Bitch suffering from the disease of Lyme: “as a small miracle”

Photo Sophie Side
Elizabeth Boutet has considerably reduced his workload to care for Kenya. “We have plenty of resources : we should not give up because our dog is suffering from Lyme disease “, launches as a message to the young woman.

Sophie Side

Sunday, 14 January 2018 00:00

UPDATE
Sunday, 14 January 2018 00:00

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A couple of Sainte-Foy, willing to do anything to his dog who have contracted Lyme disease in Quebec, did not hesitate to invest thousands of dollars since June in the hope to keep it for as long as possible with them.

“I don’t want to say it out loud, but I have the impression that it was like a small miracle that is happening between our hands. We were given a few days to Kenya in June, ” recalls Elizabeth Boutet.

This is the last spring that the state of health of Kenya, a Labrador of 9 years, has switched. “She fell really ill. She was vomiting, had diarrhea, tremors, ” recalls the woman, 31-year-old.

Prognosis

After a few days of hospitalization at the Veterinary Hospital of the Ormière, diagnosed with Kenya to Lyme disease. For his masters, it is clear that their pet has been stung in Quebec city.

“The tick has probably been stung last year, because it takes some time before developing the disease. And last year, we stayed in Quebec city for our renovations, so all of our daily walks were made in the sector here [Sainte-Foy] “, says dr. Boutet, also a specialist in canine behaviour.

Acute renal failure, heart murmur, anemia : the prognosis was very bleak. But the couple, who considers Kenya as a true member of the family, has never thought of euthanasia.

$ 1000 per month

Since June, the couple without children “tightens the belt” for her bitch to be followed and benefits of treatments and care that may improve their health and well-being.

Excluding the hospital, which cost approximately 3000 $, Ms. Boutet evaluates to $ 1000 monthly expenses to Kenya. The medical appointments, medications, and natural products are part of the expenditure, as in all the meetings with many specialists, from the nutritionist to the osteopath.

“We had at the end of October confirmation that all treatments carry their fruit. She is doing better, even if it will never heal and that she no longer has the energy of before. It does no more anemia, and no longer has a heart murmur. Although the war is not won, we have won a good battle, ” enthused the one who is on a mission to raise awareness about Lyme disease, including through a blog. “Let’s stop putting our heads in the sand : it is alive and well in Quebec. It exists and our dogs, our children and ourselves are at risk. It is necessary to be vigilant, ” warns the young woman.

Also, a petition — which has no connection with Ms. Boutet — was launched in November.

Many cases

Dogs tested positive to the bacteria of Lyme disease in the past 5 years*

• 84 urban Community of Quebec
• 22 Lévis (sector Desjardins group)

Dogs tested positive to the bacteria of Lyme disease in Quebec*

• 2012 : 25
• 2013 : 380
• 2014 : 419
• 2015 : 381
• 2016 : 466
• 2017 : 257 (data not complete, current year)

*These are cases that the vets have taken care to report, since they are not obligated to. The proportion of cases acquired in Quebec is unknown.

Source : IDEXX Laboratories

Lyme disease in the region of Quebec : more and more dogs tested positive to the bacteria

The ticks that carry the bacterium that causes Lyme disease are increasingly present in Quebec city, find veterinarians.

“We are receiving more and more calls from veterinarians who have had positive results [in the bacteria of Lyme disease) in dogs. There is clearly a tendency to increase, ” notes the veterinarian Evence Daure, of the Centre vétérinaire Daubigny, Quebec.

Without being able to provide accurate figures, the specialist in internal medicine is estimated to have seen “about a dozen cases” in the last year, while the phenomenon was non-existent in the region there are only a few years.

Little severe cases

“We need to be careful, warns, however, Dr. Daure. Ninety-five percent (95 %) of the dogs will never get sick even if they are positive, ” he insists.

“However, it means that the dog will in a hazardous environment, and therefore, eventually, for the man, it is a bit of a risk “, raises the veterinarian, recalling that the ticks that carry the bacterium in question are often found in long grass, woods and bushes, and can transmit the disease from about 4°C.

The tip of the iceberg?

According to data collected by IDEXX Laboratories, which provides the screening test used by veterinarians, 466 dogs were tested positive in the province last year, while this figure was only 25 in 2012.

“It is [the number of cases] highly underrated, believes Dr. Daure. It is probably three, four, or even five times higher than this, since the veterinarian must think of to make the declaration, which is not mandatory “, he says.

He adds that in many cases the owners will never know that their dog has been bitten, since the latter will have no symptoms and that the tick has never been seen, after falling by itself.

Prevention

According to Dr. Daure, no one is really safe from these ticks, even in the city, and this is why prevention becomes important. “Everything is bushes, grass… A pile of wood that we had on our site may be sufficient to hide the ticks. The most important thing is to control his environment, to maintain his ground to limit their proliferation “, he says.

And “apply the preventive anti-tick on the dog” to protect him against diseases that can transmit different types of ticks remains the means of prevention by excellence, according to the veterinarian.