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Illinois Birddog Rescue, Inc. is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. That means all of your donations will be tax deductible!
Our 9th year of operations posed more fundraising challenges as the sick, injured, neglected and abused dogs and puppies came in one after the other. As we scrambled to find funding to help our current population of dogs and puppies in foster care, we were blessed with new enthusiastic help. Our tick borne illness diagnosis, treatment and research also continued as more and more dogs and puppies came into our care infected with Lyme disease, Ehrlichia, Anaplasma and Rocky Mountain spotted fever or the combination of two or three. At this point, when we don't get a positive serology for a tick borne illness--we are still suspicious. We tested 78 dogs in 2009 and 61 were positive (that's 78% or 8 out of 10) and we suspected a few more with odd behaviors had a false negative and we treated anyways. As most of our heartworm positive dogs also had tick borne coinfections, that posed more challenges for us to help these dog recover and find new forever homes. Sadly the hardest issues were our sweet girls with mammary cancer. Our vets only give these dogs a 50/50 chance of surviving beyond 18 months post surgery, but we feel that is a worth the extra time and expense to let these girls learn about how it is to be loved and cared for. If only they had been spayed...
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Poor Sweet Duckie (sleeping setter) is now in hospice care. She came to us in February of 2009 after her back leg had been amputated. Upon arrival she was diagnosed with Heartworm disease, Lyme disease, Ehrlichia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. She also has mammary cancer. After 11 months in foster care and with ongoing treatment, she is heartworm and Lyme negative but she still has chronic Ehrlichia and RMSF. She was too anemic to do any surgery until recently and during her spay it was discovered she needed her spleen removed because of a tumor. This is so sad and the doctor has given her 10 months to live. We are hopeful she will outlive his prognosis. Duckie's story
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Ollie is a handsome 7-8 year old Black and White American Field Bred stray Setter who was running out of time in an over-crowded shelter in Russellville, KY. Sadly, blood work shows he has heartworm disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). I do think that Ollie has an extremely bad heartworm infestation as he struggles to breathe and his gums are so very pale--most likely due to the lack of oxygen to his lungs from his heart. He could also be very anemic. As he is also struggling with Kennel Cough--the last thing he needs is an upper respiratory infection.
I haven't been this worried about treating an older dog in a long time. If we are not cautious--Ollie could die. At this time we are pre-treating him with doxycycline for the Wolbachia issue and also for the Kennel Cough and RMSF. He will need to be on doxy for up to 2 months ever after he is heartworm negative as our research shows that the RMSF infection is very difficult to fight in an older dog with a very compromised immune system.
From the shelter volunteer that contacted IBR about Ollie, "I am glad to hear he is doing well. He is such a sweet dog and had no options until you spoke up for him. It broke my heart to think he would just die here. You have a very kind heart and don`t just care about the young and beautiful.. he is beautiful though!" Think happy thoughts that Ollie makes a full recovery - he deserves to have a loving home. If all goes well--Ollie will be available for adoption in May if not sooner.
UPDATE 02-16-10 Ollie has recovered from his Pneumonia and his bloodwork looks decent. Due to his heart murmur, we will just do one Immiticide injection and repeat with a double in several weeks. He will be on doxycycline therapy up to two months post a negative heartworm test as Rocky Mountain spotted fever will hang in there until his immune system is less challenged. Thanks to an amazing donation by Amy Dempsey and family in memory of her sweet dog Tucker, a huge dent in Ollie's vetting expenses has been made.
UPDATE 3-25-10 A month after his first Immiticide injection, Ollie's CBC/Chem looks pretty good, however his latest tick panel shows not only does he have Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but he also has Lyme disease. It may have been in remission and the start of the antibiotics has brought it to the surface. He still has a bit of a cough but chest X-rays look good.
UPDATE 06-14-10 Ollie had made it through the final phase of his heartworm treatment (5-18 and 5-19) and was doing great. At about the second week mark he started to have diarrhea and stopped eating. He also started drooling. His temperature shot up to 104 and follow up blood work showed his Immune System was shutting down. As he was slightly anemic his red blood cell production got much worse and he became very week. The vet didn't think he was going to make it as his his pneumonia returned and it was touch and go for a while. As of this writing he is home being force fed but resting. He is still very weak but we are hopeful he will overcome all the issues.
