If you are going out to the desert-like many of us do on a weekend with our families and pets, please be vigilant and aware of the old dirty sand areas from leftover barbeque areas.
Dogs claws/Nails can get easily affected and an infection can start secretly growing.
Our Case file was Theodore a recent case that came into our clinic.
Theodore is a German Shephard who used to go out in the desert on a regular basis for his walks, got his paws and nose into as many things as he could, the normal intrigued dog sniffing new smells. After a few weeks, he started to show signs of pain and reluctance to walk or run, licking his legs and paws all the time.
Theodore's owner took him to a veterinary clinic where he has one nail removed due to an infection and was given an antibiotic to clear it all up, however, they were unaware of the spread that was slowly happening and after a week Theodore got a lot worse and did not want to move at all.
The owner then brought Theodore to see us at our Sustainable City branch for a second opinion. After a thorough exam and some investigation into this case, it was found out that Theodore actually suffered from a rare case known as "Symmetric Lupoid Onychodystrophy” which developed from a severe infection of the nails/claws and in general is common in German Shephard dogs who suffer from immunity issues, or have had previous severe infections like Leishmania. These issues can be triggered by going to places that are unclean and dogs can start digging unsupervised.
Treatment
Theodore had to undergo surgery to have all of his claws/nails removed and a set aftercare dosage of antibiotics to clear the infection that had set in, Dr Micheal had a very successful outcome with Theodore and he was back on his feet feeling much better in a few days later.
A much happier Theodore after surgery
