# Blastomycosis warning...and advice needed



## Obabikon (Jul 1, 2009)

This is a hard post to write.

My dog, the one I've pestered you all about for going on 3 years, was put down on Sunday due to a severe, too-far-gone blasto infection. It was obviously shocking, hearbreaking, and hard to bear.

But I'm hoping that his case might help someone else avoid the same fate for their dog.

As some of you may remember (I posted questions about it on RTF about a month ago), my dog was initially diagnosed with an ACL tear when he started limping out of the blue for no apparent reason shortly after Thanksgiving.

When that limping went away and started in a different leg several days later, the vet diagnosed him with a TBD, probably Lyme disease.

When antibiotics failed to help, and joint tap cultures came out negative, the vet diagnosed him with immune-mediated polyarthritis and prescribed Prednisone. This had an almost immediate positive (or at least seemingly positive) effect. With just one day's dosage in his system, he went from being almost totally crippled to running and jumping and playing like nothing had ever happened.

Through all this, my dog was in good spirits, had a fairly normal energy level, breathing normally, and wolfing down as much food as always.

A few days later, though, the other shoe dropped. He was suddenly reluctant to eat, extremely lethargic and short of breath, panting slightly. Unfortunately, these can all be side-effects of the Prednisone, which is what our vet told me during a followup visit.

These symptoms remained mild and intermittent until Sunday morning, when he woke my wife and I up with the sound of his panicked, heavy breathing. He simply could not catch his breath--even the act of standing sent him into total hyperventilation.

We rushed him to the emergency vet, and a chest x-ray revealed a case of blasto in his lungs that was too extensive and far-gone to treat. Apparently, the prednisone made matters worse, opening the floodgates for the blasto when it suppressed his immune system.

I'm writing this first off in hopes that my dog's story might help somebody get the right diagnosis of this awful disease should their dog exhibit similar symptoms. 

Also, I'm hoping someone might be able to provide me with a little advice on how my wife and I can get properly examined/diagnosed ourselves--something our vet, emergency event, and friends have urged.

I did go to our family practice clinic to get checked out Monday after work, but the doctor who examined me had NO idea what blasto was. In fact, he was looking at printed-off pages of the same websites I'd already researched. He listened to my breathing (which was normal) and took a sample for a blood test (which my vet later told me doesn't even exist) but that was it, and I don't feel like I was given a good, accurate examination.

*And please, I'd rather not hear any "should'a, could'a, would'a" preaching about my dog's case or bashing of my vet. What's done is done, and I feel bad enough about what happened as it is.*

Thanks very much.

Ryan


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## Socks (Nov 13, 2008)

First off, condolences and I'm very sorry for your loss. 

I know a guy here in MI that lost a dog to to that stuff. It scares the hell out of me.


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## Meleagris1 (Dec 10, 2010)

Very sorry to hear about this. Did you get to see the Xray? Just wondering what it looked like. I remember reading your posts earlier and thinking of my 10yr old lab who was recently diagnosed with a mass in his chest, but had similar symptons. Everything I have read describes Blastomycosis as being spread throughout the lungs, not at all like a mass. Sorry for your loss, but thank you for the post and bringing this to our attention.


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## Keith Stroyan (Sep 22, 2005)

Blasto is bad stuff. I'm sorry to read this. Up-date us on you and your wife's health.

Any idea where he picked it up. (Was he south for training last winter?)

RIP pooch.


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## ErinsEdge (Feb 14, 2003)

> Apparently, the prednisone made matters worse, opening the floodgates for the blasto when it suppressed his immune system.


First of all sorry for the loss of your dog. Blasto and other fungus infections usually come on in immuno suppressed individuals. Your dog may have had a correct diagnosis and his immunity was suppressed, and yes, predisone does open up the airways and they feel better and then the infection becomes overwhelming. I experienced this with goats.

As far as the Blasto, we used to do acute and convalescent titers and then they may have gone to skin tests but shame on your Dr for not knowing what it is. I suggest you go to an infectious disease internist or call the U of M or even the State board of Health to get information on what to do. Actually, your Dr should have done this.


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## Obabikon (Jul 1, 2009)

Thanks, everyone.

Meleagris, I saw the x-ray and it looked like his whole chest cavity was filled with cotton candy--no solid mass.

Keith, I'm not sure where he got it, but it could only be one of a handful of places. My best guess is up at my in-laws' cabin on the Canadian side of Lake of the Woods.....I've read that the Kenora, Ontario, area is a blasto hotspot, and our place is less than 30 miles from there as the crow flies. Plus, we were digging out a couple of the concrete footings the cabin sits on this summer. That seems to be the smoking gun....

And no, he did not go south for training. In fact, besides the cabin in Canada, I don't think he ever left Minnesota.


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## Rainmaker (Feb 27, 2005)

Our area is full of blasto, most vets here are experienced in seeing, testing and treating it. University of MN vet school and UW Madison are both very good places as well if you can't find one locally. Madison has alot of info about in on their website. Typically, it presents in the lungs, but it does show up in other areas sometimes, eye, knee, non-healing lesions, etc. Anytime a dog isn't responding or a diagnosis is questionable, a trip to the U for a full workup is a good idea, they will test for everything pretty much. 

