A Rudy Update

It turns out to have been a very good decision to seek medical help for Rudy in La Paz. The laboratory testing of his blood revealed that he has a tick-borne illness called Anaplasma which can be very serious. It would not have gotten better on the medicine course that our Loreto vet had prescribed. Further testing shows that Rudy also has a liver problem in association with his illness. The veterinarian in La Paz is very hopeful for Rudy's recovery since he is a young, strong dog. Rudy is still very sick right now but is possible that he can make a full recovery.

There are ticks all over the Baja and mainland Mexico and despite being on medicine to discourage ticks, we have found several crawling on him over our last two years, and have pulled a few off of him that had been feeding. Those buggers can be very, very tiny and they like to hide in hard-to-find places (between the toes and deep in the ears.) Ticks carry several different diseases. They transmit their diseases when they start feeding, just like when mosquitoes transmit malaria and Dengue. All pet owners (and people) need to be very aware of the danger of ticks in Mexico and keep a vigilant eye out for them. Rudy has come home with ticks on him after walking through towns or walking out in the wilderness, so it is a problem everywhere.

Rudy is not out of the woods yet, but we are very hopeful for a good outcome. Keep those positive thoughts coming!
Laura