my best friend dazer past away june 4 07 from auto immune disease my poor little 4 pound dog was hospitalized for 6 days and his blood/red blood cell count was only 1.44 he struggled to stay alive ,but the disease got him, he did die in my husbands arms, and i was happy that he did not die in the hospital cage i know exactly how you feel i am sorry for your lose as well as my own

My dear little Shih-poo is direly ill with what I belive is AI disease. She is currently being treated with multiple antibiotics, as the staff at the vet hospital say they must rule out infection prior to starting steroids. All indicators point to AIDisease vs. infections. It is terrifying and frustrating to watch our "baby" suffer. I'm sure we're losing time, and I pray she can be saved. This whole crisis put a serious damper on our family's Christmas this year, especially for our 9 year old daughter. Did anyone's dog have large lymph nodes and runny nose/eyes?
I would love a little glimmer of hope right now........

I just lost my beloved Donovan, (golden retreiver) 8 yrs. old to ais. I just had him vaccinated 1 1/2 weeks ago. Then 1 1/2 wks later he started acting sick. I took him back to the vet to be told it was a bladder infection. Next day he was worse, I took him back & they found this disease. He was at the vets the following Wednesday & on Friday night he couldn't lay down & stood most of the night. The next day I took him back to the vet & they said it was time. Worst day of my life. RIP my beloved Donny.

Hi, I have a very special mixed breed terrier type pup of 1 year who may or may not have lupus. He was treated for Ehrlichiosis (we live on a farm in SA - TICKS galore) 3 times before the third vet said he couldn't possibly have had a recurrence that often. He has shifting lameness, pain, fevers, weight loss, lethargy, anaemia - all the symptoms. The only time he breaks out of it and is a normal happy pup again is when he's on antibiotics and/or anti-inflammatories. Does anybody have a prognosis??

I am also in Essex and have lost a dog to IMHA. I am desparately looking for a vet that does titres tests and single shot vaccinations. Can you help me?

sharonr Not sure where you are in Essex, but here in Colchester Marcus Harrington at the Ark vetinary center will Titre test and I believe do single vaccines if required.
If you want a phone number for them let me know.
Bev

Thank you very much for coming back to me so swiftly. I am in Upminster, so Colchester is not too far for us. I have just sent Marcus an e-mail. Really appreciate your help. Best wishes

PS I found today a form you can complete and send to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate if you suspect an animal had an adverse reaction to drugs. They are carrying out surveillance work and I guess this is the only way of logging exactly how many dogs are being affected. I am sending mine off this week. Anyone else who has lost their dog and suspect vaccine was the cause should do the same.

This is so sad to hear, you did what you thought was best for them. I too have lost a dog after he suffered for years because of a reduced immune system this, it was generaly thought, was caused by early castration, So although we all do what we think is the best it can sometimes turn out to be anything but.

I too now have grave reservation concerning routine vacination. My now 5yr.old Border Collie was overdue by four months for his annual vac. due to being a little off colour. I decided to play safe and not vacinate at that time. Four months later, in late Nov.08 he was given the two dose starter vac. In early Feb.09 he developed a lump uder his eye, followed by another lump under his other eye and one on his lip. After biopsies he has been diagnosed as having Cutaneous Histiocytosis (a rare disease of the immune system) . I feel that this is too much of a coincidense not to be conected.