When I tell people that we are living in the woods and hiking everyday for 5 months, I often hear "aren't you scared of bears?"
My answer is always the same...I'm much more afraid of ticks and mosquitos. The tiniest little buggers can truly do the most damage. They can carry things like West Nile or Lymes Disease. Or Anaplasmosis.
Yep, Anaplasmosis. It's a bacterial disease that's transmitted through ticks and is very similar to Lymes in terms of symptoms. And my good buddy Rooney is currently being treated for it.
Last week we were camped at a shelter in NJ and enjoying a night like so many we've had before. We made dinner and Rooney played with other campers before we turned in. He seemed like his normal self that night, but the next morning we woke up and his paw was twice its normal size. He had trouble standing on it and we knew hiking was out of the question that day.
Before that moment, we really hadn't seen any symptoms and this seemed to come on pretty suddenly. Thankfully Serial's parents were at a campground an hour away AND the shelter had a road directly it. That hardly ever happens and we were so lucky that Steve and Lauren were able to pick us up without making Rooney walk on his paw.
A trip to the vet ruled out any broken bones and introduced us to Anaplasmosis. The great news is that it's completely treatable and Rooney is already on the mend. He had a splint on his leg for 3 days while his paw healed and he will be on medication for about a month. Today his paw is fully healed and the meds are doing their thing. He's a little tired and his appetite is a bit off, but mostly he's his old self. And we are so grateful.
So that's the latest on our little grey monster. Thanks for all of the care and concern!
~Minutes
My answer is always the same...I'm much more afraid of ticks and mosquitos. The tiniest little buggers can truly do the most damage. They can carry things like West Nile or Lymes Disease. Or Anaplasmosis.
Yep, Anaplasmosis. It's a bacterial disease that's transmitted through ticks and is very similar to Lymes in terms of symptoms. And my good buddy Rooney is currently being treated for it.
Last week we were camped at a shelter in NJ and enjoying a night like so many we've had before. We made dinner and Rooney played with other campers before we turned in. He seemed like his normal self that night, but the next morning we woke up and his paw was twice its normal size. He had trouble standing on it and we knew hiking was out of the question that day.
Before that moment, we really hadn't seen any symptoms and this seemed to come on pretty suddenly. Thankfully Serial's parents were at a campground an hour away AND the shelter had a road directly it. That hardly ever happens and we were so lucky that Steve and Lauren were able to pick us up without making Rooney walk on his paw.
A trip to the vet ruled out any broken bones and introduced us to Anaplasmosis. The great news is that it's completely treatable and Rooney is already on the mend. He had a splint on his leg for 3 days while his paw healed and he will be on medication for about a month. Today his paw is fully healed and the meds are doing their thing. He's a little tired and his appetite is a bit off, but mostly he's his old self. And we are so grateful.
So that's the latest on our little grey monster. Thanks for all of the care and concern!
~Minutes
Rooney's splint, he was too cute!
