Atlantic
Animal Hospital is proud to present Misty Williams as the Companion Animal of
the Month for July 2008. Misty, a 7 year old Jack Russell Terrier, is the quiet
but adventurous companion animal to Bryson Williams. Bryson bought Misty
from a private breeder in Deland, Florida when Misty was a puppy. At only 8
weeks old she had won Bryson's heart. When asked to describe his
relationship with Misty, he simply said, "She is my little girl, dipped in
gold."
Like a true Florida girl, Misty loves any outdoor activity, especially those involving water. She enjoys camping, boating, canoeing and even fishing. And just like any fisherman, Misty gets excited when the fish are pulled into the boat. Other favorite pass times include trips to the beach to run and play in the surf, chasing the wading birds and surf boards. In her quiet time, she likes to be flipped on her back and have her stomach rubbed.
Many of Misty's outdoor activities became limited when, in May of this year, she presented for possible rat poisoning leading to increased thirst and abdominal bloating. No one knew if Misty actually ingested rat poison but Bryson had seen Misty in the area that the poison was present. When asked, Misty had no response to the accusation! The type of poison that Misty may have eaten usually causes clotting problems and, consequently, uncontrolled bleeding. Although Misty's clotting tests were normal, we started her on Vitamin K to counter the possible side affects of rat poison. Baseline lab test did show several liver enzyme elevations which can also be caused by the poison. Ten days of therapy led to no significant decrease in thirst, increased bloating, and total of 43% weight gain since one year ago. The decision was made to look for causes other than rat poison. We proceeded by testing Misty's adrenal gland function by performing an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) stimulation test. Unfortunately, this test did show that Misty had hyperadrenocorticism, commonly known as Cushing's disease.
This disease results from an excessive amount of cortisol in
Misty's body. The source of this excess cortisol can be from the use of
cortisone (steroid) in treatment of separate conditions, such as allergies.
This is called iatrogenic
hyperadrenocorticism.
Because Misty has no recent history of cortisol use, we knew that the cause had
to be different. The other source of excess cortisone is from a tumor on
either the adrenal gland that produces excess cortisol, or from a tumor on the
pituitary gland that causes the adrenal gland to produce excess cortisone. In
dogs, 85% of the cases are due to a tumor on the pituitary gland in the dog’s
brain. Because tumors are involved in the naturally occurring disease, most
dogs with Cushing’s disease are middle-age and older. A high dose
dexamethasone suppression (HDDS) test was performed to isolate the cause of
Misty's problem. This test did prove that Misty's Cushing's disease was
pituitary dependent hyperadrenocorticism (PDH) and most likely caused by a
tumor. Treatment was started with a drug called Lysodren®.
This medicine is toxic to the adrenal gland and therefore reduces its function.
In Misty's case, it reduced the adrenal gland function to normal. Bryson,
being a wonderful dad, has been great about giving Misty her medication on time.
After about 10 days of therapy, Misty lost 13% of the water weight and continues
to return back to her old self.
While Misty has begun to manage her health problems, she would
have never been able to make the progress without the love and support that
Bryson gives her on a daily basis. Misty makes
frequent visits to Atlantic Animal
Hospital for lab work and medication. Even though no one likes to go to
the doctor's office, Misty continues to be very cooperative as long as we re-pay
her with a good belly scratching. It is easy to sense that she knows that
we are trying to help her. It is only through Misty's patience and
Bryson's tender love and care that we at Atlantic Animal Hospital are able to
improve Misty's quality of life. Bryson and Misty are a wonderful example
of the human-animal bond and we are proud to feature their relationship as this
month's Companion Animal of the Month.
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