Zoe is an Afghan Hound. I named her Zoe because from the beginning she had to fight for her life. Born eleven days premature the second pup born in a litter of twelve, she weighed only four and one half ounces at birth. A normal weight is sixteen ounces. Her will to live was amazing and she began to grow while larger pups faded and died.
Raising this litter is a story in itself. It took four of us to do it. My grandmother a breeder of Irish Setters since 1945, June Beard co-breeder of this litter who has been breeding Afghan Hounds since 1969, myself who started breeding Irish Setters in 1975 and my mother a life long observer, often assistant to her mother and daughter's doggie activities.
We worked around the clock for four weeks nursing the dam back to health and tube feeding puppies. One thing we learned from a nurse who works with premature babies is that they are kept cooler than full term babies. One of the pups died immediately after birth and eventually only three of the litter survived. The vet had said that none of the pups would live because of such a premature birth so we were grateful to be able to save three pups and the dam.
By the time she was six months old Zoe had a bark which pierced right through you and she loved to use it. At that time I lived with five dogs in a two dog neighborhood. Her barking was almost constant and as a last resort I had her debarked. I don't know whether it was a coincidence or if it was the debarking but a month later she developed an upper respiratory infection. She was put on antibiotics and soon recovered but was left with a slight cough.
Now eight months old she was a lively outgoing pup always into mischief, tail wagging even when she was being scolded. Therefore when she came in one evening and lay down on the couch and refused to play or even move I knew something was very wrong. Within an hour her temperature rose to 105.08 and the slightest movement caused her great pain. I rushed her to the emergency clinic where she spent the night on intravenous fluids and antibiotics. Many tests were done but the problem couldn't be diagnosed.
In the morning Zoe was transferred to her regular vet and more tests plus x-rays were done. The x-rays showed a problem in her lungs and the vet thought it could be pneumonia. The x-rays were sent to Washington State University for diagnosis. The vet started her on a series of multiple antibiotic injections. Since she was off the intravenous I insisted on taking her home. For a week I drove her to the vet's twice a day for her injections plus I gave her antibiotics in the evening.
When it seemed to be taking a long time to hear from W.S.U. the vet phoned them. They were surprised to hear that Zoe was still alive. They said the lungs were so bad from the pneumonia they thought she must have died even before they received the x-rays.
Zoe was kept on antibiotics for over eight weeks. Near the end of February she was declared 90% cured but she was left with a hacking cough and no stamina. New x-rays were sent to W.S.U.. This time they showed extensive scarring in the lungs and an abscess outside the lung wall in an area of major nerves and arteries. The pneumonia had broken through the lung wall during her illness and then when the lungs healed the abscess had formed. Antibiotics wouldn't work because they couldn't reach the abscess growing in its own type of sack. There was a surgery she could have gone to W.S.U. for but there was only a 10% chance that she would live through it. Even the tests that would have to be done beforehand were life threatening and there was no guarantee that the surgery would cure her. The vets did not recommend the surgery and I was told that there was nothing that anyone could do. Zoe was going to die. Quickly if the abscess ruptured or slowly as it leaked poison into her system causing secondary infections or a new case of pneumonia.
She was only ten months old and when I thought of all she had been through already I couldn't bear to put her through anymore. I decided that when she started to suffer she would be put to sleep. In the meantime I would do everything possible to keep her happy and as healthy as possible, so that as long as the abscess didn't rupture she would have a chance to fight off any secondary infections caused by the abscess.
Zoe's cough soon became worse and it seemed as if the vet's predictions would soon come true. I had a copy of "Dr. Pitcairns Natural Health for Dogs and Cats" and when I had skimmed through it previously I hadn't really given it much thought. As I read I began to hope. I don't think that I really believed that there was a chance to actually cure her but it was something positive that I could do, since the vets had given up.
First I started her on vitamin C and began changing her diet to natural foods. I had been interested in reflexology years earlier and since it is similar to acupunture in that it uses nerve ends to stimulate the different organs I dug out my old book on reflexology. Zoe was very cooperative and let me poke at her feet. I soon found the areas where crystals had formed and began to break them up. By this time she was completely off kibble and eating a balanced mixture of grains, vegetables and meat.
A friend at the local health food store suggested chapparal tea. Besides its current popularity as a cancer cure it has been used for centuries for coughs and as an internal cleanser. Within twenty-four hours of beginning the tea there was a marked decline in her cough.
A call to California and then to the Holistic Medicine Center in Maryland turned up a vet only twenty miles from me working with natural diet and supplements. After he examined Zoe and her health records he recommended continuing the natural diet plus several vitamins, minerals and thymus. He didn't think Zoe could be cured, he felt we would be doing well just to stop the abscess growing and the best we should hope for was a decrease in size, but no cure. Next I read about a vet in Washington state who was getting good results with so-called incurable cases. I made plans to take Zoe to him.
During the past six weeks since beginning natural treatment Zoe's health had improved but any type of stress brought on an immediate decline in her health. One day I took her along on an outing with her brother and sister for the day. She was tired when we got home that night and started to weaken. Three days later I thought the end had come. It was evening when her temperature started to rise and her breathing became labored, she seemed to be dehydrated and had a bellyache. I could see no point in taking her to the vet, the only thing the vet could do would be put her to sleep and I couldn't bring myself to do that just yet. Although I didn't expect her to make it through the night I referred to my now large collection of natural medicine books and planned her treatment. After a series of enemas to cleanse her system and warm arnica compress to her stomach I gave her an acupressure treatment to the resuscitation points and followed this with a reflexology treatment to stimulate her entire system. She recovered slightly and was breathing easier so I made my bed down stairs again and we slept. She woke me several times during the night and I repeated the compress, acupressure and reflexology each time until her breathing eased again. By morning she had improved but she took it easy that day sleeping on her bed.
A few days later we saw Dr. Lemmon in Renton Washington. He approved the considerable list of vitamins, herbs etc. that she was already on and added more glandulars plus digestive enzymes. Since then she has never looked back. She steadily improved until, only seven months after her pneumonia, she can out-run her brother and sister and is healthier and more active than ever before.
Zoe was x-rayed again on August, 3, 1990. There is no sign of the near fatal abscess. The scarring left on her lungs from the pneumonia is nearly gone. Zoe completed her championship two months later with a BOB and second in group under Mr. Raymond Fitzsimmons and followed it up the next day with a BOB under Dr. Everett Mincey.
All my dogs and two ferrets are now on natural foods. They are healthier than ever and more vitally alive.
This tale is copywritted(1990) by the Afghan Hound Review.
it may not be reproduce without their permission.
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