Cushings Disease – WestieMed

Chase

April 7, 2023May 15, 2024 by westiemed in Stories

The shelter’s rescue liaison sent us a plea for a ten year old white mix breed that was in need of major medical attention. Apparently, someone found him on the side of the road so they took him to the shelter. His intake photo resembled a schnauzer, but taking no chances, we high tailed it to South Los Angeles. Out comes this BIG, BEAUTIFUL senior Westie boy that in reality is 14 or more years old. The obvious issues were that he is overweight, pot-bellied, severe dental disease, missing most teeth, constantly licks the roof of his mouth and shakes his head, opacities in both eyes and a very stiff gait. He appeared very 9uncomfortable.

So we started at the top. We ran bloodwork, urinalysis, and x-rays. His bloodwork indicated that he could have Addison’s so we added a resting cortisol test. When that came back negative, we tested him for Cushing’s. We needed to address these issues before addressing his mouth and also had an ultrasound performed as there was some concern about possible prostate cancer due to his prostate being abnormally large. Thankfully, that was ruled out and believed to be due to late life neutering. The ultrasound indicated sludge in his gallbladder but the good news is that no mucus seal has formed. We have started him on Ursodiol as a preventative measure. Chase’s test came back positive for Cushing’s, which was really no surprise given his symptoms. Cortisol is produced and stored by the adrenals, two small glands that sit on top of the kidneys and is one of the body’s natural steroids and that a normal amount of cortisol helps the body adapt in times of stress. Cortisol also helps regulate proper body weight, tissue structure, skin condition, and other features of good health but too much cortisol weakens the immune system leaving the body vulnerable to other diseases and infections. There are two common types of Cushing’s disease, either pituitary-dependent or adrenal-dependent. About 80-85 percent of Cushing’s is pituitary-dependent, meaning it’s triggered by a tumor on the pituitary, a pea-sized gland at the base of the brain. Because we did an ultrasound, we know his Cushing’s is pituitary-dependent.

Considered a lifelong condition, the disease usually can be managed with medications. Chase will retest after he’s been on medication for two full weeks and continue to have regular blood tests to monitor his response to treatment and help determine the right dose which may need to be adjusted periodically. Treating Cushing’s is a balancing act, but dogs with the disease can live a good quality life as long as they are monitored closely by a veterinarian.

He received the long awaited dental. Chase is 100% sweetness and is a happy and content senior gentleman. He follows us wherever we go. He is fondly referred to as “our little big shadow”. He is such a good save! His diagnostics and treatment has been very costly,but thanks to WestieMed, Chase is getting all of his needs met.

Karen Simondet
Westie Rescue of Orange County (WROC)

Update August 31, 2023:

WestieMed has been informed that Chase is now at Rainbow Bridge.

Addie

January 1, 2018December 23, 2020 by westiemed in Stories

Addie’s rescue story began in April 2016 near Memphis, TN. Her former owner finally did the right thing and surrendered Addie to Westie Rescue, Tennessee.

Addie was a very malnourished 11 lbs and almost hairless with lesions all over her skin. She had been living in horrible conditions for the entirety of her first six years of life. Having been fed table scraps with little to no outside access and no clean indoor space. Her foster mom tells us that Addie had almost no muscle mass and could not even jump onto the couch. She was afraid of not getting another meal. It took endless love and patience from her foster family for eighteen months before they even considered that she might be ready for adoption.

That’s when we discovered her on Petfinder.com fell right in love! We have a fourteen and half year old Scottie who was missing his former Westie friend, Fiona (a prior WestieMed grantee) who passed in July 2017. Addie’s foster mom Sandy brought her over to our house. Our Scottie and Addie got along right away and Addie stole our hearts.

On our first visit to the doctor with Addie in November, we were advised that she had skin and ear infections. We are still treating those. We’ve sent out for cultures on both to be able to treat those in a more targeted fashion. We tested for low Thyroid, and Addison’s which came back negative, but with very high chances of Cushing’s. We’re still waiting for those results.

We know she may not grow back much, if any, of her hair. We just want to make sure she gets into a good place where her skin and ears are no longer infected and causing her pain.

