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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - AIHA on a tv show!
| Many of you know that I have been to Best Friends down in Kanab, UT to volunteer, and will be returning again this week. I, like many, have watched the Vick(tory) dogs story with great interest, as well as the show Dogtown that tells many sanctuary stories. On the episode "Saving the Michael Vick Dogs" they profile a sweet male pit bull named Denzel, who presented with severe anemia. As it turns out, he did develop AIHA secondary to a blood parasite common in dogs with fighting backgrounds called Babesia. I learned that 13 of the 22 dogs that Best Friends got from the Bad News Kennels (Vick's hellhole) are now carriers for Babesia, though only Denzel has developed AIHA as a result of it. It sounds like they were able to get him in remission with a combination of two hard to get antibiotics, Prednisone, and a donor dog transfusion. Tiggs and I were rapt with attention- Tiggs eyes never left the TV screen, though I suspect he was just interested in all the pictures and barking, not so much the mention of Denzel and his struggles through a transfusion and relapse. Anyways, it was interesting to see a high profile case of AIHA (though on TV they never referred to it as such), and see Denzels progress both medically, and emotionally. Has anyone else been watching Dogtown, or this episode specifically? An absolutely amazing transformation by an amazing place. melissa and tiggs |
| melissa slc |
| Melissa, I have been watching the show and did see that episode. As bad as it sounds I was hoping they would say the diagnosis was AIHA so more awareness would be raised. Dogtown can be hard to watch but each success brings tears to my eyes. Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| What channel and when do these shows come on? I havent heard of them Thanks Laurie |
| Laurie CA |
| Laurie, Here is a link to the National Geographic site that will give you more info. The organization that is doing them is Best Friends in Utah. I have been donating to them for a number of years. Some of the shows are really had to watch but it is like this board you will cry and you will smile and be ever thankful that there are people that care. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/dogtown/all/Overview Hope this link works if not just search Dogtown Penny |
| Penny Lytle Creek Calif |
| Hi,Penny I checked out the web page and they actually have a place that say remind me. All you need to do is submit your e-mail address. |
| Dolores |
| I saw this episode and I totally related because my dog Bella is a pit bull and at the beginning of her AIHA diagnosis, they suspected babesia. She was on baytril for about a month. She did not carry babesia though. I thought it was great that they highlighted the anemia but also wished they would have explained it in more detail. |
| Tracy New Jersey |
| I did not see this episode, but have watched the show. It would be an amazing place to visit. They really helped out after Hurricane Katrina. I also watch a lot of Animal Cops on Animal Planet. There are a lot of heartbreaking stories, but many do have happy endings. |
| Dee Wi |
This thread was discussed between 25/01/2009 and 10/02/2009
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