We took our time with Ollie's care due to his Lyme disease and RMSF. We knew it was going to be a rough go so please say a prayer that he continues to fight.
Here is some recent video of Ollie and a steam bath to try and help him with the terrible congestion in his lungs from the Heartworm disease complicated by Kennel Cough. I am trying very hard to help him get over this as I worry that it may advance to pneumonia.
Meet Winslow Homer! He is our latest Old Geezer rescue pooch. Homer was in an over-crowded shelter near Heath, Ohio when we saw his sad photos. He was depressed, not eating and in danger of being put to sleep. Thankfully an IBR volunteer was able to pull him to safety and so far he is doing GREAT! Look he is all smiles!! As he went to the vet 3-08 for an exam, and blood work, we will know what shape he is in soon. Here is his photo album on Facebook. Please also visit our Geezers & Grannies section to see some of our very special senior dogs looking for a place to rest their heads in their golden years.
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Mandilyn and Ophelia have had a tough journey in foster care--but hopefully the worst will be over soon. Mandi was treated for Heartworm disease on March 25th and 26th and Ophie had the last of her mammary tumors removed. We are hopeful this will be her last surgery and that her body will finally also be able to fight off the two tick borne illnesses--Ehrlichia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever that have caused her to struggle for months. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
Check out Mandi and Ophelia at our recent fundraiser. Also check out Ophelia's new hair do--the shag is gone for the spring.
UPDATE 4-6-10 We've got some great news. Ophelia's biopsies were benign--so she is done with any more boob jobs!! She is bouncing back really well and constantly pawing me and wanting her ears rubbed anytime we snuggle. GOOD GIRL!! Mandi is also doing amazingly well 2 weeks post heartworm treatment. She hasn't missed a beat and is recovering beautifully. Hooray for our special senior girls.
We welcome any donations to off set the medical bills for Miss Mandilyn and Ophelia.
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Mandilyn is a beautiful Black and White American Field Bred English Pointer that was in danger of being put to sleep in an overcrowded shelter in Southern Illinois. A wonderful rescuer pulled her to safety and gave her a safe place to stay while she had her puppies on November 21st. On December 12th, Mandi with girls in tow, were flown via Pilots and Paws to Ohio for permanent foster care. Sadly, Mandilyn has Heartworm disease and had a huge tapeworm that caused her to be dehydrated all the time while nursing her girls Harmonica (adopted), Tamborine and Clarinette (adopted). Now that the girls are weaned, Mandi finally was able to get the medication to get rid of her intestinal parasite and she is also starting her pre-heartworm regimine of Heartgard plus to start killing the Heartworm larve and also doxycycline to help with the Wolbachia bacterium.
UPDATE 03-07-10 Mandi and her girls came to Chicagoland over the weekend. Clarinette and Harmonica were adopted locally and Mandi was moved to her new foster home so that we could finally get her heartworm treatment started. Sadly--under closer examination--it was discovered that Mandi has a few masses in her mammaries and a few suspicious tumors on her body. Another intact female, overbred with mammary cancer--not again. SSIIGGGHHHH...
Nothing IBR can't handle--I suppose. Mandi's foster mom is also dealing with breast cancer and is so brave. She is a single mother of 3 kids going through chemotherapy. God love her for still opening her home to one of IBR's special needs dogs. Thank you Noreen and family. I hope they can all love on each other for comfort.
UPDATE 06-01-10 Mandi sailed throught heartworm treatment. GOOD GIRL!! She is ready for adoption :O).
We welcome any donations to off set the medical bills for Miss Mandilyn.
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Ophelia had a partial mastectomy on Monday, November 23rd to remove some tumors in her mammary glands. In other words--breast cancer for dogs. Her chest X-rays are clear so we are hopeful that if this is cancer--we have caught it in time. As these tumors are hormone related, had she been spayed, Ophelia would not have had to go through this grueling procedure. She has recovered beautifully from part 1 of her surgery and will be having the rest of her mammaries (with suspicious tumors) removed in early February. Before we attempted this procedure, Ophelia needed to be treated for months for two tick borne illnesses--Ehrlichia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. If only someone had taken good care of her--she would not have suffered so. Ophelia is a very special girl and the fourth birddog who has come to IBR with special needs due to neglect. Please consider a donation to off set some of her vetting expenses.
