All About Abby's Allergic Ears

Meet Abby, a lovely 4 year old spayed female golden lab owned by Kurt S. Dr. Garnett met Abby in 2008 when Kurt brought her in for an exam of her ears. He reported that she had been having chronic ear infections for quite a while. She had been treated by other veterinarians with many ear products but just did not seem to be getting better.

Dr. Garnett did a thorough physical exam from head to tail, and then focused on the ears. They were swollen with reddened tissues and a huge amount of dark debris down the canals. They were very painful to Abby and she cried when they were cleaned.

Dr. Garnett’s goal at that time was to get an ear smear and run cytology to try and determine whether she had a primary yeast or bacteria problem, or a mixture of both. On the smear, it was interesting that the yeast seen were in fairly mild numbers, unlike what was expected with that amount of debris. What that often means is that this dog has an underlying problem that is the true reason for the ear infection. In Abby’s case, Dr. Garnett suspected she had a food allergy since it was winter and not many outdoor allergies were prevalent in the winter.

Allergies in dogs are usually expressed as skin problems (the skin is the allergic organ in the dog – not the eyes and nose like in people.) Other underlying problems that can often lead to chronic ear infections include low thyroid disease, inhalant allergies (allergic to something in her environment), an inherited problem with the ears (often seen in cockers), and a few other rarer problems that can lead to ear infections that cannot be resolved. The most common cause of chronic ear infections in Colorado in the winter, though is food allergy.

It was decided that Abby would be started on a cleaning and medicating treatment regimen, but that Kurt would put her on a food trial of Duck and Pea, a prescription food product designed to help animals with food allergies. It was assumed that Abby had never eaten duck before, so she should not be allergic to this product. Dogs and cats, when suffering from food allergies, are usually allergic to the protein portion of their food.

This protocol was followed, but later the debris came back. A thorough ear flush was performed under anesthesia and pictures were taken while the ears were being cleaned. Note below a picture of one of the ears prior to cleaning. Following the deep ear flush, Abby was put back on the duck food as well as routine cleaning s followed by medications.

Since 2008, Abby has had a few “flare ups” of her ears, with various foods incriminated to explain the infections. Recently, she sat on one of our chairs in the hospital to proclaim that her ears were feeling better. Dogs with food allergies must be careful to only eat the appropriate diet prescribed. They cannot eat rawhide chews or scraps from the table, and treats must have the same protein source as the diet that has been prescribed. Since most foods from the store contain many, many proteins (including meat byproducts, which can represent a wide variety of proteins), owners cannot purchase over the counter foods for food trials. Once a diet is found that works, it is generally adopted for the rest of the pet’s life so the skin can stay healthy and ear problems can be avoided.

Luckily, Kurt is very committed to the well-being of Abby and keeps vigilant watch on her ears, as does Kurt’s mom, Jan, a longtime client of Care Animal Hospital and a wonderful “grandmother” to her “granddog.”

Infected toenail or cancer?

Meet Sierra, an 8 year old spayed female flat coated retriever.  Sierra came in to see Dr. Garnett on 1-30-11 for a swollen toe with a nail that was at a "funny angle."  Dr. Garnett was concerned about the toe; in addition to infection, dogs can have tumors of the toe nails that start where the nail joins the paw.  These tumors can be cancerous and can progress very quickly.  Here is a picture of how the toe looked after the nail was removed – pretty angry and infected.

Dr. Garnett’s next step was to take an x-ray of the toe to see what the bone and soft tissues underneath the nail looked like.  Notice the missing nail as well as the lack of bony tissue (needle pointing to the toe in question).  The x-ray was read by Dr. Chuck Pugh, a board certified radiologist who interprets all of our radiographs (x-rays).  He confirmed that the disease process that was destroying the nail was also destroying the bone of the toe.  This was a concern since infection and cancer can both cause the destruction of bone.

It was concluded that the best option would be to amputate the toe.  Before surgery, Dr. Garnett had her technicians perform chest x-rays since some tumors metastasize (move from one part of the body to another).  The lungs are a common body site for metastasis and if Dr. Garnett had seen problems on Sierra’s x-rays, it would have been a serious problem.  Luckily, the lungs were clean.

The toe was removed by Dr. Garnett and submitted to Colorado State University for histopathology.  Within one week, Dr. Garnett received a report from the pathologist stating that the toe did have a malignant tumor that was destroying the bone holding the nail in.  It was a squamous cell carcinoma.

Dr. Garnett was relieved  that the toe was removed quickly and hopefully Sierra is cured of this cancer. The moral to this story is that a swollen toe with a toenail that looks infected can be a sign of cancer and should be taken very seriously.

Joey the Miracle Dog

Joey is a beautiful 12 year-old black female Doberman.  She has known Dr. Paige Garnett and the wonderful team at Care Animal Hospital since the day she came home in a baseball cap at 4 weeks old.  Joey had a tall order to fill, as she was not the 1st “Joey” but the 4th in a row for her owners.  Even then, Dr. Garnett knew she would be the best Joey of them all.

Joey enjoyed many happy, healthy years helping with chores and chickens on her Broomfield ranch.  On a routine exam, however, when Joey was ten, Dr. Garnett noted a subtle change in her gait.  Joey was rotating one of her front feet slightly inward. She had no pain or evidence of trauma.  Within a month, her condition progressed and she began to limp.  Concerned that Joey was showing signs of possible Wobbler’s Syndrome, a neurological disorder caused by pressure on the spinal cord, the team at Care Animal Hospital immediate referred her to Dr. Patricia Luttgen at the Neurological Center for Animals.  MRI results confirmed that Joey had a bulging vertebral disc in her neck, and had successful neurosurgery to relieve the pressure on her spine.  After several months of marked improvement, Joey again became lame, this time due to a genetic condition of the spine for which there was no surgical solution.  Joey’s owners were heartbroken.  Unable to walk or stand without falling, there seemed little else that could be done. Once again, Dr. Paige Garnett and the team at Care Animal Hospital came to the rescue.  Home acupuncture, provided by Dr. Donna Harris, and a round of steroids produced a miracle dog who could walk and play again.    

One year later, Joey developed swelling in her hock (ankle).  Suspecting an orthopedic injury, Joey was referred by Care Animal Hospital to Dr. Patsy Mich at Ortho Pets Center for Animal Pain Management and Mobility Solutions.  There she was diagnosed with a ruptured Achilles tendon.  When surgery was ruled out, the Ortho Pets team developed a customized device to support her fallen hock and prevent further strain.  Joey wore her brace proudly, much to everyone’s delight.  Several months later, unfortunately, Joey tore a cruciate ligament in her opposite hind knee.  A condition that typically required surgery or the addition of a second brace, it was decided to give this miracle dog a break and focus on making her comfortable.  A daily regime of steroids and pain meds were added, and acupuncture was resumed at the Ortho Pets Pain Management Clinic. 

Today, Joey is a happy, active senior citizen, whose favorite things are taking out the trash, Cool Whip from the can, wearing “Survivor” scarves, sleeping by the fireplace, and keeping up with her little sister Lucy.