My brother had it appear on his face two years ago, took 9 months for human doctors to figure it out, while others around here who work in the woods or are outdoors alot have gotten pretty sick from it as well. It isn't nearly as common as tick born diseases but seriously nasty and one reason we moved away from the "hotbed" river valley 16 miles north. I don't train in certain areas either, there are things to look for and avoid.

Very sorry for your loss. Doubly hard when you think he's getting better.


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## Rainmaker (Feb 27, 2005)

Pretty sure you can't catch it directly from your dog, you have to inhale the blasto spoor yourself to get infected. Freshly turned earth, i.e., new construction and damp swampy areas along waterways are prime targets, why hunting dogs are so prone to it, they are snuffing around inhaling scent and get the spoor. The temperature plays a part too, it has to be just right, not too cold or too hot, so spring and fall are prime times for exposure, though it doesn't necessarily show up right away. Not all dogs exposed will get it either, some are more susceptible than others.


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## road kill (Feb 15, 2009)

Very sorry to hear this.

Could you share some of the early warning signs?

Peace.....

stan b


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## Rainmaker (Feb 27, 2005)

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/respiratory/c_multi_blastomycosis

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2102&aid=401

http://www.miravistalabs.com/Files/pdf/BlastomycosisinDogs2007.pdf


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## Obabikon (Jul 1, 2009)

ErinsEdge said:


> Blasto and other fungus infections usually come on in immuno suppressed individuals.


Thanks, Erin. Could you clarify this statement a bit for me?

Do you mean that my dog likely contracted blasto in the first place because he had a comprimised immune system?

Or, are you just agreeing mean that the blasto goes wild when the immune system is suppressed, as my dog's was after going on the Prednisone.

Reason I ask is that now I'm utterly petrified to get another dog because I fear that if I go to the same places--most of which are treasured places like my family's hunting land or the cabin I mentioned--the new dog will catch blasto as well.

On the other hand, if my dog got blasto because he had a poor immune system, that would help matters a bit...


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## Guest (Jan 5, 2011)

Wow, how awful for you and your pup.  I don't think you can really blame anyone as your dog probably was presenting symptoms and your vet worked with what was presented... Just such a sad shame, though. 

How long does it take to incubate to the point where there are symptoms? That might help you figure out where it was picked up if there's any consistent incubation-type period.


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## Brandoned (Aug 20, 2004)

First off I am very sorry for your loss!

I will tell you what happened with my experiences with Blastomycosis and how lucky I was.

My dog was in the last series of a FT and flat out gave up on the last bird. I was ticked to say the least. I trained hard the next week for a trial the next weekend and she never gave any signs of giving up while training. At the FT that weekend the test was a pretty easy test IMO. She went out and picked up her flyer fine, but when she came back she seemed pretty tired and acted really funny so I gave her a minute to focus. She did and I sent her she got to the AOF made one loop and started heading back in without the bird. I was ticked to say the least and handled her to the bird. I was sitting over at the open talking with a good friend of mine (Dr Brad Bowyer) that had known my girl since she was a puppy. He told me that did not sound anything like her and he felt like something was wrong. He then told me he would get her to the vet and let them look over her and see is something was going on. I took his advice and headed back home and stopped by my vet on the way. 

I walked into the vet and told them I needed to get her checked out because I felt like something was not right. I explained to my vet who is a very good friend what was going on. He said let me get the "new guy" this is kind of thing. In walks a little guy that I had never seen before that my vet had just hired. He listened to what I had to say and then asked if he could take x-ray's, blood, etc, etc. I told him to do whatever he needed. About 10 minutes later he came back in with the news. He took out her chest x-ray and showed me some dots on her right lung. This really looked like you took a Sharpie Pin and put dots on her x-ray. He said to me, that right there is Blastomycosis. I had never heard of Blasto so I didn't really think much about it. That's when I asked him how long this would take to clear up because I had a FT to run in two weeks. He looked me dead in the eye and said "there is a good chance that she will not make it"!! Words can't explain how bad I was feeling after that. 

He put her on Ketoconazole (sp?) and would like to see how that helped before doing anything else. I gave her the pills everyday and went to the vet once a week to let them listen to her lungs to see if it was helping. In the end she was on it for a total of 4 months before we were Blasto free, other than some scar tissue damage to her right lung. After all was clear I went through a process of going by every 3 months and letting them listen to her lungs. When she was diagnosed with Blasto the vet let me hear what it sounded like. The best way to describe it was, it sounded kind of like a sponge when she would take a breath.

After pulling my hair out trying to figure out where this came from, I gave up. My dog has traveled so much that there was not anyway of finding the "area". Two years after mine was diagnosed with Blasto a friend of mine had a dog to die from it, this dog had never left the West Ga area, so anyone that thinks it's just along major waterways....it's not!

Sorry for the LONG post, just sharing what happened to me with it.


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## ErinsEdge (Feb 14, 2003)

Obabikon said:


> Thanks, Erin. Could you clarify this statement a bit for me?
> 
> Do you mean that my dog likely contracted blasto in the first place because he had a comprimised immune system?
> *That is the usual reason for contracting Blasto if that* *immune-mediated polyarthritis diagnosis was correct he already had immunity problems. You wouldn't know for sure unless you had done a chest x-rays before during the diagnosis process. *
> ...


