The two-year-old dog became lethargic, thin and listless, deteriorating to the point that it was admitted to a pet hospital for a week for a blood transfusion.
“I was really worried about him,” Ms Powell, an enrolled nurse, said.
Testing confirmed Leo had ehrlichiosis, a disease transmitted through bites from brown dog ticks carrying the Ehrlichia canis bacteria.
But what worried the specialists is that Leo lives in the urban Top End, which some experts fear is becoming a new stronghold for a disease spreading like wildfire.
The first Australian case was detected in the Kimberley region of Western Australia in May last year.
By June, cases were rapidly emerging in Katherine in the Northern Territory and the surrounding remote communities.
The Northern Territory government has recorded 370 confirmed cases — 110 in the Darwin and Arnhem Land region, 149 in the Katherine region, 36 in Tennant Creek and in Alice Springs and surrounds, 75.
Experts say countless more have been left undetected in remote communities with little intervention.
“When we finally got to bring him home, [the vets] said he needs to stay inside, he’s at risk of spontaneous bleeding and he might not make it,” Ms Powell said.
“It was very full-on, very emotional.
“There were tears basically every night.”
Until the first cases were discovered just last year, stringent biosecurity controls had kept ehrlichiosis out of Australia.
Experts are still baffled by how the disease got in but, according to Professor Peter Irwin from the School of Veterinary Medicine at Murdoch University, the disease is now considered “endemic” across the NT.
“Ehrlichiosis is one of the most serious diseases of dogs in my opinion,” he said.
“It makes them very ill, and many dogs can die.
“Once it establishes into a tick population, it’s very difficult to eradicate.”
Common symptoms include lethargy, fever and cloudy eyes, which can be cleared up with antibiotics but, if left untreated, the disease can lead to blindness, uncontrollable bleeding and death.
“The problem with this disease is that dogs travel and spread infected ticks,” Professor Irwin said.
“Dogs that have moved from an endemic area of the community into the city will possibly bring ticks with them, and the ticks can then drop off.
“There have now been dogs with the disease identified in most other capitals, most as a result of travel from the north.”
Doctor Stephen Cutter, the head veterinarian at Darwin’s Ark Animal Hospital, is no stranger to the crippling disease.
He said up to 40 per cent of the dogs are infected in the remote communities of the Top End he visits on rotation.
But in August of last year, he saw his first case in a pet that had not left urban Darwin.
Arielle Giles, a vet at the Darwin Veterinary Hospital, confirmed the disease’s spread to Darwin, saying she had seen six cases in the past three months.
“It’s a devastatingly bad disease and it’s really difficult to treat,” Dr Cutter said.
“It’s basically everywhere and it’s now a matter of living with it.”
Both Professor Irwin and Dr Cutter said keeping ticks at bay is the best way to prevent ehrlichiosis.
“Because the infection is transmitted so quickly from the tick bites, the most important way of protecting your dog is to use a product, such as a collar that kills ticks before they bite,” Professor Irwin said.
It has now been five months since Leo was struck down by the tiny parasite and, while he is still getting regular check-ups and his future is looking brighter, vets can’t give the all-clear.
“Ehrlichiosis is really nasty in that it can stay hidden in the bone marrow for a long period of time,” Dr Cutter said.
Earlier this year, the NT government brought on a new coordinator to transition the NT’s response to the disease from a biosecurity threat to managing the outbreak.
“This disease is a nationally notifiable disease, which means that suspected cases of E.canis need to be reported, and free testing can be carried out on blood samples from suspected dogs,” said the chief vet at the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Dr Sue Fitzpatrick.
Grandfather Fears Dog Wouldn’t Recognize Him After a Year Apart, but Excited Pup Rushes Towards Him, Melting Hearts with Reunion Joy.
One of the best things in life, and I recognize you will agree with me on this, is coming home to a canine bounding up to invite you after a long day at work. One of the many reasons we appreciate our canine friends a lot is the absolute, unrestrained pleasure and thrill of your existence.
