Update on Marley - Some bad news :-(
 

Hey ya'll -

Well, as you now I have mentioned that Marley came to me from a second party who "supposedly" got him from the local shelter ( he was a part of a raid on a breeder/puppy mill ). He had fleas, ticks, and worms.

The woman said he had been treated for them all and the remaining scabs were just healing from the ticks. I took what she said and didn't really question. But, today I wanted to take a closer look at the scabs and his skin. So, I gave him a bath.

It looks to me as though he has several spots where his skin is infected. I also saw some kind of bugs (I called them creepy crawlies) around the wounds. They are not all over his fur; I checked him thoroughly. They are only where he has the scabs (which some are oozy and don't look too lovely). They do NOT look like fleas OR ticks. Any ideas? I have been very careful washing things with bleach and vacuuming. I also have made sure he sleeps on HIS towels not on my bedding. As they don't look like fleas, I'm not too concerned about "catching" them - but I'm taking precautions.

At any rate, all of this made me livid. I wonder if she ever told the truth - was he treated, where did he come from, ect. If he wasn't treated, then he has an active case of works as well. Great.

I made him an appointment with a vet near by that got excellent reviews (many of the vets in my neck of the woods had complaints and stuff). His appointment is at 9 am on Monday - they are booked till then. He is eating, drinking, playing, not even itching an abnormal amount. His stools are looser than they probably should be, but I had to switch his cold turkey on the food because the lady said she had a bag of his food for me and never brought it. It had been 5 hours and I had already bought his Blue Buffalo so, thats what I had. He loves it and is doing well. Just his tummy adjusting I think.

I thought I'd post this and see if anyone has any suggestions or thinks its more urgent than maybe I see it right now. Any ideas on the little buggies? Or what could be causing the skin sores? I want to take the best care of this little cutie!

Thanks ya'll,

From Heidi and Marley

I wonder if they could be mites?:confused:

That's what I was thinking too. Maybe look up mites on the internet to see what they look like & maybe you can tell if that's what Marley has or not.
Good Luck, you & Marley. :goodluck:

Oh goodness! You poor thing! And Marley too! I'd recommend taking him to the vet asap bc open sores/scabs can lead to a deadly staph infection. The cause could be mites / mange - especially bc of where he came from. The vet can do skin tests/scrapes to help determine what it is. I hope he gets better soon, poor fella! Keep us posted and bless you for taking him in. :)

Thanks for the replies! I'll go ahead and do some research tonight and also look around for a good vet that can take him maybe tomorrow.

Anymore ideas? Keep 'em coming! :-)

(Gah, puppy poo on the carpet...Mommy to the rescuce.. lol)

The worst thing it could be is magots .They prey uopn open, infected sores that have been left untreated for long periods of time. Mange, all these things need to be seen by a vet ASAP. Don't be handeling them with your bare hands. Just in case it is contaigous to humans, Sometimes it is.
If you have any other aniamls , you need to consider separating this little one from the rest until you know for certain what this is. A lot of skin issues can spread to other animals.

That's what I was thinking too. Magots. OP google magots and see if that's what they look like. It is VERY IMPORTANT that he is seen right away by a vet. As (I think it was) Wylie's mom said it could cause a staph infection. I don't want to scare you but you could lose him if he's not treated right away. Elaine

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Alright, I called around and Marley has an appointment today at 3 (its 12:30 now). Took some calling around - for some reason everyone is booked!

I'll let you know what they say! I hope its a simple fix and he will be feeling better in no time!

Send us good thoughts!

Heidi and Marley

Poor Marley:cry:! That's horrible! Good luck at the vets...Keep us posted...Thoughts and prayers are with you!

Took the words right out of my mouth, I totally agree with this post.

