FAROS Symi Animal Clinic: Day #1 - Barbie's Check-up 4 August 2008
The second FAROS visit began at 10 o'clock this morning. For six days, Symi's animals can recieve the attention (free of charge, of course) of four of the finest vets from the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Thessaloniki. Tasoula, one of the two vets from the first FAROS visit in May has returned to Symi, accompanied by Iris, Lena and Thea.
The surgery is as well-equipped as before, with no compromising on the standards of hygiene and care that the University offers. First patient of the day was the delightful fluffy kitten looked after by Stelios, the young Symi lad with a passionate interest in animals, who became the FAROS mascot at the last visit. He is keeping his own diary and will write his review of the week in due course.
The morning saw a procession of cats being prodded, squeezed, and examined. The highlight of the day, though, was the upcoming scheduled visit of Symi Glamour Queen, Barbie, who ascended the steps by the Town Hall to the surgery with an entourage of admirers. We spoke with a Symi-resident this evening who remembers her being on Symi when he first came thirteen years ago, and she was at least a year old then, which puts her age at at least fourteen. Barbie has her ups and her downs, but seemed in a fine state of health as she tiptoed into the surgery, tongue lolling, and that lovely Barbie smile on her face.
The surgery is as well-equipped as before, with no compromising on the standards of hygiene and care that the University offers. First patient of the day was the delightful fluffy kitten looked after by Stelios, the young Symi lad with a passionate interest in animals, who became the FAROS mascot at the last visit. He is keeping his own diary and will write his review of the week in due course.
The morning saw a procession of cats being prodded, squeezed, and examined. The highlight of the day, though, was the upcoming scheduled visit of Symi Glamour Queen, Barbie, who ascended the steps by the Town Hall to the surgery with an entourage of admirers. We spoke with a Symi-resident this evening who remembers her being on Symi when he first came thirteen years ago, and she was at least a year old then, which puts her age at at least fourteen. Barbie has her ups and her downs, but seemed in a fine state of health as she tiptoed into the surgery, tongue lolling, and that lovely Barbie smile on her face.
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First item on the agenda was a check of all the parts of her gorgeous head. The ears were passed as being clean and in a fine state for a dog her age, the eyes, slightly cloudy these days, were as good as could be expected and serviceable. Her teeth are in need of a good clean and descale, a job needing specialist equipment that we are hoping will be available to FAROS during one of the next few visits.
After the head, attention was directed at the bones with a comprehensive orthopedic examination Hips, legs, ribs, tail...all were twisted, pulled, tugged, bent, and deep-massaged. Barbie is a little stiff and rheumatic these days, but the impact of this on her quality of life at the moment (in the summer) is not so serious.
One thing that was quite apparent with Barbie is the flea colony that she carries around with her. Barbie is lousy, and they're big and fat fleas, too. Owners of flea and/or worm infested animals who come to FAROS surgeries are given prescriptions and sent down to the pharmacy with instructions of how to administer the de-fleaing/de-worming products that have been prescribed. A general all-year de-flea, de-tic, and de-worm policy for an animal is the owner's responsibility, and not something that FAROS's limited finances should be used on. Barbie remains covered with fleas, and we hope that someone steps forward to take responsibiliy for keeping her flea, tic and worm free. As for the tics...more on this below.
After the head, attention was directed at the bones with a comprehensive orthopedic examination Hips, legs, ribs, tail...all were twisted, pulled, tugged, bent, and deep-massaged. Barbie is a little stiff and rheumatic these days, but the impact of this on her quality of life at the moment (in the summer) is not so serious.
One thing that was quite apparent with Barbie is the flea colony that she carries around with her. Barbie is lousy, and they're big and fat fleas, too. Owners of flea and/or worm infested animals who come to FAROS surgeries are given prescriptions and sent down to the pharmacy with instructions of how to administer the de-fleaing/de-worming products that have been prescribed. A general all-year de-flea, de-tic, and de-worm policy for an animal is the owner's responsibility, and not something that FAROS's limited finances should be used on. Barbie remains covered with fleas, and we hope that someone steps forward to take responsibiliy for keeping her flea, tic and worm free. As for the tics...more on this below.
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With the second FAROS surgery, we are now offering blood tests for dogs. These are important because a dog can be seriously ill with no outward symptoms for a considerable amount of time. When the symptoms show, it is often too late. The blood test will indicate whether the dog has the illness and can give the owner a valuable head-start in defeating the nasty bug. Unfortunately for FAROS, the blood test kits are quite expensive, and we are only able to offer a few this time around. They test for Heart-worm, Erlichiosis, and Leishmaniasis, all very often fatal diseases.
Barbie was asked politely to lay down for a vein to be found in her leg. She behaved impecably, bless her, as the blood was drawn.
