[Dailydrool] Ringworm aka dermatophytosis and basset loving husbands

[Susan Murray-Grage]

In 1980 I was very young and stationed in Okinawa, Japan with the Army. I took evening and weekend college classes through University of Maryland.  One day I was in class in a little modular classroom surrounded by fields.  It was raining steadily and the doors and windows were open on a warm afternoon.  I heard a faint but definite mewing from out in the field, and when we had a break I investigated and found two very pathetically wet tiny almost bald kittens huddled together.  Of course I scooped them up and put them in whatever dry clothes/ towel/ blanket I had in my car.  Next day I took  them into the Air Force veterinarian, who diagnosed the little kitties as having ringworm- a fungus that can be zoonotic.  The vet said they were so extremely affected and so tiny that they would not be able to beat the fungus or withstand the treatment and he recommended euthanasia.  I declined and insisted on treating.  He gave me a large supply of very large tablets and Betadine.  The kittens were to get a portion of a tablet multiple times a day and were to be bathed daily with a solution of the Betadine. I took them home and my (not too long afterward EX-) husband threw a fit over my bringing the kitties into the house, for fear that he would catch ringworm.  We were very fortunate in the apartment where we lived, and actually had an extra room we did not use.  I housed Daitana and Uchikina in the room, scrubbed them daily and fed them pills several times a day.  They grew up to be beautiful mama's boys with thick shiny coats and the soon to be ex actually managed to get a little patch of dermatophytosis in an existing scratch on his leg despite never touching the kitties.  He received no sympathy, believe it or not.  

Fast forward fifteen years, when I was living in Seattle where I met the DH through a dating service (pre-internet) 
  Our first four or five "dates" were trips to the fabulous off-leash area at Marymore, with DH walking basset hound Sam, and I with boxer Sarah and chihuahua Chico.
Sam (castrated) and Sarah (spayed) engaged in a number of bloody fights-- over any number of triggers.  We learned a lot about dogs and behavior from those two!  We fed them Kirkland food, but it was very poor quality back then.  Sarah lived only six years, dying from autoimmune issues she developed.  Sam died age 12 after being treated for 8 of those years for Addison's, allergies, ear infections, glaucoma - oh and did I mention he was from a puppy mill (my husband didn't know about puppy mills  at the time).  We resolved to feed future dogs better and have been feeding a combination of homemade raw diet plus high quality grain free food.  We've also had the good fortune of loving and caring for bassets ever since.

Susan, devoted mom of Charlie, Lucy and (doxie) Otie. 


Sent from my iPaw (I stole this signiff from another drooler, I hope you don't mind!)