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<DIV><FONT face=Arial><SPAN class=postbody>I got this e-mail this morning,
thought I'd pass it along. <BR><BR>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ <BR>We recently had a very
strange event which I think we should share around the rescue-community:
Young (~2 years) M Lab-mix, came into our program with a 'questionable'
background; may have been aggressive toward some children; then again, maybe
not. <BR><BR>We kept him for a long while - months of fostering in our premier
foster-home, no problems; placed him carefully, with a single middle-aged man
who adored him. We also, <BR>as we do all our dogs, tested him for Lyme. He had
it; we treated it; case closed -- we thought. <BR><BR>Everything went very well
after adoption - the star of his obedience-class, frequent alum-visits to
clinics - for over a year. And truly adored by his adopter. <BR>Then, over
12-mos post-adopt, Mojo became suddenly, erratically, and seriously aggressive:
literally attacked visitors to his home, people in the vet's waiting room, etc.
Terrifying. Very-sudden. Totally inexplicable. He was returned to us with
genuine heartbreak from a very loving adopter. <BR>Mojo then went to our regular
vet and was a totally different dog: bared-teeth and growls at anyone who
approached his kennel, lunged at other dogs when being walked, etc. We figured
that whatever was happening with him, he had become un-placeable and started a
TDC (Tough <BR>Decisions Committee - something we 'convene' that is open to
anyone with an interest in the dog when we think that euthanasia might be an
option). <BR>However, someone at the vet's office said that perhaps we should
test him for Lyme. Huh???????? <BR>They had had a regular client of theirs come
in recently with similar, out-of-the blue-aggro, and it turned out that Lyme was
the problem - puzzled them, but seemed to be the case. Okay -- hey, we'll try
anything -- so we had him tested. <BR>He was high positive! <BR><BR>Fine, we
started treatment while we continued to figure out what to do with him via the
TDC. Almost immediately, however, once the antibiotics began, the Mojo we knew
<BR>came back!! He was himself again - bouncy, happy, a bit neurotic, but not at
*all* aggressive! <BR>The staff at the vets was amazed, but all confirmed this
change. We didn't believe it; vets didn't believe it... BUT a thorough search of
the Internet turned up a number of studies (plus) anecdotal-observations
indicating that in some dogs (and some humans!!) the primary-symptom of
<BR>their Lyme Disease can be sudden, irrational and serious aggression.
<BR><BR>We've known for a while to check thyroid-levels of dogs that show aggro
that just 'doesn't fit'. Now we've added testing for Lyme as well. And we have -
results not-yet in - another dog, placed 12-mos-plus, returned because of
out-of-the-blue aggro... he also tested high-positive <BR>for Lyme! <BR>We've
started treatment; we'll be monitoring his response. <BR>So - plug this in to
your protocols; worth checking-out. <BR>I spent the day today with Mojo... he
truly is just the same dog we placed over a year ago. <BR>(We've let his
original adopter know - because he vowed that it had to be *something* causing
this behavior. But he cannot take Mojo back because his roommate, one of the
people attacked, won't even consider it. <BR>For the record, there were no
skin-breaking contacts in any of these attacks, but plenty of fear and we
consider them as serious as if they were full-fledged bites.) <BR><BR>We
actually have additional insight into this because one of our volunteers (human)
has had Lyme� Disease. Took many months for her to be diagnosed; once she
<BR>was, she learned it's a VERY-nasty bug that remains permanently, waiting for
a chance to 'crop-up' again. <BR>When we place Mojo again (TDC unanimously
agrees we should), we're going to explain the background, these amazing events,
and require the adopters test every 6-mos, whether or not he's symptomatic. We
have no idea whether that will work or be sufficient - we're rather flying blind
in this - but it seems rational. <BR>But based on what we know now, its a real
possibility: Lyme *can*, in a few rare-cases, cause aggression- aggression that
can be reversed. </SPAN></FONT></DIV><pre>
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