She’s such a Westie girl! She loves to chase and dig after anything in her yard. She has a blast jumping onto the boulders in our backyard to get a better view of said varmints and she loves to torture her brother Jack every chance she can!

Thanks to all involved in her rescue and for those whose support today allow us to get her the care she deserves.

The first picture of Addie was taken the day she was surrendered. The photo of her with muddy paws was taken last Sunday.

Wendy Eubank

Update March 1, 2018

Addie is doing well. She does have Cushings, we are beginning treatment for that as well as getting her started on allergy drops.

We look forward to being able to give back to WestieMed.

Best Wishes,
Wendy and Lonnie Eubank

Update July 9, 2018

Firstly, we want to thank you all again for giving us a big help in Addie’s continued medical treatment.

Months ago, Addie’s skin was dry, blotchy, flaky, crusty, etc. and it caused her to do a lot of scratching and chewing. With the combination of medicines, medicated baths, and diet, within the last month, her exposed skin has finally become soft and smooth, and she only has a couple of hot spots on her front legs. It’s a huge improvement! We know that she will most likely never grow hair back, but that’s okay with us. We think she’s adorable, and as long as she’s comfortable and happy, we’re happy. Plus, it’s an excuse to keep her covered in plaid in cooler weather! For the summer she has on a UPF t-shirt so she won’t get burned.

Addie was diagnosed with Cushing’s, for this, she is on Vetoryl once daily. She has been ricocheting from skin infections to ear infections, but they seem to be subsiding. She takes two Apoquel a day, and one Atopica once daily. She went through blood allergy testing (her skin could not handle the skin testing) at Blue Pearl Veterinary Specialists and is on a customized a serum twice a day. She’s on a wheat gluten-free diet and we add salmon oil to her food. She gets weekly double-medicated-shampoo baths. And recently, it was determined that she has dry eye, so she receives two eye drops twice daily.

She lets none of the above slow her down! She is a 200% Westie girl – chasing squirrels and rabbits daily. This weekend she discovered frogs! As she starts to feel better the more open she becomes to playing with her new brother, four yr old Scottie Logan. We hope to keep her conditions under control and hopefully, more improvements will come with that.

Wendy & Lonnie Eubank

Isabel

May 1, 2017December 24, 2020 by westiemed in Stories

Our friend and companion Nigel, a male Westie, died 5/28/16 after a year-long illness. We got him as an eight week old and we were together at home, showroom, and visits to family and friends. He had a big outgoing personality, noisy and friendly to just about everyone except other small non-Westies. I really loved the guy and mourned his passing.

I never thought I would find and accept another Westie until I saw an ad in Pet Finder and saw a picture and description of Izzy also stating what type of home Garden State Westie Rescue was seeking for her. She rang all the right bells for me, and after speaking to Lisa Curry of Garden State, we both agreed that this would be a good fit for all. We adopted her mid-January 2017 and spent the next three weeks learning about each other. We found her a charming, polite, somewhat stubborn dog who really wanted to be part of our lives. We did note that she never finished any of her meals and wanted to go out every few hours. She also became somewhat lethargic after three weeks with us and began to vomit frequently, symptoms not observed by the rescue or her prior home.

We took Isabel to a veterinary hospital, who over the course of two weeks gave her infusions for her dehydration, took blood samples and diagnosed Addison’s disease and we were given appropriate meds and a diet change to a medical soft diet.

All went well, she stopped vomiting, began to eat and appeared to be recovering. She wasn’t. Over the next three weeks, Izzy started to have the same complications as before but this time more severe. A visit to a different emergency hospital, some fluids, blood tests, and ultrasound indicated that Isabel had Cushing’s disease. This hospital has many specialists and we made an appointment the next day to see Dr. Ward, a Gastro specialist. We left Izzy overnight to be infused again for dehydration and receive an endoscope for a better look at her digestive system. The final diagnosis was Irritable Bowel Disease, which is treatable with a daily dose of Budesonide, Pepcid and a diet of boiled chicken and rice. I was taught to give her daily infusions until she began to drink again.

