She has been vaccinated, last shot was about 5 months ago. She's spayed. No, not poison or dumpster diving, she's crated unless under my watch.

I hadn't considered tick fever. Ticks aren't super prominent in Southern California, but again it's possible, as they do exist. I don't have any idea if Leptospirosis is common, a quick google search showed that there was a reemergence in 2007/08 among sea lions, that's all I know about that.

E-vet said she did not have swollen glands.

I don't have a rectal thermometer to check temperature Hope this helps clarify.

 Quote: Megan McBratney

My hesitation to confirm cancer is that these symptoms appeared suddenly and came on very quickly. I would think it would have been a slower progression?

Some don't present noticeable symptoms until later. She is so young though it's much more likely that one of the other suggestions here is the culprit.

How has her breathing been? Is it returning to normal or is she still breathing heavy?

Is it possible that it has anything to do with the strain of the canine influenza that has recently resurfaced in the US?

Some of her symptoms match.

Megan, I'd get a thermometer as soon as I could and chart temps.

I too would discuss Doxy with the vet.

Are you keeping an eye on hydration? Is she drinking?

Has she pooped?

Interesting reference with several links: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/canine/ - thanks for bringing that up, Anne, I was completely unaware of a canine flu.

If a tick borne disease is suspected then you definitely want to get her tested. Not only are those diseases horrid BUT they can be easily spread to others in the house (little ticks feeding off different members of the household and spreading disease, sometimes ticks are so small they are never seen). Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever will kill dogs and people pretty darn quick if it is not treated right away (but many dog test positive and never become ill at all).

We have several tick borne diseases in this area, most of our local vets have contracted it too, one of my dogs was severely ill with a TBD for several months, lethargic, didn't want to eat, could barely walk, etc... (responded to Doxy but it was hiding the symptoms thanks to the anti-inflammatory effects, vet finally figured out it was similar to the TBD Hepatozoon and treated her for that, she rapidly recovered and is fine now).

Tick panels aren't that terribly expensive, maybe $80 bucks or so, many folks believe having the blood sent to a specialty lab that ONLY deals in TBD is a good idea as they will identify TBD's that other labs can miss. If you decide to go that route I can look up the info from when we went through this 2 years ago, there is an expert in AZ that runs a lab and her prices are just as good as the big labs, she is a favorite among dog folks that are struggling with TBD, most have their blood samples sent to her.

Megan, how is she?

Okay here's an update, keep in mind we see the vet today in two hours:

First, she's much more alert. She'll follow me around the house and walk around more frequently, where before she wouldn't even look up at me, much less move. It seems as though her fever has gone down, just based on feeling her gums and nose (I ordered a thermometer but it hasn't arrived yet).

She's also eating more frequently, 3 meals a day (about 3 cans of wet food a day). Yesterday, I started mixing some of her dry food and THK back into it to give her more calories. Before all this happened, she was on kibble supplemented w/ THK. Her poops (last night/this AM) were both runny. Last night's was worse (liquid/chunky...sorry for the deets!) and this mornings was slightly better (pudding). I thought maybe I'd add some pumpkin in today? Keep in mind, she normally gets diarrhea when she has an abrupt diet change, but wet food was the only thing I could get her to eat. She won't touch chicken & rice.

Still drinking water. No vomiting. Her breathing sounds "wheezy" at times (when she exhales), yet it seems worse in the morning or later in the evening.

I'm hoping it's improvement and not just "hiding" the illness.

update from the vet:
Fungal tests all came back negative (urine, blood). Her platelets were really low (20k, normal is above/around 200k), and they're sending them out to double check that they aren't as low as they thought, as there is no blood in urine, stool, etc. Red blood cell count was low, about 30% when most dogs are supposedly 35-40%.

Now they're thinking it's tick borne disease. She's being treated with Doxy as of today. It cost me $366 just to send out bloodwork (CDC) and speak with the vet, so I did not send a tick panel, but decided to just treat it.

Still had a fever of 104, which is causing them to worry about organ damage. Hopefully this is the right disease, if not then back to square one.

I'll keep everyone updated. Thanks for your help.

I have my fingers crossed for her, Megan.


Is there lameness, limping?