I have one that was a stray. Supposedly she was flea infested when she was found. The lady that surrendered her was a groomer. By the time that I got her she had scabs all over her. She didn't scratch much either. But to pet her she felt horrible. I took her to the vet and it was staph infection from the flea infestation. After 1 week on Clavamox (an antibiotic) she showed signs of improvement. 2 weeks later she is almost cleared up. The sores that she had reminded me of chicken pox on children. When I would bathe her they would ooze. I don't remember seeing bugs but did see the flakes from the scabs on her. The vet said to bathe her twice a week with a medicated shampoo. I use Vet Solutions medicated shampoo. I had to cut some of her hair last night from where the scabs were matted into her hair. But she is so much better and improving everyday following the vets advice and using the antibiotic. He also said that staph in dogs is not contagious like we think of staph in humans as being.

awe poor thing and you too! i wish you luck! keep us updated!

It could be lice too? There's another thread on the health board with someone having a similar problem with bugs on their baby. :(

I am glad you were able to get Marley to a vet today. Hope it is something easily cured.

I would love to hear more about Marly's foster mom. Did yo get him directly from her or the shelter? Isn't it unusual for a shelter to let a puppy go with active worms like that? If it was me I don't think I would use that foster mom again if she is not taking care of the puppies.

I do hope Marley is alright! He sure is a cute little furball! And I haven't officially welcomed you to YT so WELCOME!

It makes you wonder if he was truly fully vetted before adoption.

How did the appointment go? What did the vet say?

Ok, we are back! I LOVED the vet. She was very patient, gave good explanations, ect. And was extremely gentle with Marley. So, he has tapeworms which he got medicine for (as well as heartworms). He also has some fleas which are causing the scabs not to heal (they are basically living in the wounds). So, I got he got some flea and tick medicine. And he recieved his first vaccination. The vet believes he is around 6 weeks old.

So, he is pooped out but should be feeling better very soon. I'm so glad that he is ok and it was soemthing easy to deal with. Thanks for all of your advice and imput!


Heidi and Marley

Are you sure about the heartworms? The information below comes from Heartworm

When adult male and female worms are present, mating begins to occur. Heartworms do not lay eggs like other worm parasites; instead they give live birth and the baby worms are called Microfilariae. Mosquitoes are the only natural carriers of the heartworm. The life cycle of the heartworm begins when an infected dog carrying the tiny immature heartworms circulating in its blood, is bitten by a mosquito and carries it to a new dog.

Microfilariae may live up to two years within the host dog in whom they were born; if after this period a mosquito has not picked them up, they die of “old age.” They may also be transmitted across the placental barrier to unborn puppies if the mother dog is infected with heartworm. It is important to realize that such puppies will not develop adult heartworms or heartworm disease from these microfilariae because in order for a heartworm to reach adulthood, it must be passed through a mosquito. Because of the five month minimum migration time of the larval heartworm after infection, there is no point to heartworm test puppies younger than five months of age.

I'm so glad that you were able to get Marley into the vets today. That's so good that it was nothing serious. :)

I hope you feel skin feels better soon for you precious Marley. :getwell:

Wow what a day for you. Glad your getting things all cleared up now. Did you mean that he had heart worms or that the medicine is for heart worms as well? I know alot of heart worm medicine kills tape worms too.

Oh duh :doh: that is probably what she meant! :p

Yeah, the medicine is also a heartworm medicine. :-) Sorry~

Wow, tapeworms would just make my skin crawl. You are handling this better than I would. lol

Yeah, they are disgusting! But the doctor said I'm really at no risk for getting them. So, as long as I can't get the nasty little boogers, I'm ok :-) Marley is pooped. He is sleeping on the couch next to me. I got him a little bed today and a Kong -- he got his first taste of peanut butter!

Ok, THAT was disgusting.

Marley just pooped...and it was really loose...and FILLED with stringy nasty wormies! POOR BOY!!!! His poor belly is all full of those nasty things! I'm so glad I took him in.

Poor thing he's got to feel better as there are less in him.

*sigh* So, Marley just threw up twice in a row.

I called the E-vet near me and they said to take him in if he continues to throw up. Could he just be feeling sick from all the medicine? I heard that with tapeworms it can cause them to vomit them up as well as poop them-- maybe the meds are just working? I'll watch him closely and keep him hydrated. If he throws up anymore we will be going to the E-vet. Yay.

Any ideas why he'd be throwing up? I really think it has to do with the worms, personally but I'd love to hear your thoughts.