The seasons are changing in Chiang Mai right now, the afternoon thunder rolling over the mountains and there is a weird coloured sky that we get at this time of the year because of the moisture , the clouds and the sun, all pre-cursors for the change from Wet to Dry season.

The temperatures will now start to drop both during the day and overnight, sometimes feeling a little chilly and to those of us with thin blood, a few extra layers of clothing will be a necessity. Time to break out the winter wardrobe.

What has that go to do with dogs? Nothing, apart from the fact the thunder is currently shaking the windows and the light fading to a dim yellow as I type.

Today there were 5 dogs visiting the vet.

First onto the table was Ringo, who we wrote a little about last week, has been receiving special diet food along with appropriate meds and constantly on a drip at the shelter and having his blood check to monitor the status of his primary indicators.

Word on the street is, that it is still touch and go but he hasn’t given up yet, he is still hanging in there and nor have we. After a short excursion today, he was back to the shelter and hooked up on the saline drip once more.

Coke, who had a nasty break in his front leg and a pin was inserted through the shoulder, down to the elbow. The bone, just above the elbow which was broken, was wired up to help bind the 2 pieces together.

Last week, after much difficulty with his lower pin wanting to come out and causing an infection where it irritating under his skin, it was decided by the vet to remove that pin. The wires are to remain in place hopefully for life, without being rejected by his body.

Since the removal of this lower pin, he has been showing signs of pain and discomfort and not putting his paw down. Today, the x-ray told the story, his bones have not calcified sufficiently enough yet and the weight of his body is now without support of the pin, causing him pain. So, extra calcium was prescribed and complete bed rest. - In a cage actually!

Next was Max - moaning at every opportunity. Max had his ears checked again and it seems that the fungal infection is being resistant to the twice daily cleaning and application of a topical prescription. Maybe Max is going to grow old with his ears infected but we will continue to try hard to rid him of the severe infection that makes them bleed and hurt. We know he is an old boy, we know he has been through the wars but he doesn’t know that we think he is a right moaner!

Since Tara came to the shelter a couple of weeks ago, her eyes are starting to be affected by the sometimes dusty conditions and her already inflamed cornea and 3rd eye lid are taking a pounding. It is obvious that she had the condition before she came to us, it is now more apparent that she will need long term treatment to provide her with a reasonable quality of eyesight.

When the vet tested her eyes today, the slight corneal ulcers found last week are almost gone, evidence that the current treatment regime was effective to deal with the ulcers.

But the root cause of the problem are the tear glands and the 3rd eye lid which need lubrication to properly function and essentially she is running out of lubricant! The result is, they are inflamed and if not improved shortly, she will end up with a condition called ‘Cherry Eye‘, where the tear gland enlarges and pops out into the open and cannot retract back behind the 3rd eye lid because that is too tight.

At this stage, the vet suggested fighting the infection with antibiotic and anti - inflammatory meds too for a week and then re-assess and consider stitching her eyes closed for 10 days to see if that might help. We will see (sic) next week.

Finally it was the turn of Chok Guay who last week was in a very itchy and inflamed state, suffering from chronic mange for a long time and also showing signs of a secondary infection. Under the microscope, again were live mange worms, a bit like tiny maggots with legs, moving about on the skin scrap test slide. His weight has increased (obviously as he is getting healthy meals twice a day at the shelter for the last 4 weeks) so according to the vet, that could be why we are not seeing the Ivomectin working effectively, it’s at a too lower dose for his current body weight.

Instead of 1cc per day we are advised to give him 2.6cc. Yep he is a chubby fella now. So we will increase the dosage slowly, bearing in mind he could now react adversely to it and see if we can stop those mangy worms once and for all.

As for the secondary infection, the vet suggested that the presence of the spots on his tummy which indicate a secondary infection, could be as a direct result of the treatment we are giving him (Cefelexin, Marbofloxacin, Hydroxacin etc) .

Otherwise, despite a few bloody sores, outbreaks of extremely irritated flesh, his coat is starting to return, he is looking (& sounding I might add) a lot brighter and louder than he did even a week ago.