I’m really scared. Although Licorice’s mange had dramatically improved, the stress of the flight had caused her to start loosing some hair again. I therefore opted to put her back on Ivermectin but with no real improvement this time around. Since Licorice’s mange hasn’t gotten much better there was a concern in my mind that her immunity was low. To explain demodex mange at little bit, it’s a parasite all dogs naturally have on their coat but which runs amock when their immunity is suppressed. In Thailand, we frequently see it due to malnutrition and the stresses incurred on the street. But Licorice, in the past few months, has been away from both. But surprisingly, the mange condition, although having drastically improved, has remained chronic.

So the vets explained that her immunity must be low due to another factor. They suspected at first lyme disease or e-canis, but when we tested her, she was negative for any tick or mosquito borne illnesses. Then, the vets thought an infection could be taxing her immunity. But her White Blood Cell count was normal (so her body wasn’t fighting off a bacterial or viral invader). So we ran more blood work. This time, it was found that her platelet levels are extremely low. So something’s really wrong.

Something inside of her is interfering with her clotting ability which could be fatal.

We still have to keep evaluating her which might be a lengthy process. But I’m so scared of losing her so soon. I can’t imagine my life without her jumping up with her paws and placing them on my lips to say hi.