The following data sheet was prepared from the observations of Thompson, who became afflicted with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and passed away finally on May 20,1995.

Thompson was born August 14, 1994, and had a normal healthy early puppyhood along with his seven littermates. We brought him home on the Friday evening of the Thanksgiving long weekend. He was of course lonely for his siblings and did the usual puppy stuff upon his arrival at home. On the Sunday we returned to his birthplace and picked up his sister, Daisy, as a companion for him. Thom and Daisy got along famously with each other, and being together adjusted without a hitch to their new surroundings.

Through the winter months they played and grew, and, as if stuck together, never left each others sight. The new experience of the first heavy snowfall in late November was of great interest to them, and unending joy and laughter. The "Schmoes" endeared themselves to all who met them, particularly the staff of the Elbow Valley Veterinary Hospital.

The months of December, January, and February passed without any problems. In late February I noticed Thom had developed some thick scabbing on his lips. I could not quite figure out what was going on. His saliva was very thick and the colour of his gums and tongue was paler than that of Daisy. They had been chewing on the cedar shake siding of the doghouse quite a bit - it was a big game for them, tearing off the shakes, breaking them up, and then going back for more. I could not say that Thom was doing this more than Daisy, but Daisy showed no signs of any problem. Thom developed a brownish tinge to the white hair below his lips on the lower jaw. Upon lifting his upper lips I could easily see open sores, or wounds, that were angry looking and lightly bleeding. It smelled of infection, rotten and sour. I wondered if cedar slivers had caused this to occur knowing that cedar has toxins in it that cause infection readily in myself. The doghouse was stripped immediately of the remaining cedar shakes.

We brought the "Schmoes" to visit the breeder so we could have them take a look at Thom and see what they thought. It was obvious that he was somewhat depressed and with that they asked if they could take him to see their vet as they were going there anyway the very next day. They took Thom to see their vet, Dr. Anne Greenbank, in Edmonton. He was put on the medication Baytrill abx at that time. They returned home that same day and we were to come and get him the next day. We got a call from the breeder that in the evening Thom began to have a severe nose bleed and that it had eventually clotted up, but that when he sneezed it would begin again. I began to get very concerned over this as it was the first time I had ever heard of a dog getting a nose bleed that had not been in an accident. They brought him to us the next day and the three of us went to see my vet.

It was Saturday March 11, 1995, when we brought Thom in to see Dr. Wanda Vockeroth at Elbow Valley Pet Hospital. Poor Thom looked awful with blood clots hanging from his nose, and the breeder was obviously upset. Wanda noticed that he was slightly depressed and that the scabbing was getting better, but that he had still some ulcers at the margins of his lips. She also noted that his colour was slightly paler than usual, and that there was slight bruising at the tip of his penis, but it looked OK otherwise (Daisy did like to grab it and give it a shake once in a while when they played and that was probably the reason for the bruising). Wanda ordered up blood work from the Emergency Vet Clinic and he was put on 50mg Deltasone, 1.5 tablets twice a day for one week.

That evening I took him to the Emergency Vet Clinic for his blood test. I was told to return the following morning for a second blood test which I did. His Saturday blood test revealed a P.C.V. of 25 and T.P. of 8. On Sunday his P.C.V. was 28 and T.P. of 8. I was told it was an immune problem and tentatively diagnosed as systemic lupus. I asked Dr. Fitzpatrick if he remembered my Malamute Mackenzie, whom he had attended last year and had diagnosed with Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia which eventually claimed his life, and asked if this was similar. His reply was both yes and no. It all had to do with the immune system but in quite different ways. He went to his diagnostic binder and photocopied the clinical presentations of both conditions for me. I know what had happened to Mack and how much I missed him and was very fearful of losing Thom the same way, all within one year.

As with Mack, there is no clear indication of how these immune problems are contracted. Are they hereditary? Some get these problems, but by far the majority do not. Is it environmental? Could there be something that triggers the immune response, or lack of response? Could it be from over vaccinating? In both cases I was told that it was rare, but then how can my two boys have these problems, and within a year? Is it some thing in my back yard, or in the house, or in the city air? You can drive yourself nuts with self-doubt and blame. I eventually came to express it as being "struck by lightning". The first time is rare enough, and a second is extremely rare, but it does happen. Who knows within the genetic strands how connections are made and whether they will help or hinder.

Thom now was beginning to lose weight. His heaviest weight was on his 28th week (Feb. 26) at 68 pounds. He stopped eating regular dry dog food and we began our crash course on cooking for a dog. All the dogs loved the home cooked food, after all what you do for one you should do for the others. Their favourite was oatmeal in the morning. I also put in a splash of whole milk, a small amount of raisins for vitamin C, and all natural honey. Through March he fluctuated to as low as 62, but by April 4th at the Vet's he was 65 pounds. Wanda noted that his pigmentation was coming back well, that only one small area of pale pigmentation remained on the edge of the upper right lip. Thom was to continue on Prednisone, half a tablet twice a day until April 11 and then to cut down to half a tablet per day. We had to ween him off of the Prednisone, as both it and the disease was using him up. If he was better I was to cut down on the drug, if he got worse increase it. There was reason for optimism.

Thom's weight crashed over the following weekend, he dropped to 58 pounds. I brought him in to see Wanda and she noted some small hemorrhages on the gums, lips were okay, but that he was starting to salivate more. We discussed the next course of action. Thom was given one dose of Phosphorus 200 C in the clinic and he was then to get Phosphorus 6 C once a day and watch for improvements. Over the following week there were small improvements.

It was decided that we would take the Homeopathic approach as the conventional methods left us with no better odds and are far harder on the patient than often the disease is. At some point, I have no clear record of when, we took biopsies from two locations within Thom's mouth in order to determine for sure if he had systemic lupus. Wanda was fairly sure and after some time it was confirmed by the lab at the U of S veterinary school and the lab in Vancouver. The idea was to rid Thom of all harmful additive things in his system, hence making all natural foods. When modern drugs are administered they have a wide window of affects and often the most powerful affects are of a harmful nature (this is commonly and lightly called "side effects") to the overall system while the smaller affects attack the problem. The goal was to put maximum affect on the disease while leaving the rest of Thom's systems operating as normally and uninhibited as possible so that it can aid in his own healing.

I was to keep a record of Thom's condition as accurately as possible from this point on. What follows are the records kept on small 4" by 4" pieces of paper and in the same format as they were written.

I do have all this info but have not yet put it in the machine ...

Post Script ...

I lost Thompson within the year after Mack, and he, too, is sadly missed. But, you know, I had a strange experience when we were burying Thom. As we lowered him into the ground, I was crying and had my eyes closed hard. In my mind I suddenly saw Mack come galloping on thin air and stopping some short distance away. He sat down looking at me, suddenly there appeared young Thom running towards him. Thom stopped at Mack's feet, turned for one last look and then the two of them loped off away from me and vanished. Mack has a buddy now, I thought, and would look after Thom for me. I cried a cry of relief for the both of them who no longer suffered, and with the knowledge that they will be waiting for me. That image is still very clear in my mind, and makes me feel warm and grateful.