Question:
Tag is a 10 months old boxer puppy who had been and was living outside in the bitter cold. The owner was under the assumption that he had diabetes. Because he was urinating a lot, and had trouble making it outside to do so (he really tried though), he was put outside to live in the snow and the bitter cold. Thankfully he was taken in by Mid Michigan Boxer Rescue. They are doing their VERY BEST to help him, but as you'll read below they have run into a bit of a problem in trying to figure out what his problem is. I have pasted some of our interaction below (its been edited to include only pertinent information).


Jan 11
We took him in. He got to us last night.
There is no vet paperwork to confirm a diabetes diagnosis or anything else. There is something wrong with him though, he is very thin, drinks a lot and pees a lot.

Jan 20
The vet there thinks that maybe things are not as bad as they appear. Since he has come in we have given him all the water he can drink (he was dehydrated when he first came to me) and plenty of food. He is slowy getting better. He does not drink as much as he did when I first got him.
The vet thinks that things snowballed from the owner keeping water from him in his process of trying to housebreak him.

Jan 22 (9:00 am)
He is starting to play with other dogs now, and his personality is coming out more and more all the time.

Jan 22
We got to the Emergency Vet at about 10pm and just got home at almost midnight. The vet found nothing except signs of infection, which we knew when we went there. I had taken his temp before we left for the vets and it was 103.6. By the time we got there he was at 103.8.
Bloodwork showed infection but we do not know where and cannot give him any meds that are processed through the kidneys. We will go see Doc tomorrow AM and talk about injectable antibiotics. Also, this Doc found a Murmur, pretty substantial, says it is probably a grade three. X rays showed he has left sided heart enlargement and his lungs are filling with fluids. Looks like he might also have heart failure!

Jan 23
Tests we sent to MSU have come in now and we have not one problem going on with him but MANY problems.
First, Aortic Stenosis and possibly cardiomyapathy. His lungs are also very cloudy and he has bronchitis.
Second, Early Kidney Failure. Never showed up on simple blood tests because they have to be at 75% Failure for it to show on those tests.
Third, Addisons Disease. This is a problem in the pituitary gland.
With all of these problems going on there is no longer any hope that we can
He still has a high fever today and his body is not processing food he has eaten either. He cannot have antibiotics or other meds by mouth because processing it through his body would put stress on his Kidneys, so he is getting injections. He had two today and he has to go back tomorrow for two more. On Thursday we get a test done.

Jan 25
I am taking Tag back to the vet today at 1:30 for another check up and to see if we can do anything for him at all.
He is still VERY SICK and in fact I was up most of last night with him as I was afraid he wouldnt make it through the night.
The ER clinic was useless so going back there was no option.
This morning he seems a little more alert but he has all but stopped drinking which is VERY BAD since he needs all that water to filter his kidneys. He does not want to eat either. I have a dog coat on him now and that seems to make him slightly more comfortable.
The test was supposed to be run today but they cancelled. There is a special drug they need for the test and it didnt come in yet, so the testing was reset for Monday. I am not sure he will make it til Monday if they cannot do something pretty amazing with him.
Tag needs all the prayers we can muster up.

Jan 25
Tag is dehydrated, of course, since he was not drinking as much in the last 24 hours. His blood levelss are a little messed up too for the same reason.
The vet also thinks that these symptoms are that of Lepto infection. We are running tests now. He is at the vets in quarrentine until the results come in, about 5 days to wait.


Jan 25
The vets are very stumped. We have seen three different ones and the one we are going to right now seems to be the one we get the best results from. He is ok as of tonight. The vet called me with an update.

Jan 29
We are still waiting for the test results on the lepto tests but in the meantime, Doc started him on Penicillin injections twice a day. HE IMPROVED! He is drinking less and peeing less. That does mean though, that he probably did have lepto. It responds well to Penicillin.
After he is well, we will have to run more tests to see how much permenant damage there is to his system, but, we will be able to stabilize Tag as long as things keep going in the direction they are going now.

Jan 29
He was so excited to see me when I got there to pick him up. It made me feel very good. He was wiggling, jumping, bouncing! It was great!
He was even a bit playful tonight with my dogs.

