We received the pathology results from Bonnie's biopsies this week and as we feared, she does have a severe fungal infection called Pythiosis. Only about 15% of dogs survive. However, with all of the prayer and support around Phoenix and the other dogs in APA!'s care, we are going to continue believing in miracles and give her a shot at getting better. She so enjoys life, even as the skinny minny that she is...we went to a coffee shop yesterday and she went around and greeted every person there. Of course, in her condition, Bonnie receives lots of attention and love. Two small children even stopped and petted her very gently yesterday, awed at her fragility and sweet disposition.
We are going to begin anti-fungal treatments on Tuesday and fiercely pray that they work. She has had a couple of bad days this week in which her tummy clearly hurt and she didn't feel like eating. These days scare us the most, since as thin as she is, she can't afford not to eat. However, we have discovered that a Pepcid helps settle her stomach, and after giving her a few syringes of Pedialyte every 10 minutes or so, she starts to feel perkier in a few hours.
After the coffee shop visit yesterday, she upchucked most of the contents of her stomach and stopped eating for around 24 hours. Around 3pm today she felt better and started eating again, and this evening she was so frisky we actually went for a car ride and on a short walk. She is so social and loves adventure, meeting new people and other dogs. She is very maternal around puppies and gives them gentle licks on the tops of their heads. It's hard to care for her and watch her when she is feeling badly, knowing that someone out there abandoned her when she needed them the most... But every time she recovers we begin to believe again that she is our miracle dog and a true survivor. We are going to try to keep her calm and quiet next week as we begin her treatments...so please send good vibes and prayers that the medicines work!
