In Our Hearts

Coty

Coty is a gorgeous 13 year old Catahoula spotted blue leopard hound dog. She was picked out of a large litter because of her spiritedness. During her puppyhood, she struggled with fear based aggression which manifested in circling and baying at strangers. A western vet suggested she be taken to the local market and stand leashed with her human to get used to strangers. This didn’t work. But as she’s gotten older, she’s mellowed considerably and loves now to be part of a crowd. Coty is a long distance runner. She and her human run 3-5 miles three to four times a week.

One evening after a 3 mile run, Coty suddenly became acutely ill. She lost her ability to get up from her bed, had no appetite, was excessively thirsty, and became incontinent. What was so alarming to her humans was that it came on so rapidly.

Coty was taken to an emergency vet hospital. What was significant about this was that she was uncharacteristically passive. She didn’t even notice the other humans and animals that were there. The vet incorrectly diagnosed her as having arthritis of the hind quarters which is common for this breed. Her human was astute enough to know that this was a misdiagnosis and took her to a holistic vet the next day. Blood work was done and Coty got an acupuncture treatment.

This holistic vet called the next day to say that her kidney function range was dangerously high (bun and creatine levels.) Coty was in acute kidney failure and was treated with Baytril. Her humans called me at this point and with the assistance of colleagues Karin and Dee dee, we got Coty on subcutaneous fluids and a homeopathic remedy given daily.

Her humans were grief stricken at the thought of losing their beloved “Wild Girl.” Although she gradually seemed to be improving – eating again, able to get off the bed, drinking less and able to urinate outside – she was taken to a vet specialist the following week. The vet did blood work, urinalysis, and an ultrasound on Coty’s kidneys. They had a copy of her previous blood work. According to her humans, the vet was astounded to see that her kidney function tests were now in the normal range. Ms. Coty was a dog definitely “on the mend” and all of us that know her celebrated her feisty vital force.

As interesting addendum to Coty’s story is that homeopathic remedies work on the physical, mental, and emotional levels. The remedy used to treat kidney problems also treated the part of her that attacked from fear. She is a changed spirit and the love that was always there but shrouded by insecurity has been lifted. She is a loving and devoted companion.