Blasto is a very difficult diagnosis and has different presentations. If you are in a hot bed for it you must be vigilant and so must your vet. Chest x-ray, bronchials washings and now there is a test I saw on another board called the AGID Blasto test which I am not familiar with but was termed by the lab owner the Gold Standard. Do some reading and I think you will find out the weather (wet or dry) makes a difference in the incidence of Blasto in a particular year. Some dogs will hunt the same area and never get sick but others do. It's a devastating disease and diagnosis. One of my clients was in northern Indiana and his dog got some cuts on her feet hunting a particular area. Within a few days she was sick, then got better after going to the ER, and then her leg basically started coming out of the skin and they PTS. They felt she had cutaneous blasto. It can also be in the eyes. Afterwards he noted that he had heard of several friends losing dogs in the same area so he won't hunt it anymore.

Here is an explanation: You won't get it from the dog except from a cut.







*Discussion: *Blastomycosis is a systemic mycotic disease caused by the dimorphic fungus _Blastomyces dermatitidis_. The disease primarily affects dogs and humans, but has been reported in cats, horses, sea lions, lions, wolves, ferrets and polar bears. Young, male, large breed dogs (especially sporting breeds and hounds) living near water are at an increased risk. It is generally restricted to the Mississippi River and OhioRiver basins and the central Atlantic states.

Most cases of blastomycosis are acquired by inhalation of aerosolized conidia into the lungs. After inhalation, the conidia are phagocytized by alveolar macrophages and transform the mycelial phase to the yeast phase. The yeast stimulates local cell-mediated immunity which results in a marked suppurative or pyogranulomatous inflammation. *The incubation period varies from 5-12 weeks.*
The acute pulmonary phase of the illness may be asymptomatic or self-limiting or may result in acute fulminate infection. The preferred sites of dissemination in the dog are the skin, eyes, bones, lymph nodes, subcutaneous tissues, external nares, brain, and testes. Less commonly affected sites are mouth, nasal passages, prostate, liver, mammary gland, vulva, and heart. The size of the yeast when it grows at body temperature prevents it from entering the terminal airway in an aerosol. *Therefore, aerosol transmission of the yeast phase from infected animals is not possible. However, penetrating wounds can transmit the disease.* Primary cutaneous blastomycosis has been reported in veterinarians after accidental laceration while performing a necropsy on a dog with blastomycosis, following a dog bite from a dog with blastomycosis, and accidental inoculation with a needle used on a dog with blastomycosis. Cutaneous blastomycosis is rare in the dog and should be considered a manifestation of disseminated disease.
The dog appears to be more susceptible to infection than humans, and serves as a sentinel for the disease. Dogs have a shorter prepatent period and develop the disease before people do when exposed at the same time.* Most dogs with disseminated disease are probably immunosuppressed, since the majority of dogs experimentally infected by exposure of contaminated soil recover from blastomycosis without treatment.*


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## Rainmaker (Feb 27, 2005)

This link has a map of endemic areas and alot of details plus is fairly current. Ketaconazole is an older drug, Itraconazole is the preferred drug these days, though ketaconazole is a fallback if the dog doesn't respond/tolerate or the owners can't afford the Itraconazole. At least around here anyway. Severe cases get amphiteracin B via IV to start. One can expect to pay several thousand mimimum for treating an average size Lab for several months, the antifungal drugs are not cheap. My mother's mixed breed got it, never left the backyard, but she lives a mile off river and there was new construction of a development nearby, so lots of newly disturbed earth with stuff floating around. When our current drought hit, I was still working for my vet and he saw a definite increase of blasto cases. http://www.miravistalabs.com/Files/pdf/BlastomycosisinDogs2007.pdf


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## Pals (Jul 29, 2008)

Ryan-

Blasto is horrible. I'm so sorry about your boy. Kim is right on the money. Blasto is one of my top fears with my dogs. I've read everything I can get my hands on about it, my vet sees approximately 10-15 cases a year-so she is hypervigillant as well. I just had Ryder tested with this urine test they can do and an xray of his lungs taken-why? Because we worked dirt for the new wetland-he spent the fall training in the mud and rolling in it as well-and I wanted some peace of mind. BTW-Ryder had no symptons this was strictly precautionary because we have so much of it around us in central Illinois. If my dogs cough I'm instantly on notice for the reason. Blasto is such an insideious disease. Good luck to you and your wife-and condolences again to you both. That just sucks.


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## 1st retriever (Sep 2, 2008)

So sorry for your loss


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## hotel4dogs (Aug 2, 2010)

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss.
A customer of mine lost a dog to blasto, and the dog had never been out of their back yard (3 year golden). They had 2 other dogs, and now have 3 dogs, and none of the others has been affected.


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## ripline (Jan 12, 2009)

Sorry to hear about your dog.
I lost a 4yo female black lab to blasto years ago. She presented with nail bed infections to start and then it ended up in her sinus cavities. Someone earlier stated the meds were very expensive and they are. Early diagnosis is critical. I know several owners who will take their dogs to the vet a soon as any cough begins. They live in a hotspot. 
I was told that the spores are spread most prevalantly during dry periods in marshes, which is exactly where Teala caught it. If I ever have another dogs get it, I will immediately go the IV route to hit it hard and fast!!!


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## Mike Lafrank (Jan 2, 2011)

Sorry for your lose.