Barbie was asked politely to lay down for a vein to be found in her leg. She behaved impecably, bless her, as the blood was drawn.
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There's no need to go into detail about the test kits...suffice it to say that the blood is applied to the kit which is then left to "develop". The number, and position, of the blue dots that result indicates which of the bugs the dog is harbouring in its blood.
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As the minutes passed by, the red patch of blood on the kit began to change...and fade. For the Leishmania test, the all clear was given. I wish I could say the same for the other test; Barbie tested positive for infection with the bug, Ehrlichia Canis, the cause of Ehrlichiosis in dogs.
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For those of you (like me!) who have no idea what this means, we can consult the Wikipedia article:
"Dogs get ehrlichiosis from the brown dog tick, which passes an ehrlichia organism into the bloodstream when it bites. It is also possible for dogs to become infected through a blood transfusion from an infected dog. There are three stages of ehrlichiosis, each varying in severity. The acute stage, occurring several weeks after infection and lasting for up to a month, can lead to fever and lowered peripheral blood cell counts due to bone marrow suppression. The second stage, called the subclinical phase, has no outward signs and can last for the remainder of the dog's life, during which the dog remains infected with the organism. Some dogs are able to successfully eliminate the disease during this time. In some dogs the third and most serious stage of infection, the chronic phase, will commence. Very low blood cell counts (pancytopenia), bleeding, bacterial infection, lameness, neurological and ophthalmic disorders, and kidney disease, can result. Chronic ehrlichiosis can be fatal.
The prognosis is good for dogs with acute ehrlichiosis. For dogs that have reached the chronic stage of the disease, the prognosis is guarded. When bone marrow suppression occurs and there are low levels of blood cells, the animal may not respond to treatment.
Supportive care must be provided to animals that have clinical signs. Subcutaneous or intravenous fluids are given to dehydrated animals, and severely anemic dogs may require a blood transfusion. Treatment for ehrlichiosis involves the use of antibiotics such as tetracycline or doxycycline for a period of at least six to eight weeks; response to the drugs may take one month. In addition, steroids may be indicated in severe cases in which the level of platelets is so low that the condition is life threatening."
We suspect that Barbie is in this "sub-clinical" stage...but we can't be sure. With access to more sophisticated testing than FAROS can afford, we could get a better idea, but for now, we have to do the best we can with the knowledge that Barbie has a positive test result. She needs to undergo a full month's course with antibiotic, morning and night.
We hope the owner of Barbie, who left Symi some time ago, will step forward to take responsibility for her, and cover the cost of her treatment. Given her absence and the urgency of the situation, FAROS has decided to pay for her medication.
Barbie's other problem is incontinence; she isn't in complete control of her bladder. Often she wees in her sleep, which means she gets wet and smelly. She got so messy recently that she had to be shampooed, but the constant soaking of her fur with urine has now permanently stained the hair around her hind quarters and no amount of scrubbing could clean her there. There is a medicine that Barbie can take for her incontinence but it is expensive, and she would need to take it every day for the rest of her life. Again, we appeal to her owner, or someone else, to take responsibility for her and step forward to arrange for Barbie's care and finance her treatment.
"Dogs get ehrlichiosis from the brown dog tick, which passes an ehrlichia organism into the bloodstream when it bites. It is also possible for dogs to become infected through a blood transfusion from an infected dog. There are three stages of ehrlichiosis, each varying in severity. The acute stage, occurring several weeks after infection and lasting for up to a month, can lead to fever and lowered peripheral blood cell counts due to bone marrow suppression. The second stage, called the subclinical phase, has no outward signs and can last for the remainder of the dog's life, during which the dog remains infected with the organism. Some dogs are able to successfully eliminate the disease during this time. In some dogs the third and most serious stage of infection, the chronic phase, will commence. Very low blood cell counts (pancytopenia), bleeding, bacterial infection, lameness, neurological and ophthalmic disorders, and kidney disease, can result. Chronic ehrlichiosis can be fatal.
The prognosis is good for dogs with acute ehrlichiosis. For dogs that have reached the chronic stage of the disease, the prognosis is guarded. When bone marrow suppression occurs and there are low levels of blood cells, the animal may not respond to treatment.
Supportive care must be provided to animals that have clinical signs. Subcutaneous or intravenous fluids are given to dehydrated animals, and severely anemic dogs may require a blood transfusion. Treatment for ehrlichiosis involves the use of antibiotics such as tetracycline or doxycycline for a period of at least six to eight weeks; response to the drugs may take one month. In addition, steroids may be indicated in severe cases in which the level of platelets is so low that the condition is life threatening."
We suspect that Barbie is in this "sub-clinical" stage...but we can't be sure. With access to more sophisticated testing than FAROS can afford, we could get a better idea, but for now, we have to do the best we can with the knowledge that Barbie has a positive test result. She needs to undergo a full month's course with antibiotic, morning and night.
