Medical Report

Vince’s blood pressure is finally back to where it is supposed to be, and his sciatica is 98% gone -- we are very grateful for this! He has been faithfully doing his back exercises and also has been altering his diet, along with taking his meds. So, thank you to those of you who have included him in your prayers for restoration of good health.

Fergus is another story. He’s been here for over six weeks now, and really has shown no outwardly negative signs in adjusting to the tropics. However, a couple of weeks ago, he started frantically scratching, mostly in his hindquarters.

Day and night, he has been scratching.......
!

After a few days of this, Vince took him to the vet and the diagnosis was “food allergy.” It really can’t be that since we feed him exactly what he eats at home. And, we have ruled out fleas or other insects. But the vet did give us an antihistamine for some short term relief. Since we only have a couple more weeks of this medication, Fergus may be on Benadryl later down the road.

After talking to a couple of other people here, we think it’s more likely a reaction to “coral dust” which is prevalent since coral lies right underneath all of the dirt here.

Everywhere you walk, you see coral peeking out from the dirt. (I'll post more photos of some amazing coral outcroppings later in my geology post.) This is a photo of what looks like bare ground, but is actually big and small pieces of coral.

Evidently it’s well known here that many dogs have adverse reactions to the dust (we don't know why the vet didn't mention it?) So, we’ve been trying to not leave Fergus outside for long periods of time which is too bad, because he LOVES just to sit out in the backyard, even when it’s hot (silly dog!) And, I’ve been trying to wash off his feet when he comes in the house after being outside, which is about 10 times day!

We will likely try to bathe him a couple of times a month and see if that helps -- and here is Fergus, fresh from his bath, scratch-free for a few moments.