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## Mary Lynn Metras (Jul 6, 2010)

Sorry to hear about your dog. That news really sucks. 
Thanks for posting the incident and thanks to the others for all the good articles.


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## Obabikon (Jul 1, 2009)

Well, I found the smoking gun!

Just spoke to the cabin neighbors, and one of their three dogs (another young, male Lab) came down with a mysterious illness within a week of when my dog first started showing symptoms. 

Turns out, it was blasto. That dog is getting treatment and appears to be getting better.

Also, my brother-in-law's Lab (who was at the cabin at the same time as ours and the neighbors) came down with what was diagnosed as "kennel cough" at the same time as the other two.

Finally, I just spoke to a different brother-in-law, and his Lab has picked up a weird cough, too, although a little more recently. That dog was also at the cabin several times this summer.

Looks like my next pup is going to a boarding kennel when I go to Lake of the Woods!


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## DEN/TRU/CRU (May 29, 2007)

So sorry for your loss and to such a terrible disease.
Blasto is indeed one of the worst and hardest to detect until it's to late. 20 + years ago I lost my YLM to it. I had no clue anything was wrong until one day I realized he wasn't stretching towards me to sniff for new scents when I got home from work but was trying to clear his airways so he could sniff. I looked him over really good and realized he had lost a couple of pounds during the that week. Off to the Vet and yes it was Blasto. For a while it looked like the Meds were working, but the ugly disease finally took him.
We have beaten the disease though. My brothers YLM came down with it a year or so later and the meds did their thing and he was fine for about 2 years. Then we started to notice when he would turn quickly to the left he would sometimes run into a chair or my new young YLM. The Blasto had migrated into the eye and he was blind in it. The eye was removed , more meds and I'm happy to say he had several more great years of hunting with one eye before he succumed to just plain old age.
I might as well also mention that a coworker a few years before any of this came about, happened to come down with Blasto. He just happened to live in the area we hunted in the Fall and used for training in the Spring. He was lucky, he felt great but developed visible soft lumps on his neck and went to get it checked. He had Blasto, fortunately he had caught it early because of the visible lumps and was fine after treatment. That was the first time any of us had ever heard of it, but as you can see it wasn't the last. 
I know of several more cases in Northern Minnesota, but we are talking over 30 years of Yellows since we first encountered this killer. This is a naturally occuring Fungas and if you live in areas were it is, odds are you have been exposed to it with no ill effect. So keep yourself and your dogs healthy and in good shape thru exercise and good nutrition and the odds are you'll never meet up with this killer.


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## Poodlegirl (Dec 19, 2007)

I am sorry for your loss. And, I am thankful you were kind enough to post.

Recently I had my Standard Poodle to the eye specialist because he is really emitting a lot of eye goop. He thought it was uveitis and put Ruffie on antibiotics, but it didn't help. He said it is likely allergies.

Right before Christmas, I looked at Ruffian and he had swollen glands. I thought Lymphoma immediately as there were no infections or injuries I could find on his head neck or front legs. My vet did an aspiration because she knew I was concerned - poor guy looked like he had the mumps. She saw abnormal cells but not cancer cells. Still because I was concerned she sent off the aspirate to a specialist. He replied that it wasn't cancer but that he could be definitive without a biopsy.

Off went the biopsy and we were cleared for lympho. But, he had an enlarged prostrate. We had lung xrays and the vet said the "little round white areas" were something common. He's lost weight and we blamed that on our other bitch being in season.

Well, I don't know if all this is adding up to a bigger issue, but I sure plan on finding out tomorrow. We live on a lake and the dogs swim often. As well the dogs swim when they train elsewhere. 

It's funny, we've also been laughing about his snoring lately. Maybe I am being a nut - and hyper concerned, but let's just say better safe then sorry.

Thank you again to bringing my attention to this. Even if this isn't the issue at least I have learned a lot and can be more watchful.


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## Warren Flynt (Nov 14, 2007)

Is there any way to tell if an area is host to blasto?


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## BentleysMom (Nov 6, 2010)

Ryan, so sorry for your loss. My prayers are sent to you and your family. This must be very hard to take.

After all the great info on this disease I am still confused. My question has been "Why is blasto more common in young male dogs under the of 3 years"???? This doesn't make sense to me. I would assume that the young and strong should be able to fight this off. Why male/female???

Okay, how about prevention?? I read vitamins and garlic??? Garlic was not in my local stores so how many of us use vitamins and such???

Ryan, this is a great thread. Good info. Sorry about it being hard on you, wish we could help. If you ever get another dog, don't kennel board, just bring'm on over to my house. I'll be glad to take one more in!! 

Dawn


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## Mike Boufford (Sep 28, 2004)

Obabikon said:


> Meleagris, I saw the x-ray and it looked like his whole chest cavity was filled with cotton candy--no solid mass.
> 
> Keith, I'm not sure where he got it, but it could only be one of a handful of places. My best guess is up at my in-laws' cabin on the Canadian side of Lake of the Woods.....I've read that the Kenora, Ontario, area is a blasto hotspot, and our place is less than 30 miles from there as the crow flies. Plus, we were digging out a couple of the concrete footings the cabin sits on this summer. That seems to be the smoking gun....