We hope the owner of Barbie, who left Symi some time ago, will step forward to take responsibility for her, and cover the cost of her treatment. Given her absence and the urgency of the situation, FAROS has decided to pay for her medication.
Barbie's other problem is incontinence; she isn't in complete control of her bladder. Often she wees in her sleep, which means she gets wet and smelly. She got so messy recently that she had to be shampooed, but the constant soaking of her fur with urine has now permanently stained the hair around her hind quarters and no amount of scrubbing could clean her there. There is a medicine that Barbie can take for her incontinence but it is expensive, and she would need to take it every day for the rest of her life. Again, we appeal to her owner, or someone else, to take responsibility for her and step forward to arrange for Barbie's care and finance her treatment.
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CommentsUpdated 05/08/2008, 03:28, hits
Nouky said on 05/08/2008, 10:41
Poor girl... How much money are we talking about here? Maybe I could do a collection amongst all who know her and are not on Symi? I know for a fact that some friends of mine in London would love to help her. She ran(!) all the way to Panormitis with them 2 years ago!(I know... I have friends who run to Panormitis in their hols...
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Will said on 05/08/2008, 12:04
A few hundred euros every year seems to be what is required, but as the medication needs to be given daily (maybe twice daily) finding someone who is able and willing to give it to her this regularly is a bigger problem. It's all part of her needing a place she can call home, with regular food morning and night. She's had this in the past. I've never believed in this "Barbie's a free spirit" nonsense that is very often used as an excuse by some on Symi to neglect her; she wanders because she is looking for a place to call home. Regular de-flea, de-tic and de-worm treatment is an added expense. We picked the most MASSIVE tic EVER off her chest yesterday...as big as my thumb nail...even the vets were surprised!
Nouky said on 05/08/2008, 12:30
Thanx for the mental picture...
I shall contact my friends, and see what they say. Even just to start of the treatment would be good, right?
If anything, I can get them to donate to Faros.
Will said on 05/08/2008, 12:52
It was HUGE, Nouky...bigger even than my ego!
Nouky said on 05/08/2008, 17:02
Simon said on 05/08/2008, 19:23
Poor old Barbie, glad she's getting some treatment. Ive never heard of some of the conditions mentioned! i really hope the "owner" does come forward and is true too her word (deep down i doubt it though,she couldent care much to have dumped her in the first place). Well done all involved!
Marianne said on 05/08/2008, 21:38
If someone could "adopt" Barbie money-wise (for us who is not fortunate and lives on Symi) throught FAROS, would it be easier to get someone to do the daily care for her?
Well done to you!
Will said on 05/08/2008, 21:48
Now isn't that an idea...a group of people who are Barbie's adopters. I really don't know if it could work...well, it could pay for food and medication, but it would still need someone to take her on & Barbie is a demanding animal. She wants to be inside your skin sometimes, she really does have that much love in her. I wish it were just about cost. She'd need a home so she could get her medication twice a day, every day...and not feel she needed to stray anywhere.
I'm sure you'll get to meet Barbie when you're here, Marianne. She's such a lovely lady.
Marianne said on 05/08/2008, 22:28
I'm looking forward to meet Barbie Will
..and I would certanly like to look after her, but I know that is not a good sollution when you're visiting 14 days and then leave. In Norway I've "adopted" both cats and dogs and pay a regular fee each month to an animal-rights-group that has a hous for stray dogs and cats. It's a sollution for me to help more than the two cats I have in our home. I understand that Barbie is special and also demanding, but the hope for me was that someone would find it easier to do the daily tasks if it cost no money to them. See yu all in about a month!
Will said on 06/08/2008, 01:28
You're a good lady, Marianne...we definitely do need a solution to the "Barbie problem" and this has potential. Christos and I have been talking about this this evening, and we'll ask some other Symi residents what they think.
On top of the medication costs, The food alone for a dog for a year would be about 400 euros, I guess. I doubt there's any chance of getting pet insurance for Barbie, given her age, so unexpected vet bills could also be an issue too.
It is an intersting idea that needs careful thought...
Marianne said on 06/08/2008, 09:11
Yes, it takes some planning and thought that is for sure. If it is possible in any way to get daily care for her - I do think it's possible to get a "Barbie-group" that sort the money issue... at least from all I've read from people here the last couple of months
lizzykitch said on 06/08/2008, 17:16
Bravo to FAROS and all involved. I would have thought that at least some of Jane's friends who live on Symi permanently who refer to themselves as "ex-pats" are able to adopt Barbie properly - I find it hard to believe that this was not organised when Jane left.
SamanthaF said on 06/08/2008, 23:35
I've had a message on the SV for 2 days now requesting that someone urges Barbies "owner" to get in touch. How that person sleeps at night I have no idea.