So, we brought Finnegan home from the pound on July 22nd.  On July 26th, he went to the vet.  Kennel Cough, they say, after glancing at him, and put him on a week of Cephalexin, 250mg twice a day.

He went back the 31st.  Distemper, they say, after glancing at him, and put him on a week of Baytril (not allowing him to finish the week of Cephalexin).  They do a conjunctival swab, assuring us that this is THE definitive test and will tell us FOR SURE whether or not he has it, even though he was recently vaccinated.

He went back August 8th, after finishing the Baytril.  The swab, as you know, was negative, so we all breathed a sigh of relief.  Only now the vet glances at him, shakes his head, and says he still thinks distemper, and the test isn't very reliable.  Which is not what he told us before.  He says he could do x-rays to make sure there's nothing lodged in his nose or something, but he just doesn't think it's worth the trouble.  Instead he wants to perform a series of other tests to see if he can nail down this distemper diagnosis, and start a week on a third antibiotic in the meantime.

At this point I walked out of the clinic, leaving Larry to pay the bills and bring the dog.  Muttering the while, I get both kids in their carseats, start up the van, and use the navigation system to look up the phone number of another vet clinic I know, one who is commonly agreed to be the VERY BEST in this area.  When I was still living with my parents, I took one of our dogs there, and they impressed me.  My mother-in-law agrees, they are the ones to see.  So we call.  They listen to our situation, and tell us that they can see him RIGHT THEN.  Wow.

The thing I liked best about this other clinic is that they have always been straight with us.  When I brought our other dog in years ago, he had suffered total kidney failure.  His chances of recovery were almost nothing.  They told us that, so we went in knowing exactly what to expect.  With the vet we've been using more recently, we felt, as Larry put it, like he was using a dartboard in the back to pick what to tell us that day.  I know that's not quite fair, distinguishing between kennel cough and distemper is a very tricky thing until the GI or neurological symptoms of distemper begin to appear.

So the new vet examines him, and says he can see why they would say distemper; of course it could be.  Anytime you see a dog with a snotty nose distemper is to be considered.  But he's not convinced that's what it is.  We could spend a lot of money on tests trying to prove it one way or another, but in the end, he says, it doesn't really matter.  He says unless the diagnosis is going to change what we do with the dog, it isn't worth the expense and the stress to Finnegan to test and test.  He thinks we should follow the symptoms, and medicate as necessary to support him through whatever he has.

And he also thinks it could be just a simple cold, perhaps combined with an infection, like a sinus infection we might get.  One week of Cephalexin--especially one unfinished week--is just not enough for a dog with an upper respiratory infection, he tells us, plus he really should have been getting 250mg 3 times a day, not 2.  And the other two antibiotics we've been given, while great meds, are not the best for this sort of infections, and Cephalexin is.

So, I've switched vets.  And while it may not be evident from my lousing retelling of yesterday afternoon, I am more satisfied--I feel like before we were dealing with a vet who, after some waffling,  was married to a single diagnosis, and moreover, was convinced that the only viable option with this diagnosis was to put the dog down.  I don't argue that distemper can be fatal.  I know that.  But after our first conversation with him where the word distemper came up, I went and did a lot of research about it.  And what I read disagreed with what he was telling us, and was right on with what the new vet said.  Yes, many dogs die from it.  But just as many recover and go on to live for years with no effects.  And others recover and go on, but need medications to deal with the neural damage--I'm speaking here of seizure control medications.  While we have no wish to keep a suffering, dying dog alive, we also have no wish to put him down as soon as diagnosis is certain, before he is even manifesting characteristic symptoms.  As, for the record, he has not.  His sole symptom is a runny nose.  He has never run a fever.  No crusty eyes.  No hardened pads, on feet or nose.  No vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite (he eats like a pig).  No seizures, tics, or twitches.  No drooling.  NOTHING but a runny nose.  It seems premature to be edging toward putting a dog down for a runny nose.

So the plan for now?  Give him the Cephalexin, and see what happens.