After returning home from a camping trip, owners describe that their sheltie seemed increasingly lethargic and weak.
Owners, Al and Joelle, had recently taken their 10-year-old dog, Ollie to visit Umpqua River and Eastern Oregon, and other than a bit of hip pain in prior years, Ollie was healthy and active.
The couple took Ollie to his regular veterinarian for some testing and after conducting a full range of tests, including blood work, a urinalysis, and a variety of X-rays, the vet couldn’t find any reason for Ollie’s diminishing health. The following day, Ollie got even worse- he was almost completely paralyzed and unable to eat or go to the bathroom on his own.
Al and Joelle had to make the difficult decision to put Ollie to sleep on May 4, just two weeks after their trip.
“We were at a complete loss,” Al told DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital. “What do you do in that situation? He is part of our family, and we’ve always tried to provide the best care we can for him.”
But, as Neena Golden, a visiting veterinary student, prepared Ollie to be euthanized, she took a moment to comfort him, and while scratching his ears, she found a tick.
Shortly after, Dr. Adam Stone diagnosed Ollie with tick paralysis, a rare condition he has never seen before but learned about in school.
“I had never seen a tick paralysis case. It’s one of those things you learn about randomly in school – it’s on one slide during one presentation.” It is so rare that only one other vet professional at DoveLewis had ever seen a tick paralysis case,” Dr. Stone said.
Doctors removed the tick and shaved Ollie to make sure he didn’t have any more ticks on him, and if this was, indeed, tick paralysis, Ollie would show improvement in few days. Sure enough, Ollie began moving that night, and everyone was astounded by his quick turnaround. Al told ABC News, “That was just amazing in itself, that this dog recovered so quickly.”
He says he credits the doctor and student with saving Ollie’s life. Al told ABC,
“He was one minute away from euthanasia. The doctor walked in and remembered that he heard about this in school. He told me it was just one little thing, one slide, and they mentioned it and [that] it was rare, and that was it. He had never seen a case before in his career.”
Now, Ollie is “bright-eyed, active, [and] chasing the squirrels around,” Al said. “He has a spring in his step that he hasn’t had in quite a while.”
Al believes Ollie’s recovery is a true miracle.
Have you ever heard of tick paralysis?
Let us know in the comments and please SHARE this story with your friends and family on Facebook!
[Featured Image Credit: DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital]
Vet Student Finds Tick On Sick Dog 1 Minute Before He Was To Be Euthanized is an article from: LifeDaily