[Dailydrool] Leptosporosis

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

The vet I've just left vaccinates for leptosporosis. He includes it  
in the DHPP vaccination. Our Elsinore has never had any trouble with  
it, but young Charlie had a reaction to it the first time I took him  
to the vet for an annual, two years ago. About six hours after  
getting the DHLPP vaccination, his muzzle started to swell and feel  
hard. Then the swelling spread up his face and to his head. His skin  
got so tight that his eyes started to squint and the fur on his head  
looked like a buzz cut. It was pretty scary because, even though his  
breathing didn't seem to be affected, we weren't sure if it would be.

As luck would have it, this happened after the vet's office had  
closed, so I called the ER. They told me to start popping Benedryl  
down his throat, but not the children's liquid we had on hand. We  
loaded up the dogs and drove as quickly as legally possible to the  
nearest store and bought Benedryl capsules to give to Charlie in the  
back seat. His swelling went down by about half over night, and by  
the end of the next day it was gone.

Of course I called the vet the next morning, and he was positive it  
was a reaction to the "L" in the "DHLPP." He also told me that a  
dog's breathing will never be affected by this kind of reaction; it's  
purely a skin reaction. That's one of the reasons I've left this vet-- 
he's always so very, very sure of things (like boy dogs can't have  
UTIs), and that makes me nervous. No vet can know everything. I  
prefer my vets to sometimes have doubts and to consult colleagues  
periodically as a double-check.

Anyway, last year during Charlie's physical I reminded the vet of  
Charlie's reaction, so the vet gave him an antihistamine injection  
about 15 minutes before giving him the DHLPP vaccination. I kept him  
close to me for the next 24 hours and had Benedryl capsules on my  
body, just in case. No reaction this time, thank goodness.

This year we've switched to a vet we used for our late Jane Basset  
when we first moved here. He's a good half hour away, but our current  
bassets don't have the medical emergencies our Jane did. When I had  
our Elsinore in earlier this month for her annual, I alerted the vet  
to young Charlie's past vaccination history. Apparently this vet  
doesn't include the "L" in his vaccinations. He says that statistics  
for Tennessee show not a single reported incidence of lepotosporosis,  
so the vaccination isn't necessary. I'm not sure how I feel about  
that. There are a ton of un-vetted animals in this state, so there  
could indeed be cases but they aren't being reported to the state  
because raccoons don't have vets and neither do those rural hunting  
dogs kept on chains when they're not tracking coons.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Charlie and his  
vaccinations, though. I'm supposed to give him some Benedryl a couple  
of hours before his appointment, and he'll be spending the rest of  
the day where I can watch him.

Elizabeth