When we brought Abby to our home two years ago, we knew we
all had challenges ahead. She was an
allergy dog. She was an itchy, scratchy,
smelly dog. We worked with our vet and
for 18 months we tried everything. We
made our own dog food, we tried supplements, medication, and we put her on
allergy shots that we administered each week.
We bathed her every two days and we put her in clothes. Yes, clothes.
Socks and sweaters and hoodies that were often accessorized with the
cone of shame. Her black and white coat
was sparse and balding. I wasn’t sure if
this raggedy dog would ever grow back her fur.
And then devastating news arrived in our mailbox at
Christmas. What I thought was the annual
Christmas card from our vet was a goodbye letter. She was closing down her practice. She cared for all of our dogs over the years
and we now had to find another option in our very tiny town. There was only one other vet so we started
there with a meet and greet in January.
It was a bright and shiny new place with a sleek, modern feel. All three of our dogs were accommodated at
the same appointment, but the new vet spent the most time assessing Abby.
He immediately eliminated food allergies since her balding
patterns were not around her face. He
put her on a high dose of antibiotics and a double dose of Apoquel for a two
week trial period. We didn’t need two
weeks: Abby showed immediate improvement
within mere days. After two weeks, the
Apoquel dosage was reduced and Abby continued to rapidly improve. Her fur began to grow back and she had a
strange patchwork look of long mixed with the new shorter growth. A grooming session was required to even out
her fur length.
In less than five months, all of her fur was back and looked
shiny, thick and glorious. Baths were
reduced to “as needed” and her American Apparel hoodies were retired. The best part, though, was the afternoon I walked
her to the mailbox to retrieve the mail and a neighbor walking by stopped and
said, “Hello! I just wanted to tell you
that your dog is beautiful.” It was a lesson to me that when one door closes, another one does open which benefited us all.
"Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it" -
Confucius