My condolences on the loss of your dog to this horrible diesease. We went through much the same as you did just two years ago, and like you we had misdiagnosis after misdiagnosis. I still kick myself over it because I felt that I of all people should have known better, not the vets. The consensus diagnosis was carcinoma, but a fine needle aspirate performed at my insistence proved that it was blasto. Coincidentally, my Dad had a fine needle aspirate done for lymphoma which gave me the idea to have the vet try it. 

There was a second dog in the group which contracted the disease but didn't show symptoms until after mine did so my buddy got lucky and managed to save his dog.

I am going to tell you that my dog contracted the disease in the same exact area yours did - the Kenora Ontario region of Lake of the Woods. I for one, cannot and will not ever go back to that region for any reason. We know where the dogs got it, on an island just above a beaver lodge. We were fortunate that we did not contract the disease as well. And yes humans can contract the disease as easily as dogs.


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## Pals (Jul 29, 2008)

I'm heading to the vet tomorrow with Weezie, woke up last nite at 2 am. Thought I felt/heard a cough. Sure enough she has a very faint cough, while she was sleeping by my side. It is not a normal cough/gag something in her throat. I immediately felt something wasn't right about this cough and it scares the crap out of me. She had been traveling with us last fall and was down in the newly built wetland as well as Ryder. I'm praying it is nothing, but I sure as heck am not taking any chances. She will have an xray and the new test Ryder had....this is why I have insurance.


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## Rainmaker (Feb 27, 2005)

I've had retrievers, including mixes, in this area for 20+ years, other than 4 years spent off and on in MI. I've lived in hotspots, right along the Namekagon River, so hot that blasto is known locally as Namekagon Fever, it was called that before they figured out the blasto. There are some _houses _where dog after dog died before they figured it out and either moved or didn't get more dogs, one side of the lake that the river flows through is particularly low & swampy, bad areas for it. We lived on that side of the lake, off water, for a few years, but took the 3 boys, lab mixes, swimming over there often. My mother's dog, a Lab mix, got it. I stayed there for three months with her while between houses, including all my dogs, 8 labs at that time, though all but one were female. Any time one of my dogs gets a cough, we check it out via x-ray. If I were to find something nonhealing and no real diagnosis, we'd certainly include blasto and TBD in the testing, because that's what we deal with here. But mostly, we live and train normally with the dogs. We moved out of that river valley and now live 20 miles out in the country, but we hear reports now of blasto showing up all over. Basically, if you hunt or train near water, wetlands, new development, at the right (or wrong) time of year and conditions, you and your dogs have the potential to be exposed. It is still relatively low odds of getting it and being aware of your dog's health can help catch it early and good odds of beating it. I wonder how people can live in the south with gators lurking to eat their dogs, but it is similar, you just become aware and learn to live with it, not be in a constant panic. Or you move or don't have dogs.


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## HuntinDawg (Jul 2, 2006)

Your story is heartbreaking and I'm very sorry for your loss. I know what it is like to lose a dog due, at least in part, to repeated misdiagnosis (mine should have lived) and all of the second guessing and everything that goes along with it in addition to the normal grief - it is extremely tough.

Hang in there.


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## Obabikon (Jul 1, 2009)

Mike, I can't help wondering exactly where you were on Lake of the Woods. 

My in-laws' place is roughly 4 miles northeast of the town of Morson. If you know where that is, I can get a little more specific and say it's about a mile east of the mouth of Hanson Bay (where Gill's, Pier North and the Goverment Dock are).

Just curious if you were near there as well, or if you were somewhere else entirely.

Unfortunately for us, the dogs almost definitely picked it up right at the cabin itself because that's the only place they really go when we bring them there.......it definitely wasn't on some remote island that we could simply avoid.

And that means no more dogs (at least no dogs of mine) are ever going up there. And that's a shame because it's a dog paradise.

The mysterious thing to all of us involved is that my father-in-law has been going up there for 50 years, and has owned his cabin for the past 30. And I'll conservatively estimate that he's spent about 30 days there per season. Throughout all of that time, he's been joined by countless friends and relatives, and almost all of them have brought dogs, almost every time.

Plus, these dogs were used extensively for duck hunting, and so they were constantly near water, mud, beaver dams/houses, etc.

Despite all of this, not a signle one of all of those dogs through all of those years ever died of anything that even SLIGHTLY resembled blasto.

Why the heck would it have suddenly happened now--to at least two dogs simultaneously???


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## Rainmaker (Feb 27, 2005)

Obabikon said:


> Why the heck would it have suddenly happened now--to at least two dogs simultaneously???


Probably just the timing and conditions that had the spoor blooming, wrong place, wrong time. They've tried to duplicate "growing" blasto spoors, or whatever, in labratories, I think they got it to do it once and never again, last I read anyway. It is extremely difficult and finicky about temperature and conditions it can grow in and the hosts have to be vulnerable to it as well. Two dogs could be side by side inhaling the same thing and one get it, one not.


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## Sue Kiefer (Mar 4, 2006)

So sorry for your loss.
Kim and Nancy are right on the money.
Airborne spore and fungus are the 2 key points with this.
My Vets. all know what Blasto. is and are on top of it right away.
I have seen 3 different presentations of the disease over the yrs. while boarding.
I have jumped on the owners right away to get to the Vet.
Sores on bottom of feet that didn't heal,swollen limp nodes on the neck and lethargic and heavier than normal breathing.
All 3 dogs lived in different areas and had multiple dogs households.
Someday I hope that there is a vaccine for it.
The human part is very scary as well.
Sending prayers of comfort your way!!
Sue


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## KwickLabs (Jan 3, 2003)

First of all, I'm very sorry for your loss. I avoided reading this thread for quite awhile just because the topic is still difficult for me to deal with......and it wasn't even my dog. 