Izzy is a month free of symptoms, has her med and Pepcid every day and really enjoys chicken and rice. I want to thank Lisa Curry for her referral to WestieMed, Dr. Ward of North Star Veterinary Hospital for the diagnosis and recipe for Izzy’s recovery, and Lucy Ryley of WestieMed for her help in recovering a large portion of Izzy’s medical bills. I’m glad to tell Isabel’s story because it has a happy ending. As seniors ourselves we look forward to whatever years Izzy, Lois and I have to be together.

Mitchell and Lois Cohen
Mount Laurel NJ

Callie

January 1, 2015December 24, 2020 by westiemed in Stories

When Callie came to rescue from a San Diego shelter, we thought she had the typical skin issues that we deal with often in rescue and figured she would be fixed up in no time. Once we took care of her skin issues, she was ready to be moved to a foster home while we interviewed applicants. During her time in her new foster home, it was noticed that she was again losing some hair and was drinking a lot of water. We brought Callie back to our vet where we had a complete blood count (CBC), blood chemistry panel and urinalysis performed and because we noticed her belly was larger than normal, we had her tested for Cushings Disease. Low and behold, Callie did have Cushings. Knowing that it would be very difficult to adopt a dog with Cushings, Callie’s foster Mom agreed to foster Callie for as long as it took to find her an appropriate home.

Several months went by with little interest in our girl but we remained hopeful. Shortly thereafter, another issue popped up with this little girl that just could not catch a break. We had been battling her chronic ear infections since she came to rescue, but it was painfully obvious that something drastic needed to be done. Back to the vet, we went and during her exam, it was suggested we seek a second opinion with a specialist. Our fears were confirmed that Callie would need TECA surgery (Total Ear Canal Ablation). Poor Callie was stuck in a cycle of inflammation, infection, and fibrosis and the pain was just too much to bear. Callie had her first TECA surgery in June of 2014.

Callie’s foster Mom was amazing and brought Callie through rehab beautifully. With all these issues stacked against Callie, we knew finding her a forever home was nearly impossible. So we approached her foster Mom and told her we would take her into our forever foster program once a home opened up. Callie’s Mom literally made our hearts swell when she said that she would officially adopt Callie. Knowing that she would most likely need another TECA surgery down the line, we agreed to a provisional adoption should Callie need another surgery.

Everything was smooth for quite some time, but when her second surgery approached, we were not surprised. We were grateful that her foster Mom was willing to get her through this next hurdle with the love and care she has received since she arrived at WROC. What is even more amazing is how sweet and gentle Callie has remained during all of this. She is a smart girl and a very good patient. We do believe she knows we are here to help.

This is an expensive surgery and Callie’s costs since coming into our program have been astronomical. Thanks to WestieMed, Callie just had her second TECA surgery. So many Westies are abandoned to shelters due to their medical issues. WestieMed has helped so many Westies get the help they so desperately need.

Kay DeLoach
WROC

Update January 15, 2016

Callie is doing very well now.

After a couple of setbacks and more surgery, this little girl has made an astounding recovery.

Her Mom, Kim, swears that Callie is able to hear despite the surgery on both ears.

Callie is happy and well-loved by Mom Kim and brother Mini-Cooper!!

Kay DeLoach
WROC

Update November 16, 2016

Callie is thriving with Kim & Mini-Cooper.

She requires regular medical care which her Mom takes great care of.

The picture is from WROC’s 2016 Photoshoot.

Thank you very much for helping this adorable Westie.

We are forever grateful.

Kay DeLoach

Lucy

November 1, 2010December 26, 2020 by westiemed in Stories

Lucy’s owner had to move into assisted living and could not take Lucy with her. So Lucy went to live with family. Lucy developed incontinence and unfortunately, with three other dogs already in the household, her family could not continue to care for her. Maryland Westie Rescue took in Lucy in July 2010 and brought her to a vet for evaluation of her incontinence. The diagnosis turned out to be a severe case of Cushing’s Disease. Lucy spent over a month in the hospital as vets tried to find the right balance of medication for her. In early September, she went to her foster home. However, because the vets were still trying to find the right dosage, Lucy had to report to the vet’s office every few weeks for a half day’s worth of testing. Lucy is currently in long-term foster care as the vets continue to adjust her medication. We are looking for a permanent home for her with a family that will be able to love this friendly little Westie and provide for her life-long medical issues. Many, many thanks from Maryland Westie Rescue and Lucy!

