Bailey, the Scottish Terror

Thanks to daughter Jocelyn, I have a better picture of Bailey to post.

It's hard to get a good picture of Bailey because he is afraid of cameras. This we believe to be a throwback to his early life when he was abused. He is terrified of flashlights and he equates the flash of a camera to a flashlight, so you cannot take a picture of his face. He runs whenever you point a camera at him. So this is the best I can do of the pictures I have of him.

Bailey, our 13 year old Scottish Terror, has a patch of hair loss on his back above his tail. I called their vet back in Indiana (we are in Texas) and since the spot is getting bigger, they told me he needed to see a vet. So I asked around and found a place to take him that several people had recommended. Dr. Fuentes seems very competent and took care to examine Bailey quite thoroughly. She did blood tests for thyroid for which we will have the results next week. She also did skin scrapings. His skin is very dry, lots of dandruff type flaking. I said he had been coughing a bit, so she listened intently to his lungs; and, unfortunately, there is something going on in there, probably bronchitis at this point. He had pneumonia 2 years ago and it was pretty well advanced before I realized he was so sick. At least we caught this very early and began treatment immediately. Then the blood work came back and his liver tests are elevated, a symptom of Cushings, along with hair loss, excessive urination. I had forgotten he had an accident last week in the house, but didn't think it was urine because it didn't smell. Alas, diluted urine is common in Cushings. So Dr. Fuentes talked with me about Cushings symptoms, etc. She said the treatment she is giving Bailey for his lungs will be aggressive and can cause increased thirst and urination, so it will be hard to separate the symptoms of Cushings for the side effects of the treatment. But once his treatment is over, I need to watch carefully to see if he continues to exhibit symptoms. If so, we will have to investigate further. Cushings is treatable and even though he would have it for life, the meds are easily tolerated. He doesn't look sick at all. He is 13, but still a fiesty little Scot. Dr. Fuentes was amused by his "totally terrier" demeaner. He did well with the doctor. I did take and use his cloth muzzle, which he tolerates but doesn't like. He got a treat for being so good.

Till next time. . .

Dale