2/8/13: Meet Leila (LEE la) a six year old emergency surrender due to neglect. Leila was initially rescued from a puppymill in horrible condition. She had a loving home for a short time but then Daddy had to leave the home. While Dad was gone, Mom allowed her physical condition to deteriorate, sometimes not even feeding her, not giving her the medicine and especially supplements that she needed to stay healthy. Leila’s father contacted us and we took Leila in immediately. Thank you Carol for picking her up and taking her to see Dr. Rush. She will spend a few days with Dr. Rush getting checked out and starting all the necessary medicines she needs to get healthy. Leila has a serious skin infection, cherry eye and is very underweight. We will be working on getting her cleaned up and looking good as new again. She is reportedly a very sweet girl who gets along with other dogs.
Update 2/12/13: Leila went to her foster home. Once her skin infection clears and she is at a healthy weight she will have cherry eye surgery. Once that is complete and she fully recovers she will be ready for adoption.
Update 3/25/13: Leila went to see Dr Rush for a check up on her skin and cherry eye surgery. Unfortunately he discovered that she has a mammary tumor and mass 2-3 inch in her colon. She is seeing the specialist, Dr. Winkler, at GVS on Thursday. We will know more after her appointment.
Update 3/29/13: Leila had surgery to remove the mammary mass, the tumor in her colon, and her cherry eye. She was released from GVS on Saturday morning and went back to her foster home. She goes back in two weeks to have her stitches removed and we should have the results of the biopsies by then. We will have her skin and allergy issues evaluated at that time.
Update 4/20/13: Leila had her stitches removed. Her tumors are benign!
Update 5/17/13: Leila saw the dermatologist Dr Griffies for her skin condition. She has a horrible bacteria infection. She also continues to lose weight no matter how much we feed her. We believe there is more going on with her internally so she will see the internal medicine specialist Dr Lange at GVS on Thursday.
Update 5/24/13: Leila saw internal medicine specialist Dr Langs at GVS. She did a gastroduodenoscopy to get a better look at her stomach and small intestine. She was able to get samples of both for biopsy. We will know more by the end of next week. Dr Griffies says her culture results from her skin grew two bacteria’s. One of them a Staph species that should be pretty susceptible to lots of different drugs. The other a Pseudomonas species that is resistant to almost everything except an injectible drug (Amikacin) In the meantime, Dr Langs and Dr Griffies are consulting to see what the best antibiotics are to help her for the moment and once we have more answers about her internal issues we will come up with a treatment plan.
Update 5/30/13: Leila’s biopsy came back and she has Inflammatory Bowel Disease. She is not absorbing any nutrients from her food because her intestines are inflamed and irritated. She has lost weight and is down to 36 pounds. We started her on prednisone yesterday; this should decrease the inflammation. We will weigh her and consult with Dr Lungs in two weeks. If she is starting to gain weigh…t then we will lower her dose of prednisone at that time. She may need to stay on it for a few months but we are hoping not. She also started another antibiotic for her Staph infection. Her skin is already looking, feeling and smelling better. She is getting baths every other day. She is not a fan but it is helping so we need to keep it up. A big thank you to her foster parents Becky and Colt for staying on top of the baths and all of her meds and vet visits! She goes back to see Dr Griffies for a skin check up on June 14th.
Update 6/14/13: Leila had a follow up visit with Dr Griffies and follow up phone consult with Dr Langs today. Her skin is looking much better. She still has a way to go but we are definitely seeing improvement in that area. Unfortunately she hasn’t gained any weight. Dr Langs is not overly concerned yet. The fact that she isn’t still losing weight is a step in the right direction. We have decided to a diet trial over the next weeks. We will switch her from salon to rabbit food. We will check back in with both doctors in a few weeks.
Update 7/1/13: Leila had a follow up visit with Dr Langs. She has been on prednisone for four weeks now and she is still not gaining any weight. We started her on azathioprin too. She will have a check up Griffies on 7/14 for her skin and he will also run some bloodwork so we can see how the prednisone and azathioprin are effecting her internally.
Update 7/19/13: Leila is not responding to her current medicines for her IBS, prednisone and azithoprine. Dr Langs has decided to switch her to prednisone and cyclosporine. We will evaluate again in two weeks. Finger crossed this combo works for her!
Update 8/26/13: Leila is now up to 39 pounds! Dr Langs prescribed another month of cyclosporine. She had a recheck with Dr Griffies last week and switched one of her antibiotic but said she is doing well.
Update 10/20/13: Leila is continuing to gain weight and her skin is looking fantastic! Now it is time to start backing off some of her meds slowly, one at a time and see how she reacts.
Update 4/24/14: Leila saw her dermatologist Dr. Griffies last week for a check up on her skin and she is doing very well. We are still treating her IBD but hope to have her off all medication for that in a few weeks if she continues to do well.
Update 7/14/14: Leila saw her dermatologist Dr Griffies today for a check up. Her blood work looks good and her skin is looking good too. She still takes a lot of medication to keep her skin looking so good! She is dealing with another ear infection, poor girl can’t seem to keep them away. We have been adjusting the amount of cyclosporine she takes daily for her IBD based on her weight. This is also a constant battle for Leila. The good news is she went from 35 pounds to 50 since this battle started. She has been fluctuating from 48-52 pounds over the past few months depending on the amount of cyclosporine. We will continue to treat her and give her everything she needs to become a healthy bulldog!
Update 11/14/14: Leila had entropian surgery today and all went well. We are still treating her skin and internal issues. We recently switched her from liquid cyclosporine to capsules.
Update 10/4/15: Leila has been seeing her internal medicine specialist and dermatologist for years now and will need to continue relationships with these types of specialists. But moving forward she will do it under the supervision of her very own vet/mom Dr. Lauren Conners. Leila has been adopted and has her very own live-in vet to take care of her 24/7 ; – ) Congrats Leila and Lauren!
July 6, 2017: Leila crossed the rainbow bridge today. Please keep her family in your thoughts. Rest In Peace Leila.
Guardian Angels:
G & J Bethenod
Sponsors:
Jones family – In memory of UgaLee Ugette
R Guenther
M Patrick M Krasniak
