Meet "Zephan" :)

Originally Posted by Nanci

He looks great! And I want to point out how much easier it is to follow his story here, as opposed to on Facebook. This is why Facebook will never be able to take over the universe.

LOL! Good to know!
Thank you!

Some not so good news about Zephan.

Yesterday, we spent 2.5hrs at the vet after he developed a nosebleed, and was blowing out bright red blood clots from his nose.
I was only able to get the Chem 15 and CBC blood tests done, and the vet said he has no platelets.
There is a number of things that could be causing it, from Ehrlichia, a tick borne disease, to a couple different autoimmune diseases. None of them are good, and he may end up needed a blood transfusion, but Ehrlichia is the most manageable of them.

With the fact that he came from the Las Cruces, NM are, I am leaning towards Ehrlichia as the problem, because it is heavy down there. I have been told that they test for Ehrlichia as often as HW because it is so prevalent there.

He is on Prednisone and Doxycyclene for three weeks, and I have been also giving him phospherous, to help stop the bleeding, and that seems to be helping.

I have integrated Z and Rory, my senior dog, they are doing well, but Alexa is going to prove to be more work, to see if I can get her to accept him.
That intro will be placed on hold for now, until we figure out what is going on with him.

He loves his walks, but I have started to cut them shorter, so I don't tire him out too much. We go for short, leisurely walks along a nearby trail.

Now I wait to see how he does with the pred/doxy combo, and run more tests in a couple weeks.

Zephan seems to be responding to the meds, but I won't know for sure until Monday, when we go back to the vet to do another CBC test.

We will also be doing a tick panel. We'll start with one that checkso for Ehrlichia canis and Ehrlichia ewingii, the two most common types of Ehrlichia.

I took these with my real camera, and not just my cell phone.

Great news!! Zephan went to the vet yesterday to recheck his CBC, and he is responding very well to the meds!!
His levels are up to almost normal!
The vet was really impressed, as his levels were higher than she had hoped for.

This is a huge weight off my shoulders!
He's not out of the woods, but this is very promising!

We will continue meds for another two weeks, and if his levels remain normal, we will start weaning him off the prednisone, and continue the doxy for a while.

We did a Ehrlichia test as well, which should come back in a couple days.

Since he is doing well, I am resuming slow intros. I am keeping the Mal's separate with a baby gate for now. Alexa doesn't know she's a Mal, and it easily keeps her in, and Z has no desire to jump the gate with her on the other side.
I'm hoping that since he is very passive, that it will be a good personality fit.
I think a dog with a dominant temperament would put her in her place, but there would be many fights.

Fingers and toes crossed that he continues to improve and that Alexa accepts him!

He's up to 62lbs, and I think he is pretty close to where he should be weight-wise. The vet gave me a look like she disagreed when I said that. I know this clinic hasn't seen many Mal's, if any, besides mine.
I told her that Mal's are a lean breed.
He has a small build, and I am glad he is not a 70-80lb dog. I prefer the smaller Mal's (aka "pocket monsters" or "compact powerhouses").

Wow- I missed the whole bleeding thing! Glad he's okay, and I didn't have to worry about it while it was at its worst!

Originally Posted by Nanci

Wow- I missed the whole bleeding thing! Glad he's okay, and I didn't have to worry about it while it was at its worst!

I worried enough for the both of us! LOL

The results came back positive for Ehrlichia and Anaplasma, both tick borne illnesses.
The good news, is that both are treated with the meds he is on, and he is responding well to the meds!

The vet expects him to make a full recovery.

He goes in on the 19th for another CBC retest, and if his levels are normal, we will start weaning him off the prednisone. He will stay on the doxy for another couple weeks at least, at that point.

We passed a big hurdle this weekend! We're still waiting on the next vet visit to see if he is out of the woods, medically (I am optimistic, as is the vet), but I moved forward with intros between Zephan and Alexa, my female Mal/GS.
She can be quite snarky, as well as dog reactive, so I wanted to take it slow, to give them the best chance at becoming integrated.

Last week, I started putting Z in Rory's kennel at night, so he could sleep with us at night. The first couple nights I put Alexa in her kennel next to him, and then after that let her have free roam at night.
Saturday night, Z woke me up in the middle of the night to go outside, and being sleepy, I forgot Alexa was out when I let him out. They hadn't done any direct contact intros at that point. Luckily, she did not react to him, but I put her in her kennel just in case, and took him outside.
Yesterday, I decided to try walking them together, and see how she did.
She did great!
She reacted to another dog (ironically another Mal) along the trail, but even minutes later, when I had them both sit, she did not react to Z.

We continued on our walk, and when we got home, I had them in the back yard, and she went into play stance. I didn't let it progress, I want them more comfortable with each other before I let them play like that.

Since then, I have started taking all three dogs outside together, and they now spend most of their (supervised) time free roaming. They are separated for feedings and when given treats (pnb filled kongs or marrow bones), and I will continue to put Z in the kennel at night as long as he is on the prednisone, so there are no more accidents in the house.

It is safe to say that he's going to be a permanent resident here.

I've been watching Person of Interest (good show!) and in the second season a new character is added, a Mal. Always makes me think of Zephan!

Originally Posted by Tavia

I've been watching Person of Interest (good show!) and in the second season a new character is added, a Mal. Always makes me think of Zephan!

I haven't seen that show. I should check it out.
I know Grimm has had Mal's in a number of episodes, and now that I ahve them, I have seen them in a few movies and t.v. shows.

I love Alexa's expressions in those pics! Do you have ticks up where you are?