Help Enzo!

Enzo is a vibrant and joyful Galgo Espanol. In December 2022, he fell ill with something the veterinarians could only explain as "a typical vaccine injury." Before Enzo came to me, he lived in a shelter in Spain for a short time after being with a hunter. To bring him to Sweden, they had to give him a variety of vaccines, including Rabies.

One day, he started to have nosebleeds and developed large bruises all over his body, primarily on his legs, under his belly, in his gums, and in his ears. The diagnosis was "severe Immune thrombocytopenic purpura," which means the body attacks platelets and destroys them. His platelet count was 0 when we took the first blood test. The vet prescribed chemotherapy to "force" his body to release platelets from the bone marrow in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Platelets returned, and his counts have remained steady between 200-300, with the normal range being 180-500.

He lost weight, and for over a year, I've done everything to increase his weight without success. Now, there's a new setback. One evening, while he and I were on the couch, he whimpered when I moved, as if I had hurt him. I didn't think much of it, but the same thing happened the next evening. It happened a few more times over about a week. He was normal but a bit whiny in the couch. Then, one Sunday evening about two weeks ago, he was lying beside me on the couch, whimpering for a while, without me even touching him. He jumped off the couch and lay in his bed on the floor, but after maybe 30 minutes, he wanted to get up but couldn't. He was in severe pain and couldn't get up on his own. I helped him up, and he screamed, then he took a few steps and then refused to walk altogether. He seemed "frozen" and just looked at me as if asking for help.

I called the Animal Hospital, and they wanted me to bring him in to examine him, so I carried him to the car, and we went. At the Animal Hospital, they found that he was swollen in his joints and in a lot of pain, and gave him a morphine injection. They wanted to keep him overnight, but that would have broken his heart, so he came home with me. I gave him one of my homeopathic remedies, helped him onto my bed, and he fell asleep safely under my blanket, close to my side.

The next morning, he was almost completely recovered! He was a little stiff, but had no pain, and he wasn't limping. The morphine had worn off over 2 hours earlier, so he shouldn't have been as perky as he was.

I called my local veterinarian to do blood tests there. I wanted to see if his platelet counts looked good, and they were at 257, so it looked good. My local veterinarian didn't see anything remarkable in the tests other than that he had very slightly elevated proteins and uric acid in his blood, as well as slight signs of dehydration. Very strange considering he eats raw food containing some moisture.

I've been advised to research Cutaneous Vasculitis, an immune disease that dogs can get after vaccination, mainly the Rabies vaccine I think. I can agree that many of his symptoms match this disease, while some do not (among other things, he loves food and eats everything with a very good appetite.)

It feels like I'm groping in the dark, and I need advice from other dog owners who have dogs with similar symptoms or who have this specific diagnosis.

To add to the story, after a week, he has started limping again in the evenings, and he had some new bleeding in his skin. Every evening he experiences pain, I give him homeopathic remedies, and in the morning, he's lively and happy again. Now it feels like we've reached a point where I need to find the connection, the cause, and the right treatment, so I can help him heal from this disease so it no longer returns periodically.

I ask everyone to share this post on your Facebook page, website, Instagram, talk about Enzo on your TikTok, and share his story so he can get help!

Don't forget to link to the post on www.caninezoone.com or leave my email address caninezoone@gmail.com so that anyone who might be able to help Enzo can easily contact me.

Your support means the world to us, and together, we can make a difference in Enzo's journey towards healing. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

/Mirabelle and Enzo