An Update On Jackdoodle (& A Hug For My Vet)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

So many of you have kindly asked about Jackdoodle and how his treatment is going, I thought I would give you all an update. The support of our friends here on Doodle Kisses has made all of this so much easier for us!
It has been 7 weeks now since Jack started his immunotherapy shots. We will not know how much they are helping him for months, maybe even more than a year. I am hopeful that by the time his really intolerable season starts (August through October), the antigens will have started to work for him.
My wonderful daughter has been giving Jack his injections. When we went for the lessons, she just could sense how stressed I was about it, and just kind of took over. She practiced on the "sock puppet" and then gave Jackdoodle an injection of saline, and said she could do it. (I am such a great mother, look what a marvelous child I raised!)
We had four vials of antigens, very diluted to start and working up to full maintenance strength by the fourth vial. We have a schedule with the dates and amounts of each injection. (Day 1, 0.1 ml from vial 1, day 13, 0.2 ml from vial 2, etc.) For the first 6 weeks, he got a shot every other day. The antigens must be kept in the refrigerator, my pantry looks a little like a medical office with the alcohol, sharps, sharps disposal container, etc. Jack was fine with the shots for the most part; he turned and looked to see what was going on back there (they're given in the back of the neck) a few times when my daughter maybe hadn't warmed the syringe enough with her hands prior to the injection. As time went by, he started to become apprehensive when he saw my DD get the periphernalia out...he would huddle into a corner of the sofa or come and sit behind my chair. It did make us feel bad, especially my DD. But he always accepted the shots without trying to move away or crying.
Then, when we got to 0.8 ml of vial 4, the full strength and the biggest shot he'd had yet, something went wrong. He cried out loudly & jerked away. Three times, she tried to give him the shot, and he acted the same way each time. After she finally got it done, we noticed he was bleeding at the injection site, and a hard lump had formed. Thank God the specialist's office was open; I called and they thought the needle had gone in not quite right, that it had gone sub-dermal instead of sub-cutaneous, and the lump was the antigen that had nowhere to go. The blood was displaced by the serum, that was why he was bleeding. They said the lump would be absorbed, and to try another spot for the next shot, which would be the last one for a week. The next shot (a full syringe of the full-strength antigen, which is what it will always be now) went okay, although we were all really nervous. And then we got a break for a week. But this past Saturday, we had a problem again, and my daughter said, "Mom, I just don't want to do this to him any more."
His next shot is due on March 21st. After that, he hopefully will only need one every 3 weeks. I called my specialist and my regular vet this a.m. and asked what they would charge us just to have a tech give Jackdoodle his shot every three weeks, if I bring everything & dispose of the needle. The specialist's office charges $12.
But you know what? My regular vet won't charge me anything at all. And he asked me what time I want to bring JD in on March 21st.
We hear so much about problems people have with vets, how much they charge, so many people are mistrustful and disgusted with them. So I thought I would tell you about a really great one. Dr. Pat Emmelot, I LOVE YOU!!!! Jack & I are so lucky to have good veterinary care nearby.
Anyway, thanks for listening; thanks for being there for Jack & me through all of this. And keep your fingers crossed that this is going to work!!!! Hugs from Jackdoodle & me.

[Lori and Sadie]

Awww I will keep your and your Jack in my prayers!

[Leslie and Halas]

I hope these injections work for Jackdoodle. At least he cooperates when he needs the injections, even though he doesn't like them. It's great that your daughter helped out with the more frequent injections. That saved a lot of trips to the vet or specialist. And it's so cool that your vet isn't going to charge you for the upcoming injections. I really like our vet, too, so there are a lot of good ones out there.

[Jeri]

Get Well Soon! Your daughter was great for giving shots and WOW what a great vet.

[Marianne *OZZY & ZOEY]

glitter-graphics.com

[Cam & Oski]

So glad that Jackdoodle is tolerating the shots. Your daughter sounds like a natural caregiver. And finding a vet who cares & that you trust is priceless. Thanks for the update. Oski sends a big wet slurp to Chicago :)

[Tante & Jordan & now Annie!]

Kudos to your Daughter!!! My heart goes out to Jack, what a Super Doodle for being so good with the shots.
I have a really great Vet also,isn't nice to not have to worry about your Vet?
When summer/fall comes Jack "should" not react to his triggers,am I right? That will be interesting to see.
Thank you for the update and have JackDoodle give your daughter a big Doodle lick from Jordan.

[Zoe, Benny and Tyler]

Hey, what a great vet you have. You can be proud of your daughter that she supporting you and Jack so much. I hope that the treatment will be successful in the end.
Always good to know that you can trust your vet.
We have a brillant vet as well, for "small" treatments they don't charge as well. And when Benny had his meningitis as a puppy and needed to stay there for monitoring they didn't charge us at all for the boarding. I had been in their office in the afternoon when they found out he had meningitis and they gave him strong medication and told me to come back the next morning. After 2 hours at home he was really lethargic and started having tremors. I immediately rushed back to the vet with him and told them that it got worse and they kept him there to monitor him and were thinking to bring him even to the university vet clinic. At 9 pm they called me and told me that the medication they gave him in the afternoon finally started to work, that his fever was down and that he was doing now so good that he could home for the night. When I picked him up I asked for the bill for the boarding and they just replied, "You don't need to pay anything for that, we are all happy that he is doing better and you had already enough to deal with today". How great can some vets be????
Since then Benny is the darling of all vet's staff whenever we come in and he still likes to go there and can't wait that I open the door for him. I am happy that you have found such a great vet as well.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thank you so much for the update. I think that the care you give Jack is wonderful. He is so lucky to have found you. I am so glad that this first bit is over for you. I hope this treatment works well for him. Please keep updating us as allergy season commences.

[Adina P]

You are all troopers! This has got to be so frustrating...hard-to-give treatments with the light at the end of the tunnel ever so far. Hugs to you and Jackdoodle and thanks for the update!