Will a dog eventually forget about you after years apart? Fortunately, as evidenced by this story, they will not!
After a year of being away, a blind and deaf puppy saw her grandfather, the owner’s dad, and despite the owner’s fears of a broken bond, the puppy went into ecstatic overdrive.
Grab the tissues since after reading this story, you are going to start weeping waterfalls. Also, do not forget to share your pet stories and ideas in the comments section listed below. Thank you for your continuous assistance and we greatly appreciate all of your upvotes and follows. Without further trouble, allow’s begin with the story!
On TikTok, a sweet video clip of a man called Steve reconciling with his daughter’s dog, Bitsy, went viral. Hayden Kristal’s canine is unique since she was born deaf and blind, but Hayden did not allow that stop her from adopting the puppy when she was just 5 weeks old.
At first, they were stressed over how the puppy would certainly deal with life, but she rapidly proved they had nothing to be afraid. Hayden said, “She has been her own lady because day one. The first thing she did when I brought her residence was to make a beeline for the food dish, creep right into it and eat till she passed out.”
Five years later, she is still a stunning, vivacious canine that still enjoys hanging out with her mother, a few brother or sisters, and other family members. Bitsy and her mom were forced to live besides their relatives last year after COVID limitations were put in place to guarantee their security. As a result, the puppy and the dad would be separated for an entire year.
According to the caption, her dad was concerned that Bitsy will forget him after a year apart, but that was not the situation because the canine knew her grandpa’s embrace right away. She was licking at the man’s face while leaping up and down. Steve was as delighted to see the puppy as she was to see him, and a smile never left his face.
” As quickly as I obtained within scent range, she completely lost her mind with joy. So did I,” Steve wrote on Facebook. “Once again Bitsy proved that the abilities she has are far more impressive than the ones she’s missing. What a really incredible and fantastic soul. Perhaps you can tell from this video just how much we love each other.”
Hayley’s father spends as much time as feasible with his granddog because he loves the animal more than he could have ever pictured. He is her biggest supporter and fan, according to Hayden.
” He will inform anybody who will listen regarding what an amazing canine she is and how much he enjoys her. He does the normal grandfather things of spoiling her with treats and toys and she loves to simply hang out near him.”
Bitsy and her mother have taken several trips across the country, hiking, canoeing, riding the subway, and also skating. “Bitsy is the sweetest, friendliest, most caring, and faithful dog in the world,” Hayden said. “She is bold and sexy and she enjoys adventure!” She likewise appears to have a love of ribs and BBQ sauce.
“She’s taught me a lot regarding love, life, and swallowing whole rotisserie hens before an authority figure can wrench the bird shrapnel from your thieving hyena jaws,” she said in her Instagram article.
It is wonderful that the family can currently be back with each other. Although dogs can see and listen to, Pet Place claims that their primary sense of perception is smell. Because of this, dogs without hearing will depend on touch and smell to inform them when a person is nearby, which will create them to come to be much more connected to their human buddies than formerly. For stability and comfort, they significantly rely on predictable routines, so maintaining things like bedding and feeding bowls in the exact same area is useful.
The big query at this moment is just how much a canine can recall.
For all those years, Hachi waited for his owner at the railway terminal, but existed more to it than simply habit and loyalty?
Swifto insists that, unlike humans, canines have a unique method for keeping, processing, and recalling memories.
They possibly don’t recall all the meals they have actually had because they have bad short-term memory, which is why they maintain asking for even more food. They have an associative memory, which implies that rather than having true memories, they remember experiences based upon associations. As a result, Bitsy most likely recognized the grandpa by his voice and fragrance, which served as a reminder of who he was.
You don’t need to be worried that your dog will soon forget you. And if you come across a particular puppy because of this, there are lots of solutions offered, so put your worry aside and begin cuddling puppies! However, adopt correctly and guarantee that you can offer your dogs.
We send out Bitsy and her household our hottest desires and will keep up with their travels and joie de vivre.
Leave a Reply