Foster Buddies:

• Krysta Lachapelle
• Derek Radford
• Under My Wing Pug Rescue
• The South Coast Pugalug Group, including:
• Louise Viersen
• Lori Broughton
• Claudette Bonaccorso
• Rick Bonaccorso
• Marie Lariviere
• Kellie Curran
• Diane Purser
• Lisa Dick

Miss Maisie arrived in her new home today. Her new mom is a veterinary technician with the Veterinary Emergency Clinic where all of Maisie's health issues have been treated. She is well aware of Miss Maisie's diagnosis and is more than ready for this bundle of puggy goodness. Maisie's new mom, Tracy, has always had rescued dogs and was enraptured by this little girl on her first admission to the VEC.

Maisie will have a new VERY BIG brother, Cole, a rescued great dane who has some health issues of his own. She also has two feline siblings. Everyone gave everyone a good sniffing and Maisie gave the great dane a good barking at. While the difference in size between two dogs is startling, Maisie wasn't phased by the size of her new brother. She was busy getting comfortable on the sofa.

Her new mom will let us know how it is going in a few weeks.

Maisie is a lovely little girl who has more than her fair share of health issues. However, she rises above it all and has a 'can-do' attitude that is wonderful to see. She is engaging and curious and loves to be with you. She has adapted quite well to her foster home and charms one and all with her attitude and her cute little face.

She has been diagnosed with Evan's Syndrome which results in her immune system killing off her platelets and red blood cells. She has been cared for by a specialist and this will need to continue. She is on a maintenance dose of medications and this may be for life, but only time will tell. Her medications suppress her immune system so there are some things an adopter will need to be aware of such as no further vaccines and no exposure to unvaccinated dogs, especially puppies. She will need ongoing blood work to monitor her health. She has a gall stone that will need to be watched, but isn't currently causing problems, but will require a low fat/high protein diet. She also has dry eye which is currently being treated with Optimmune and lubricating drops. This will likely continue for her life time.

Maisie is significantly more focused on humans than dogs and derives little comfort from dogs when left alone. She will need someone who can spend time with her and not expect her to be okay alone for long periods of time. She will also need to be able to get out to potty every 4 hours or so given her medications.

She is currently only crated when she eats to keep her from trying to steal from the resident dogs and to avoid anyone getting her medication. She sleeps with us in our bed and is a delightful sleeping companion.

She is used to being gated in the kitchen when we are not home. Maisie has some need for work on basic manners as she can be snatchy with treats and a bit rude when food is around generally.

Maisie had another round of blood work today and the news continues to be good. Her packed cell volume is now up to 32 (from 30) and we will be reducing her meds again. She again made it through the two weeks without any medical crises. Dr. Mason of the VEC said that if her next blood work is also good, she can probably be posted as ready for adoption.

This is huge improvement for this little minx. She will still remain on a maintenance dose of meds for many months to come, but if her platelet and RBC levels remain stable, she doesn't need to remain in foster care. So onward and upward for Miss Maisie MooMoo (as my son calls her)/

Maisie had a re-check at the VEC today for some bloodwork to see how her red blood cell count is coming along. This is a big deal for two reasons:

1.) This is the first two week stretch we've had without a crisis. It's HUGE that we went a whole two weeks without anything dreadful happening and she made it to her scheduled appointment when scheduled!

2.) She had had her meds reduced during the last crisis and we weren't sure that she would be okay with the reduction.

BUT her red blood cell count came back at 30--after weeks of being at 20 with no improvement. Normal for a dog is 35 to 45, so while she's not at normal levels yet, 30 is a great improvement and shows that the reduced meds were okay. The other piece of good news is that her liver values are better (part of the reason the vet reduced her meds was due to the elevated liver values). So the vet thinks that the elevated liver values were due to the prednisone and not the early signs of something worse.

She will continue to go back for blood work every two weeks as we slowly, slowly wean her down in her medications. It's a long process, but this is the first step towards stability for her.

She continues to learn that life as a dog isn't a bad thing at all. She came with me to the board meeting this evening and while she didn't play with the resident pug, she showed the first inkling of playing with a toy--partly, I think, to show the resident pug that all things in the world are, actually, hers, but also might be a sign that there's some play in this little girl. She is gradually shifting out of the role of spoiled diva and into the role of delightful companion.

After a few ups and downs and a return to the VEC when she started vomiting, Maisie is again back home in foster care. She has had her medications reduced a bit in case that was part of the reason for her vomiting. she's also on a stomach soother med and an antibiotic in case there is any infection brewing away. She had an ultrasound to see if she might be developing pancreatitis. While there doesn't appear to be any pancreatitis, the vet did see what he thinks is a gall stone. At this point, it's not something we're going to worry about. It's apparently too big to pass or cause any kind of blockage or obstruction. Her blood work still isn't where we'd like it to be with regards to red blood cell count, but she is regenerating new red blood cells which is a good sign. We will hope that at her next blood test, her Packed Cell Volume (PCV) will be higher.

She's being kept on a low fat diet to avoid any complications with the gall bladder stone.

She also has dry eye--which Dr. Mason felt badly about. But I told him that we see alot of dry eye and that wasn't a big deal to anyone who knows pugs.

She was happy, happy, happy to be home, although she could have done without Pippin's very enthusiastic welcome. We will hope that no other obstacles pop up and that she can go a whole two weeks before going back to the VEC for blood work!

Miss Maisie was discharged from the VEC today and is now ensconced in her foster home. She has a rather hefty dose of prednisone and Imuran, but will get gradually weaned off if her blood work results continue to indicate that she is healthy. Her diagnosis has been changed from Evan's Syndrome to ITP. Still serious, but not a serious as Evan's Syndrome.

She will never be able to be vaccinated again due to the tendency of vaccines to kick up an immune response, but her vet at the VEC feels that with reasonable care, she can live a perfectly happy life without outrageous restrictions on her.

She will be getting pretty regular blood work for the duration as we watch her adjustment to the medications.

She's extremely sweet, very kissy and seems to think my husband is the person worthy of her adoration.

After some scary days in the Veterinary Emergency Clinic (VEC), Maisie has responded very well to her treatment. Her diagnosis of Evan's Syndrome (thrombocytopenia AND Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia) may be only thrombocytopenia. Not great, but a heck of alot better than both ITP and IMHA. The treatment is essentially the same.

Her platelet count is back in the normal range and she is perkier and eating/drinking well. If she continues with this progress, we will look at her coming home into foster care. She will remain at some risk for the foreseeable future and will have to be closely monitored both for return of the symptoms of the ITP, but also for opportunistic infections due to her suppressed immune system. I will be talking with her Dr.s over the next day or two about what risks my own home and animals pose for her and how that may be managed.

I hope to visit her again today and will update more when she is going to be released into our care.

Maisie is a three year old spayed fawn girl who is very ill indeed. Sadly, her family has suffered employment loss and aren't able to afford her vet care so she was surrendered to our rescue. Maisie has what the vets think is Evan's Syndrome. Evan's Syndrome is an immune mediated disease where the body begins to attack its platelets and red blood cells. Maisie was rushed from her vet clinic to the VEC last night by one of our dedicated volunteers.

She is severely anemic and has a frighteningly low platelet count. She received a blood transfusion last night, but unfortunately, had a pretty severe transfusion reaction. However, the vet that contacted me this morning said that she is looking a bit less pale and is wagging her tail, but is still a very sick little girl.

Evan's Syndrome can be managed with medication, but the first weeks are often touch and go with some dogs responding and some not. This little girl can use all the positive pug karma you've got to spare. I will try to get some pictures of her, but right now, she's in hospital on oxygen and IVs.