HINESVILLE, GA....We were contacted by another Rescue that had taken on a four-month-old baby Husky that had been dropped off at Liberty County AC in Hinesville, Georgia. She was an Owner turn in, but the person had lied and said he had found her as a stray in their county. Liberty County is a High-Kill Shelter which is why a rescue was contacted.
Arielle was blind and had lots of Neurologic abnormalities. She would go in circles whenever she would walk. As you can see from the photos, her eyes do not function normally. We knew right away she was going to need extensive testing and possible surgery to figure out what was wrong with this sweet pup. A Volunteer stepped up to take her to Carolina Veterinary Specialists in Matthews, NC to see our Neurologist, Dr. Bob Bergman. I had already sent Dr. Bergman her pictures and Video, and he agreed she had some strong Neurologic problems.
Arielle was observed for several days before her tests and imaging. An MRI was done that showed she had several areas of her brain that were necrotic. Something had caused parts of her brain to melt away. Because of her young age and her breed, a lot of causes were ruled out, but a lot were also ruled in. Dr. Bergman sent off bloodwork for Toxoplasma, Neospora, and Cryptococcus. He also did a Spinal Tap to see if this was an inflammatory response or an infection.
All of the tests came back Normal. Dr. Bergman started Arielle on prednisone for inflammation and clindamycin on the outside chance it was an infection we had not identified. Over the next week, we noticed remarkable improvement in Arielle. She regained some sight in one of her eyes. She was walking into walls when she arrived and could now navigate much better. She still circled at times but could also walk in a straight line which she could not do when she arrived. Arielle does remarkably well for a puppy that has lost significant brain matter.
The necrosis in her brain is not isolated to one area but is in several locations. The bulk of it is in her frontal area. The best guess her Specialists can come up with is that she possibly had a passing infection that went untreated and caused the destruction in her brain. Arielle is improving because of the treatments we started her own. Sadly, we do not know if her positive response will continue or if this is a short-lived response since we do not have a definitive diagnosis. We will have to do another MRI later on if we want to see what changes have occurred in her brain since the initial scan was done.
We may never know what medical condition caused her to lose so much brain matter. We don't know if the eyesight issues came before or after her brain began to deteriorate. All we know now is that she has improved. She still has a major Neurologic Deficit from an unknown origin. Dr. Bergman is very guarded on her prognosis. When she first arrived, and the MRI was done, he was sure she would deteriorate quickly and have to be put to sleep based on the MRI he had done. He now does not know what to think and is glad she has improved.
Arielle had some very expensive procedures done to identify her Neurologic deficit. She had to remain in ICU for weeks until she began to respond to the treatments. Her bills are enormous because each test is thousands of dollars. We wanted to do everything possible to save her when we agreed to take her on. No other Rescue would have put this kind of money into a puppy that was as Neurologically Challenged as Arielle was when she arrived.
The sad truth is that her Owner could have taken her to a vet the minute she began to have symptoms. She could have been put on antibiotics and steroids for certain Medical Conditions that would cause this type of deficit. They didn't have to do an MRI, but at least they would have done something. That one caring act could have possibly saved her brain from being destroyed in certain areas. She might have all of her eyesight, instead of a small amount of it. This adorable puppies Life is forever altered because of the Owners Negligence. There is no excuse for this.
Arielle will always be a Special Needs Angel. To us, she is perfect in every way with some adorable little quirks. We did what we could and will continue to do so with your Help. Please, Donate whatever you can toward her very high Medical Costs. She has the rest of her Life to be loved and cared for no matter what happens. She does not know there is anything wrong and continues to work hard to please everyone she is around. We are very humbled by what she has accomplished with so much wrong in her brain.