Thanks, Phil

Update January 15, 2011

It is with great sadness that I tell you that Lucy, our rescue Westie with severe Cushings, passed away this afternoon.

She was having a good day with her new owner and her Westie brother, Max, but then collapsed in the car on the way home.

Her owner rushed her to the emergency vet, but there was nothing they could do for her. I wanted to pass along my greatest appreciation for the grant that WestieMed provided to help cover her vet bills since she came into rescue this past summer.

Despite the long-term care, our vets were then able to provide, her little body was just overwhelmed by the severity of her illness.

We’re at least glad that she found her forever home last week, even if forever was far shorter than anyone wished.

Thanks, Phil

Rags

September 1, 2002December 30, 2020 by westiemed in Stories

September 2002:

RAGS TO RICHES

About 10 a.m. one Tuesday earlier in August, I received a call from the concerned owner that they had heard I rescued and helped small dogs. As I have helped in the rescue and placement of Cairn Terriers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, and some mix-breed puppies, I indicated I can sometimes help. What did they need?

Rags story begins when her well-intending owners of eleven years were moving and the main caregiver was returning to full-time employment. They decided to put her in the newspaper for free considering people would not be interested in buying an older dog. They did find someone interested and just let them pick the dog up and felt all was well.

For the original owner, all was well until about two weeks later someone called saying they had found their dog, locating them by an old tag left on Rags’ collar. Rags had apparently walked in their back door as they opened it to go out one evening. She was so filthy they did not know she was even a Westie. They bathed, defeated, and treated her ears thinking something had chewed on them as they looked infected with sores. Three days later the original owner picked her up and that is when they called me. They were afraid to try to place her again and did not have the time for her. They also mentioned sending Rags to animal control if I could not help.

So not being one to say no, I picked up the sweetest, confused, pretty little white dog I have ever had the pleasure of meeting and saw she needed immediate vet care for her ears. They had her groomed but had not had her to the vet. I and several others who heard of her plight could not understand how someone could give up such a beautiful little dog after owning her all her life.

After searching on the internet for what seems like hours, I found the representative for WHWTCA Westie Rescue. I told her I would gladly foster Rags and needed her help with placement for Rags, but also had very limited personal funds for veterinarian costs. My funds go very quickly having nine Cairn Terriers, most with special needs, two with seizures, three with severe skin allergies, one has had surgery to remove hip joint, etc., (who by the way have all been getting along wonderfully with Rags, she is so sweet). She immediately told me to look up WestieMed.com and see if they could help. Thank goodness there is such a group.

Rags first visit to the vet indicated she was heartworm free but had a severe ear infection in her right ear, also eye and skin irritations. The vet could not believe how strong and spirited she is for her age. She would need drops twice a day, plus daily and bi-weekly cleaning of both ears for blockages, as her hearing was impaired, and oral antibiotics for up to three months. As I had also noticed excessive drinking and piddling, which the original owner said she had never noticed. Rags also needed blood work which indicated no diabetes, thyroid problems, or other causes. So more and expensive blood testing has been done for the possibility of Cushing’s Disease. Without WestieMed I would have had difficulty finding she has early stages of an unpleasant but thank goodness a treatable problem. She will need medication for the remainder of her life, but it can be a good life.

And even though I have fallen in love with her, I know she can be placed in a new home with people who can really care for her no matter what.

Thank you again Robin Bateman and mostly RAGS

Update December 2002:

Rags are in a new long-term foster home with Sharon and Michael and is doing well. She’s a sweet, though quite an overweight girlie!

On behalf of Rags, WestieMed would like to thank Robin for fostering her for so long and taking such good care of her while a new foster home was being sought.