Feb 1
Tag is home, doing well and eating like a little piggy. His water intake has slowed down but he is staying hydrated. He is on antibiotics, from his records it looks like the first time this approach has been tried.
The tests for Lepto came back negative but he is responding well to the antibiotics so we are not sure what is wrong, was wrong or whatever.
I do not know why he is doing better but he is. He is even playful and silly like any other boxer. It is a great transformation I am seeing in him. I hope beyond hope that it lasts.

Feb 7
Well, Tag came home from the hospital last Monday and seemed so much better. It was amazing how much better he felt.
Then yesterday he seemed to be feeling down again.
Today he is totally miserable, not eating, drinking tons. He is in pain as well (this happend that other time that I had him admitted as well), he walks with a very arched back and yipes in pain if another dog even touches him.
He is still on his course of antibiotics so I am not sure what has happened. He is also feverish again today. I have been giving him aspirin (per docs orders) to control the fever and help with his pain. He goes back to Doc tomorrow. He had a few days of acting like a normal dog. He was playing with me and the other dogs and everything. Now he has crashed again and nothing has changed in the meds he is on or anything else in his life. This simply does not make sense.

Feb 7
He is feeling slightly better tonight.
We are having a very expensive test run tomorrow to check for Addisons disease. We were going to run it sooner but he seemed to get better.


Does anyone have any ideas or know what Tag's problem could be?
Any help in figuring out whats wrong with him would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!

Answer:
I'm sorry, I have no idea what could possibly be wrong. I just wanted to post to say Tag is one lucky dog to have someone like you taking care of him.

Answer:
I agree with Jessi. Thank you for all you are doing. Sorry I don't have any suggestions

Good luck with everything

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cant help but you're an angel for taking care of Tag well keep fingers and paws crossed for him over here. keep us updated

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Good luck and we'll be thinking of Tag. We cant help you, but will be asking the "big guy" to help Tag out. Good luck

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OMG, poor little guy. Thank you SO MUCH for taking him in. You're an . I wish I had a clue as to what this could be....

Good luck, and please keep us posted on Tag. All fingers and paws crossed for him.

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Poor little Tag Mocha and I hope that the vet can get to the bottom of all of this mess so that he can live a normal puppy life.

God bless you for your ongoing support, and not giving up on this little guy.

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just checking to see how Tag is today, I hope he is doing better.
Please let us know

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Awww....poor Tag. I have no idea what it could be but I hope you find out soon.

Answer:
Take a look at this, it covers all the symptoms you have described , not sure is your vets ran a tick panel but if not they should.

http://www.mirage-samoyeds.com/tick.htm

Answer:
First I'd like to thank all of you for your kindness and support for Tag


Here is his update;

FWD:Tag Update

The vet did a test on Tag to tell if he had either cushings or addisons disease.
They explained to me that if the test results go one way, it is addisons and if it goes the other it is cushings.
It came out that he is borderline Addisons disease.
We will proceed now with treatments for him.
He is currently only on a PenG injection, once daily, and no other meds. He seems better to me. He has been dry in the morning for the last three days and he is playful! For the first time he has been playful!!!! To me that speaks volumes.
So, Tags problems are far from over because with just borderline addisons it is doubtful it is the cause of all of the other problems but we are doing something right because he is improving.
I will keep you all posted. I am going to try to get pics of him playing with other dogs today or tomorrow for you all.
Keep sending good vibes, it seems to be helping.
http://www.midmichiganboxerrescue.org

Here is a picture of Tag along with a message from him:
Thank you for your well wishes!

Answer:
Who could resist that sweet face?
I hope everything continues to go well.

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What a beautiful boy! He is so lucky to have someone in his life that cares for his well being and is taking care of him

Mocha and I send our

Answer:
Originally Posted by Mocha's mum
What a beautiful boy! He is so lucky to have someone in his life that cares for his well being and is taking care of him


Beth (the director, Mid Michigan Boxer Rescue) is doing an absolutely WONDERFUL job of caring for him. Tag is living in her home and she's providing him all the care and attention that he needs, along with LOTS of TLC! She has truly been his earth angel

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