UPDATE 06-01-10 Ophelia is doing great. She still has Ehrlichia and RMSF antibodies which is troubling and we will be adding a new antibiotic, Rifamin, in an effort to try and keep both infections from becoming chronic. She has had an adopter waiting for her since last October but she should be going home soon.
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In early December we heard about two Pointers in Oklahoma that were nearing their euthanasia date. Sasparilla aka Sassy is our newest pretty petite Orange and White gal that sadly has mammary cancer. She just seems way to young to have this life threatening issue and it is a shame she wasn't spayed when she was younger. Sadly, blood work shows she is also fighting Lyme disease. We can't even consider any type of surgery until she overcomes that illness and currently her foster mom is trying to fatten her up as she is about 5 pounds underweight. As Lyme disease can affect the liver and kidneys among other things, it is often difficult for us to help these dogs gain weight as there is an enzyme deficiency related to the struggling liver.
UPDATE 02-16-10 After a month on doxycycline for her Lyme disease, Sassy is feeling and eating better. It also looks like the mammary masses are shrinking giving us hope that it is just a terrible case of Mastitis due to the Lyme disease. She has another month of treatment to go--so we are hopeful!!
UPDATE 03-25-10 Sassy has had a set back. Not only does her tick Panel Serology show her antibody levels have increased for Lyme disease, but now she is also fighting Rocky Mountain spotted fever. We will also know soon if she is heartworm positive--adding to her serious health issues. We are still hopeful her mammary issues are related to the illnesses she is fighting and that eventually the mastitis will go away once the other health issues are resolved. Poor kid--so much to be dealing with. Please consider a donation to IBR to help us get Sassy the care she needs.
Here is a video that shows the nasty tumor on Sassy's abdomen. Folks wonder why we insist on spaying and neutering. Besides helping control the pet over population--it is also to prevent hormone related cancer. Now with her Lyme disease diagnosis--we have to wonder if there is a link as most of the dogs we bring in with mammary cancer DO have an underlying tick borne illness.
UPDATE 06-01-10 Well the worst appears to be over. Sassy made it through heartworm treatment and is fighting her TBI's in the comfort of her new foster home near Springfield, IL. She LOVES her new foster daddy and seems to be feeling like her old self. We are hopeful that her latest heartworm test will be negative and that the antibody levels for the Lyme and RMSF will be lower. She is a LOVE!!
Blanch was rescued last fall and treated 8 weeks for Ehrlichia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. As our research is showing--that was not a long enough course of antibiotics and we will also be testing her for Babesia soon. Thanks to the Good family for taking such great care of her :O).
Recently we discovered she has a few mammary masses and will be undergoing surgery to have them removed. We are starting to see a link between our Pink Ladies with mammary issues and tick borne illnesses. A former volunteer--Lindsey Miller-- had some insight into this discovery. "Hey Lisa- I read on your website about dogs with tick bourne illness developing mammary cancer. I think there are rational mechanisms that could link these two conditions. Cancer and tumors result from mutations or changes to the genetic code, the DNA. When these changes exist they can alter or disrupt protein function. For a cell to become cancerous there are numerous mutations that have taken place. There are a lot of checks and balances in each cell and each of these needs to be disrupted before cancer can occur. Each time a cell divides there is an opportunity for another mutation to exist. Cancer cells are those that have accumulated mutliple mutations that have given them growth advantage and allowed them to stop responding to normal signally- these are cells that have gone rogue. Estrogen is related because it stimulates breast cells to divide thereby increasing the number of cells containing mutations and increases the number of times these cells have divided (more opportunities for mutations)
The immune system is involved because the immune system is able to detect and destroy these cells before they become dangerous. Often times mutations will affect proteins located on the cell surface. The immune system should recognize abnormal proteins and destroy that cell. If the immune system is impaired there is a greater chance it will not destroy the abnormal cell as it should.
I do not think this interaction has been clearly demonstrated. This is just a basic/simplified review of cancer and the immune system."