However, I finally started reading this morning and your quote struck home. 



> Also, I'm hoping someone might be able to provide me with a little advice on how my wife and I can get properly examined/diagnosed ourselves--something our vet, emergency event, and friends have urged.


A few years ago my vet invited me to hunt grouse in northern Wisconsin. The hunt was to familiarize his "Hank" and my dogs in preparation for our big week in South Dakota. One thing I especially like about my vet is his ability to come up with a correct diagnosis and then waste little time in treatment. 

His dog showed some tenderness in one paw after the grouse hunt. It went away. A week later we were in South Dakota and his dog was absolutely flawless all week. Spectacular comes to mind. The Sunday we returned he said, "Hank" seemed especially tired. Within a day it got worse. Early Tuesday he sent blood work in to have Hank tested for "Blasto" and immediately (*before getting back any results for a confirmation*) he started a full blown treatment for "Blasto". The results came back positive and Hank was getting worse. Doc wasted no time and immediately sent him to the university for specialized treatements. He died less than a week after "just acting tired". 

Unfortunately, it can be very difficult to spot when a dog is in distress because they don't outwardly display it unless it is way beyond what we would normally tolerate. Then, even the quickest and most correct actions may not be enough. 

My dogs covered the same ground Hank did....and were lucky. Needless to say, I have not gone north to hunt grouse since.


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## Mike Boufford (Sep 28, 2004)

Obabikon said:


> Mike, I can't help wondering exactly where you were on Lake of the Woods.
> 
> My in-laws' place is roughly 4 miles northeast of the town of Morson. If you know where that is, I can get a little more specific and say it's about a mile east of the mouth of Hanson Bay (where Gill's, Pier North and the Goverment Dock are).
> 
> Just curious if you were near there as well, or if you were somewhere else entirely.


I had to look it up as I've tried to put it out of my mind fo the last two years. We were on Stevens Bay at a place called Young's Wilderness Camp just outside of Nestor Falls which is east of Morson. Information I received from a vet friend is that Lake of the Woods is the epicenter of blasto in Ontario. 

Conditions have to be right for the blasto spores to be released. The fungus likes a moist sandy, acidic soil. Do those conditions sound familiar? With all of the tanins in the water, that whole watershed has to be acidic and the ground where we were was almost completely sandy. The weather went from cold and rainy to warm and sunny and that is the day that I believe that the spores were released.

This tore me up enough that I've pretty much sworn that if I lose another dog to this disease, and have to see the horror that they go through, I'll be out of dogs entirely. My wife got the worst of it watching Jake die from pulmonary hemorrhage right in front of her. It took us both the better part of a year to stop mourning that magnificent animal.


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## JusticeDog (Jul 3, 2003)

I have a human friend, attorney, who got blasto from digging around the foundation of his house in Illinois. He lives in a flood plain. He started feeling fatigued. Went to the doctor, got a chest x-ray, and saw the "spots"... the differential was cancer. Went in for a biopsey, blasto.

I'm sorry for the loss of your dog. Very difficult.


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## 2goldens (Jan 16, 2005)

I am so sorry to read about your loss. It had to have been devastating. It is also very frightening to read about these cases. And, it happens so quickly! In my mind, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Canada, Illinois...they all have frozen long winters which I would think would kill all horrible pests and fungus. I think of this happening in more humid areas. It has been enlightening and I thank you all for the information.


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## Obabikon (Jul 1, 2009)

Mike Boufford said:


> Conditions have to be right for the blasto spores to be released. The fungus likes a moist sandy, acidic soil. Do those conditions sound familiar? With all of the tanins in the water, that whole watershed has to be acidic and the ground where we were was almost completely sandy. The weather went from cold and rainy to warm and sunny and that is the day that I believe that the spores were released.


Well, the soil around our cabin and the neighbors is mostly dense, moist clay....I mean, you could literally make pottery out of it. But the dogs do get in some sandy spots every once in a while. Plus, we were working with local sand/gravel when mixing concrete for the footings I mentioned earlier.

The weather rapidly shifted back and forth from warm and sunny to cool and rainy almost every time we were there. And the water level fluctuated wildly, which I've read can prompt blasto breakouts.


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## ErinsEdge (Feb 14, 2003)

> ...they all have frozen long winters which I would think would kill all horrible pests and fungus.


Certain organisms and fungi have dormant states that can survive cold.


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## Rainmaker (Feb 27, 2005)

You also need to read Honcho's story, he had blasto.


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## thiskidsdun (Feb 8, 2011)

Sound very much like our dog (actually a Saint Bernard though). He had on and off lameness in a hind leg for about a year. The leg would swell slightly and he would favor it. Neither us nor our vet though much of it with him being a giant breed and still growthy we all attributed it to growing pains and nothing more. He went in to the vet with an ear infection and was prescribed prednisone to help take down the irritation. Within three days we had a dog who was not eat, could barely get up and was running a fever of 106.5 (which we found out when we took him to the vet). Fortunately our vet has seen a relatively large number of Blasto cases and we started him on the Itraconazole immediately since he said the waiting for a diagnosis was much more dangerous than the side effects of the Itra. He ended up on Oxygen and IV therapy for a week and stayed on Oxygen for several months at our house. It was a long, long battle but he did make it. I am so very sorry your boy did not.

