UPDATE 5/2/10: Jessie just had her annual exam, updates to her vaccinations, a dental cleaning (woo hoo no extractions!) and had a mammary tumor removed. We hope this growth is benign. Jessie's bloodwork was much improved. Her albumin level tested at 3.4 (best yet) and her total protein was 6.0. The diet and her continuing meds are working well. Jessie's jaw lump resurfaced in January and she has been on two antibiotics for an 8 week period that took care of this. During her dental procedure, an x-ray was taken to see if the lump was related to a tooth or tooth root. The jaw bone is normal and nothing appeared suspicious with her teeth. So future lumps may be able to need only one antibiotic for treatment (unfortunately the one she likes least). Despite all the medicine she needs, Jessie is a good little girl who loves to catch sun rays and snooze the day away. She doesn't mind when Buddy snuggles into the same bed with her...in fact I think she likes it!

Update 02/27/10: Jessie was diagnosed with a dry eye condition last November. She also had developed an ulcer on one eye so she got to visit a doggie opthamologist to take care of these problems. Despite Jessie's estimated age, she has no cataracts and her eyes are otherwise healthy. She had problems tolerating the cyclosporine and so she has been on a different tear medication for the last 4 months. Her last checkup tear tests were excellent. Jessie will need the eye drops for the rest of her life. She is still doing well with her special ZD diet and other meds and now that construction is finished at home, she is less stressed. Jessie is very camera shy so it is quite hard to get a nice picture of her. But we'll keep trying :-).

Update 01/01/10: Happy New Year everybody.

Well I’ve had some health issues in the last 3 months. First, I developed an ulcer in my left eye. I was squinting all the time so foster mom took me to a doggie ophthalmologist. It turns out that in addition to the ulcer, I have that dry eye condition that Yorkies can get. So I’ve had to get eye drops twice a day for the last month or so. My ulcer is gone and my eyes look pretty good. I had to wear one of those nasty collars, but don't need it anymore. But I’ll need drops for the rest of my life.

Then, since I thought foster mom needed some excitement, I ate part of an onion on New Year’s day. Foster mom called the ASPCA hotline and they said I needed treatment based on the amount I ate. So we took a trip to the ER vet where they made me vomit and then stay overnight to get fluids and other stuff to be sure the onion didn’t get absorbed. I sure didn’t know that onions were bad…it seemed to taste ok. But I guess onions affect blood cells and I needed 3 blood tests over the next 5 days to be sure I was ok. Thankfully I am. My next adventure will be a dental procedure since my teeth aren’t looking too tip-top. I’ll let you know how that all comes out.

UPDATE: 10-30-09: We are doing a long taper for Jessie to reduce her need for prednisone to manage her PLE condition. She now gets 1/4 of a 5 mg pill. Her last liver panel shows Total Protein and Albumin levels in the low normal range. Jessie's life has been jolted recently with the death of her pal, Lexi. In addition her foster home is undergoing remodeling. Jack hammers, power nail guns and the traffic of workmen coming and going has proved stressful to her. During the day she must be confined to an area with her other pal, Buddy, listening to some "doggie anti-stress music" playing to help keep her calm. Needless to say, Jessie is very happy to see foster mom return home and jumps on her hind legs as a welcome. Soon, grandpa will move into the home and that will be another adjustment for Jessie. Thankfully grandpa isn't noisy and doesn't move fast, so she should be able to adapt to this change as well.

UPDATE: 04-23-09: Jessie's certainly doing well. Her last hepatic panel shows normal results for Total Protein and Albumin. She now weighs 6 pounds, 12 ounces and acting spunky. Her favorite job is to bark at the neighbors when they are in their backyard, or bark at the critters she sees in her backyard. She is always happy to see me when I walk in the door and she still enjoys laying near me when I'm relaxing. She still fears others, but doesn't bark if they stay seated. They just can't get up and move around :P. She got a bath for her vet visit and a little trim up. Check out her new pics.

UPDATE: 02-28-09: Jessie's last liver panel looks normal (third good test in a row now), so we are reducing her prednisone level to 2mg per day. She still is taking lasix. She will have another test in two months and at that time we may be reducing her prednisone dosage. The lump on her jaw is totally gone and there is no indication it will return. She is definitely feeling better and acting spunky :-). She's a little love bug (just with foster mom though).

UPDATE: 12/18/08: Jessie's last blood test showed an albumin reading of 3.0, so we have had two successful tests with improving and normal readings. Jessie is winding down on her antibiotic regimen for the lump on her jaw. The lump had decreased to the point it became moveable...a sign it was not connected to the bone. As of this date, it is barely noticeable to the touch. She is still on the 2.5 mg of prednisone daily and I can see she is feeling well and spunky again.

FOSTER MOM: Sandi Wendt: sandimwendt@yahoo.com