UPDATE 3-25-10 Biopsy results are in and WHAT A RELIEF!! the tumors were benigh. WOO HOO!! Now all little Miss Blanch needs to do is continue her treatment for the tick borne illnesses--Ehrlichia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever and she should be ready for her new forever home soon!!
UPDATE 6-14-10 Blanchey's foster dad reports that she is doing AWESOME!! We will be redoing her blood work this week and hope to see that her antibody levels for the Ehrlichia and RMSF are lower and that her immune system has finally got things under control. She goes for daily walks and she had a great romp a the local dog park a few weeks ago. She is so special!!!
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Rory is a sweet Black and White Setter that came into the rescue 5 years ago. Back then we didn't know about most tick borne illnesses--especially Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). Rory seemed healthy enough and was treated for mange and then adopted to a nice retired fireman in Wisconsin.
In the fall of 2009, Rory needed to be returned to IBR when his Daddy had a stroke. Sadly at that time we were told Rory had allergies and the vet had him on prednisone the whole time. Not good. Knowing what we know now--we immediately had Rory tested and sure enough he had a low antibody level for RMSF. So we started treating him with antibiotics for that while weaning him off the steroids. Rory had a complete meltdown and developed skin issues and scratched most of his hair off. Then his foster home had him on some dog food that made him much worse.
Finally I got my hands on him and took what I learned about Bogie--another Setter with Allergy/RMSF complications and after 2 weeks of better food, antibacterial/ antimicrobial Chlorhexidine washes to help with the skin infections, adding Digest Gold to help with his Leaky Gutt Syndrome and a treatment of Revolution in case he had his mange back--Rory is doing AMAZING!!
Rory is probably close to 10 years old and his chances for adoption are remote at best. He has some eye changes and has a cataract forming in his right eye--poor baby. We do adore him as he is so sweet and his foster mom is committed to keeping him if he can't find a new forever home. We do need donations to help off set his medical bills and to help with his Wellness Lamb and Sweet Potato moist dog food.
UPDATE 02-16-10 Rory is now prednisone free and off the medication for Rocky Mountain spotted fever. He is doing well on the Lamb diet and just seems to happy! We will retest him in a few months to see if he is cured. What a special dog.
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Brandon is a gorgeous Orange and White American Field Bred stray Setter who was hit by a car in central Illinois and brought into foster care in November of 2009. His injuries consisted of a dislocated hip and some road rash. Further blood testing showed he has heartworm disease. As we pre-treat all heartworm dogs with doxycycline for the Wolbachia bacteria associated with adult heartworms, we figured if there was a tick borne illness coinfection-- we were covered. As it turns out, Brandon was diagnosed with Lyme disease on 1-12 from an IDEXX Serology test (4DX Snap was neg for Lyme) and he will need to be on antibiotics for up to two months after a negative heartworm test.
Brandon is a big boy weighing in at about 60lbs. He has some muscle atrophy and some soreness in his back end due to the injuries he received from the car accident. So far chiropractic care has helped him immensely.
Brandon is interested in chasing and barking at tweetie birds and will need a lot of work before he shows any real hunting potential. Lyme disease alone will affect his scenting abilities but we know that once he starts to lock up on tweeties instead of chasing them--that his brain is healing.
UPDATE 02-16-10 WELL IT'S HAPPENED!!! Brandon's brain and sensory issues seem to have resolved from his Lyme disease. We tested him on upland birds over the weekend--and he not only locked on point--he held beautifully. He is 5 weeks post heartworm treatment and I imagine now that his brain is working, the worms are gone and now his body is able to go after the Lyme disease. Brandon's hyperness is also gone and he is now a calmer dog in the home and is completely house trained. We will be retesting his bloodwork soon to confirm.
Brandon recovering nicely from his recent heartworm treatment. The English slip leads can be found for sale in our Go Shopping section.
Brandon was adopted in April :O).
Please help us reach our fundraising goal of $10,000 so we can continue our work helping save these homeless hunters and other abused and neglected dogs and puppies! We have a long way to go and any amount - -big or small--will make a huge difference especially if the dog or puppy is in an area where they use gas chambers to euthanize. We see the worst that humans can do to defenseless animals- but with your donation- we will be able to do more to end the suffering of many frightened dogs and puppies.
