Yes, the vet still thinks that he still could be showing antibodies for an infection that he successfully fought off - IF I'm understanding her correctly - and that he could test negative with six more months of Allopurinol.
Thanks to
@snowbunny for a very good explanation. It can be terrible. Or not. I was told consistently before my current vet that it wasn't curable - not just in remission but actually gone from the dog - which adds to its scary factor, but that's also a controversy. Because if a dog tests positive once, has treatment, then tests negative for the rest of his life, does he still have Leish? My new vet says no way - Leish is gone, dog is cured. It's all very confusing.
This, this and this 1.000.000 times! This is what I definitely want to ask the vet the next time: "Why can't we just zap the little suckers with Glucantime and be done with it?" While I was in the UK,
@Beanwood with her science mind very patiently put studies of Glucantime in language I could understand and I thought, "Why doesn't everyone do this then??!!".
Thank you - and it's not that i don't feel like it's manageable - it's quite easy in fact with the Allopurinol which Carbon gulps down like a delicious treat - just that I was hoping the vet would wave her magic wand and it would be all normal again for him.
Thankfully he won't let me do otherwise. I swear he knows something is up with me and has poured on the goobey charm today -or he just happened to run out of patience after me being housebound for a few days. He's been full of beans, in my face, going crazy with his toys and in general loading on the charm. Definitely doing his best to woo me out of any funk.
From a sandfly infected with Leish. The disease is endemic - if that's the correct word - around the entire Mediterranean plus the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal. It is particularly high in Cadiz, where Carbon is from. Street dogs or shelter dogs are especially vulnerable because they don't have protection such as an anti-Leish collar or being brought indoors during the most dangerous times of sunset and sunrise. Though there is no 100% preventative - collars and vaccines are both about 85% effective - and even dog owners who take all precautions can have a dog get Leish.
Definitely not! I strung my hopes a bit too high just to be free and clear of it immediately and there is even still that chance of that in the long run, if I understood the vet correctly. I know I sound like a broken record, but I know the important bit is that except for the inflammation markers, he is very healthy and shows no signs of ill effects. Even what I thought were "Leish marks" on his ears are actually old bite wounds...that's pretty obvious at this point.
Yes, you're absolutely right. I'm definitely reacting with far too much drama because everything kind of coming down at once and my brain is waving a white flag. Plus it's coming up on my worst day of the year, three days before Christmas - the date both Duncan and Brogan passed away. Even without anything else, I tend to turn into a prickly beast right around this time every year.
I keep saying it, but I do think it's time for Carbon and some PHOTOS to come back to his thread and bring a bit of end of year levity back. My assignment for tomorrow.
And let's hope for both of us next week is much better. 