Rare disease claims life of canine companion

[bigdoglover]

The News Tribune

Steve Landwehr
The Salem News (Salem, MA)

IPSWICH, Mass. — Therapy takes many forms. For Donna Joyce, it was Maria, 145 pounds of patience and devotion.

Maria was a Great Dane trained to help people like Joyce who have trouble keeping their balance, but the dog became much more than that.

Joyce has relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis, and Maria meant independence, confidence and an end to depression that threatened to consume the 54-year-old Danvers resident.

Maria, who was just 21/2, is gone now, victim of a rare disease called ehrlichiosis that is transmitted to dogs — and humans — by ticks. The end came swiftly, on Mother’s Day, barely a year after Maria and Joyce became popular local sidekicks.

The dog is buried where she was born, raised and trained to do her work, on Carlene White’s farm in Ipswich. The grave sits in a corner of a grassy field overgrown from all the rain and marked with a small pile of stones.

Joyce visited it for the first time Wednesday.

“Such a good girl,” she said softly, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I think of her every single day. Every morning, I wake up and I feel sadness because I miss her.”

She feels more insecure than ever being out and about, but Joyce isn’t sure she’s ready to accept a replacement for Maria, although White has another female she thinks would be suitable.

Joyce hopes her story will alert other dog owners to this emerging disease and have them tested early enough to avoid Maria’s fate.

“That’s the only thing that makes me feel at peace,” she said. “She was an instrument.”

Two for the road

Maria went everywhere with Joyce, including the railing at Calvary Episcopal Church in Danvers, where she became an accepted member of the congregation. While Joyce took Communion, the pastor blessed Maria.

Not that there wasn’t a learning curve. The first time Maria saw the choir members dressed in their robes and singing, “She thought they were screaming and she started howling,” Joyce said with a smile.

Shortly before Maria entered her life, Joyce fell and broke her arm.

“It really sent me into a depression,” she said. “I thought I’d be in a walker the rest of my life.”

But when she started going out with Maria, people focused on her king-sized companion, not her, and her natural exuberance resurfaced.

“She got me outside of myself.”

Other dogs the couple owned always saw her husband as the leader of the pack, Joyce said. Not Maria.

“After he fed and brushed her in the morning she’d run up the stairs to be with me,” she said. “She knew she was my dog.”

Monday, May 8, Joyce noticed blood on Maria’s gums. She blamed it on a bone the dog was chewing and threw it out, and although she seemed better the next day, Joyce decided to have Maria checked by her veterinarian on Wednesday.

She was kept overnight for testing and observation, and Joyce was shocked when she was told Maria was very sick. The diagnosis was ehrlichiosis, which causes internal hemorrhaging, and Maria was given a blood transfusion Friday night.

She seemed better Saturday, and the family came for a visit, but she took a bad turn overnight. Sunday morning, Mother’s Day, the veterinarian called to say there was nothing more that could be done.

Joyce’s daughter, Jenn, went to be with the dog when she was put to sleep.

“I couldn’t do it,” Joyce said. “I wanted to remember her the way she was.”

A promise

White had some therapy of her own in mind for Joyce’s first visit to the farm since Maria died. She sat her down on an old milk can and released two litters of 4-month-old Danes on a delighted Joyce.

The puppies mobbed her, and it was hard to tell who was having the most fun. After about 30 minutes of play, it was time to put the pups back in their kennel, and Joyce slowly made her way through warm sunshine to Maria’s grave.

Ehrlichiosis can be diagnosed with a blood test, and White says a surprising number of dogs are showing up positive, even if they have no symptoms. If detected early enough, antibiotics such as doxycyline have proven effective.

Joyce made a promise before she left Maria’s grave, speaking as though the dog were still by her side.

“Oh, baby. We’re going to tell everybody about this so it doesn’t happen anymore.”



Steve Landwehr writes for The Salem (Mass.) News.

Understanding ehrlichiosis

Ehrlichiosis is transmitted to dogs and humans by several different tick species. In humans, symptoms usually appear five to 10 days after being bitten by an infected tick.

They include fever, fatigue and muscle aches. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, joint pains and a rash are also sometimes noted. Diagnosis is by symptoms, although a pattern of abnormal blood tests may lead your doctor to the conclusion you have the disease.

Most infections are mild, but they can be life-threatening. Antibiotics such as tetracycline and doxycycline are administered as treatment.

Ehrlichiosis progresses through three stages in dogs, and symptoms vary with the stages. They include weight loss, hemorrhaging and abdominal pain. Dogs are treated with the same antibiotics prescribed for humans.

To avoid contracting the disease:

r Wear light-colored clothing when walking in grassy, wooded areas. Ticks are dark, and you’ll be able spot them easier on light clothing.

r Insect repellents containing DEET help ward off ticks.

r Inspect your whole body after a walk. Use your hands to check for ticks in your hair and in places you can’t see.

r Removing a tick within 24 hours greatly reduces the risk of being bitten.

r To protect dogs, tick collars or other products that repel ticks should be used during tick season.

Sources: Mayo Clinic and PetEducation.com.

[Carrie]

How awful and sad. It's good to know these things though. That poor lady....loosing her wonderful dog. I hope she will be ready soon for a new dog.

[bigdoglover]

no kidding....what I liked about the article was the part about understanding the disease, and how to prevent it.