnson took a good look at her hips as well. He did not find any issues with movement, no clicking.

Typically she will greet me at the door when I come home with the other girls. Today when I got home she did not even get up off her couch. I was carrying in some groceries and when I started to go look for her I caught her trying to get down from the couch. It was like watching an 18 year old dog. It's things like this that scare me.

We did receive a comment from a blogging friend that has the same type of breed as Lucie. Her pup had a strange health issue as well.

Have you tried giving Lucie echinacea tablets? Leo (remember him-Addie's twin?) my dog was sick last January...he had bumps on his feet and no energy or appetite. We did TONS of tests and there was no solid answer for us...I did all the research I could on the internet and by asking other people with dogs and found that while no one will say that echinacea is effective, I gave Leo echinacea tablets twice a day (plus doggy vitamins) for 6 weeks and kept him away from other dogs while his immune system recovered and now he is doing fine! No more bumps on his feet and he has been normal happy and energetic Leo ever since. Might be worth a try. Our vet said it was fine to try and wouldn't hurt the cause....
Hope Lucie feels better soon!
:)Kate and Leo

I'm going to talk to Dr. Johnson about her recommendation tomorrow. 

I am so grateful to all of you for your support! This has been stressful and I just feel so helpless right now.  But I will not give up. She will get better. The answer is out there. We just have to find it.