We did end up having a second dog with Blasto (which was caught very early and treated with zero issues - barely even knew she had it except for some swelling in the pads on one of her hind legs).

None of the people in our family were affected and to date none of our other dogs, horses, etc. The two that were affected like to play in our swamp which I imagine is where they breathed in the spores. 

I am certain that the prednisone suppressed his immune system enough to let the Blasto which he was fighting with some success blossom and overtake his system. Guess its just something to be aware of in that if you have a dog with some odd little symptoms and give any kind of steroid and then see a very sick dog in a few days that Blasto is something to really consider.


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## thiskidsdun (Feb 8, 2011)

BentleysMom said:


> After all the great info on this disease I am still confused. My question has been "Why is blasto more common in young male dogs under the of 3 years"???? This doesn't make sense to me. I would assume that the young and strong should be able to fight this off. Why male/female???
> 
> Dawn



What my vet told me is that many dogs who may be exposed to the Blasto fight it off without any noticeable symptoms or veterinary help. Often dogs who have been treated will have a milder recurrance of the disease. After this they seem to develope some immunity to Blasto. So I guess the answer being that young dogs who live, work, hunt in Blasto areas are probably often exposed but symptom free. We had two with active cases ... one after going onto prednisone and a bitch who developed symptoms while pregnant. So both seemingly the result of another factor that stressed their body or immune system. As to male vs female?? That I don't know. Maybe males tend to be out wandering more than the girls. I know my boys have quite a bit more wanderlust than my gals.


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## Maxs Mom (Sep 17, 2009)

I am late reading this thread. Sorry for the OP's loss a horrible story. 

This is scary stuff. I had never heard of it before recently. I am just sitting here going... so there aren't any clear cut symptoms? WOW.... Need to talk to my vet about this since we are venturing into the world of hunt tests and you can get to some icky muddy areas.


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## Mike Boufford (Sep 28, 2004)

Maxs Mom said:


> I am late reading this thread. Sorry for the OP's loss a horrible story.
> 
> This is scary stuff. I had never heard of it before recently. I am just sitting here going... so there aren't any clear cut symptoms? WOW.... Need to talk to my vet about this since we are venturing into the world of hunt tests and you can get to some icky muddy areas.


Most likely your vet doesn't have a clue about blasto so do the research yourself. I have a buddy who lost his Lab to blasto which was contracted on Rush Lake just outside of Pinckney, Michigan. Conditions have to be right for contraction. Go ahead and run the dog. You'll drive yourself nuts trying to figure out where the safe places are. 

Generally, I would look for a dry cough with fever. Simple titers can provide a quick answer to whether the dog has it or not. Quick diagnosis and treatment leads to a better prognosis. Delay leads to death. Also bear in mind that even if it is caught early enough that the dog survives, castration or ocular removal are the only known ways to eradicate it from the body if the disease lands in those organs. Blasto is nearly impossible to defeat with medication in those organs.


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## KNorman (Jan 6, 2003)

> ....we are venturing into the world of hunt tests and you can get to some* icky muddy areas*.


That's funny


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## Maxs Mom (Sep 17, 2009)

KNorman said:


> That's funny


saw a dog go in the water a golden retriever... came out a flat coat. ;-)


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## Mike Boufford (Sep 28, 2004)

Maxs Mom said:


> saw a dog go in the water a golden retriever... came out a flat coat. ;-)


That can be taken several ways. Where's the popcorn?


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## Hunt'EmUp (Sep 30, 2010)

VERY Sorry to hear this, We've had a hard time with Valley Fever this year, our fungus of the Southwest. Alot of vets do not know to test for such infections, and they are VERY COMMON in field dogs. I took my girl in with shortness breath, the cotton candy x-ray came up, she'd been slightly off her game for months, didn't know the cause. The vet actually tested for both, put her on a anti-fungal and anti-bacterial, right away, and it Cleared Up, if it had been any later, even waiting for the fungal tests results, I would've lost her. I really feel for your lost (L)


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## KLynn (Jun 20, 2011)

I am so thankful I found this site and your posts. My baby girl Abby is a 3 year old lab mix. One day she refused to go outside with the rest of the dogs to go potty. She looked at me with such sad eyes, slowly layed down, and I knew something wasn't right. The only other time I've seen her look so sad is when she's done something naughty. I figured I'd find a chewed up shoe or something, and then she would return to her normal energetic self. No luck. She refused water and food the entire day. The next day when she refused to go out again, I took her to the vet. She simply didn't seem "right". The vet ran some tests and did an xray. She found a divot in her leg bone, and swelling around the knee. She said she didn't think the divot was cancerous, as there was not a sunburst appearance around it - apparently bones effected with osteosarcoma (sp?) have a spider web type pattern... So, the vet sent me home with some anti-inflammatory meds. When I took Abby back for her 2 week re-check, the vet ran more tests. The swelling did not go down at all. Abby's symptoms had gotten worse, as she had vomited a few times, went potty maybe once every two days, hardly ate, started breathing very heavy, panting etc.. Odd thing is, she gets bursts of energy and plays with the other dogs. She doesn't seem sick, but she look sick. Make sense? Anyway, during the re-check, the vet also did a chest xray and found little white spots all over her lungs. She said it wasn't a good sign, and it most likely is the osteosarcoma bone marrow disease, but she tested her anyways for a fungal infection. I was supposed to take Abby in this morning for a bone marrow punch. Apparently, they are extremely painful, and there's a high probability that her leg would shatter during the procedure. I was told that if her leg did in fact shatter, they could amputate it since it can't be fixed, or I could put her down so she wouldn't have to suffer. I canceled her appointment for this morning, and decided to wait until I get the fungal test results. I apologize if this message seems all over the place. I am a complete mess. This dog has been by my side since she was born. She's my little shadow. I am at a loss. I just don't know what to do....


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## Guest (Jun 20, 2011)

I'm very sorry to hear this our prayers are with you and your family


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## MarkinMissouri (Aug 29, 2010)

KLynn said:


> I am so thankful I found this site and your posts. My baby girl Abby is a 3 year old lab mix. One day she refused to go outside with the rest of the dogs to go potty. She looked at me with such sad eyes, slowly layed down, and I knew something wasn't right. The only other time I've seen her look so sad is when she's done something naughty. I figured I'd find a chewed up shoe or something, and then she would return to her normal energetic self. No luck. She refused water and food the entire day. The next day when she refused to go out again, I took her to the vet. She simply didn't seem "right". The vet ran some tests and did an xray. She found a divot in her leg bone, and swelling around the knee. She said she didn't think the divot was cancerous, as there was not a sunburst appearance around it - apparently bones effected with osteosarcoma (sp?) have a spider web type pattern... So, the vet sent me home with some anti-inflammatory meds. When I took Abby back for her 2 week re-check, the vet ran more tests. The swelling did not go down at all. Abby's symptoms had gotten worse, as she had vomited a few times, went potty maybe once every two days, hardly ate, started breathing very heavy, panting etc.. Odd thing is, she gets bursts of energy and plays with the other dogs. She doesn't seem sick, but she look sick. Make sense? Anyway, during the re-check, the vet also did a chest xray and found little white spots all over her lungs. She said it wasn't a good sign, and it most likely is the osteosarcoma bone marrow disease, but she tested her anyways for a fungal infection. I was supposed to take Abby in this morning for a bone marrow punch. Apparently, they are extremely painful, and there's a high probability that her leg would shatter during the procedure. I was told that if her leg did in fact shatter, they could amputate it since it can't be fixed, or I could put her down so she wouldn't have to suffer. I canceled her appointment for this morning, and decided to wait until I get the fungal test results. I apologize if this message seems all over the place. I am a complete mess. This dog has been by my side since she was born. She's my little shadow. I am at a loss. I just don't know what to do....


Unfortunately sometimes in life we are presented with only "worse case scenarios". Fortunately in life there are miracles! Here's praying that you and your pup are one of the miracles!

Mark


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## Carol Cassity (Aug 19, 2004)

Wow - what a tragic ordeal for all involved. I am sorry for your loss.

Thank-you for looking out for other dogs by educating us about Blasto.

Carol


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## windycanyon (Dec 21, 2007)

So sorry for your loss.


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## Howard N (Jan 3, 2003)

Klynn, this is the most painful time a dog owner has to go through. I hope your dog comes through this. 

Positive thoughts heading south,


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## KLynn (Jun 20, 2011)

Thank you all for your kind words. Her blood results came back completely normal, which begins to rule out Blasto. I'm just waiting for her titers, (fungal tests) and we'll go from there. I'm staying positive, although it doesn't look good. My main concern is if this is fatal, I don't want her to suffer at all. I know she's in a bit of pain due to the swelling of her knee, but I don't think it's bad enough to where she needs to be put to rest right away. But what do I know. She's the tough one. My poor little girl...


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## HiRollerlabs (Jun 11, 2004)

Lake of the Woods--lots of blasto areas there!! We had our older dog (age 10) get blasto at our place on LOW a few years ago. We had staked the dogs in the front yard when we had company and he dug with his paws in the dirt. This dog had his spleen removed a couple of years before so he was more at risk. Of the 4 dogs we had with us, he was the only one who contracted blasto that year. We were there on July 4, and I noticed his cough in early August. We almost lost him, but treated with Itraconazole and he did come out of it.

Neighbor across the bay had remarked that every dog that visited his place got blasto--so I had that in my memory bank when ours started coughing. At first my local vet thought he had bronchitis, even though I went in saying "blasto". A 2nd xray a week later (when his cough was worsening and antibiotics weren't working) showed what vet thought was fungus. Went to ISU, they said "no, not blasto just bad bronchitis" but I insisted on blasto test...but wasn't smart enough to insist on blasto treatment. We did start treatment as soon as tests came back positive.

We've been taking our dogs to LOW for years and he is the only one who has contracted blasto. However, I do NOT stake the dogs in the yard anymore and I try to keep them out of the swampy area on the shore where I believe they are more likely to find spores. I have a good picture of the dogs headed to the cabin on our website. They love it there and so do we.

Do be careful with digging. As mentioned, people can get blasto too.


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