Updated for JUNE, 2007 

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below: Lady; a wonderful Cocker Spaniel who lived a long, happy life. photo by Beverly Forehand

lower right: Rosco, a twelve-yr-old Samoyed, and Clyde, a two-yr-old Weimaraner. photo by Laurie Belcher

  Reflections on a Dog's Life

by Beverly Forehand

Time is a strange thing. Its funny how years can seem like moments and only a few seconds can sometimes stretch to seem like a lifetime. Time is the one thing that we never seem to have enough of--yet we squander it, spending days and hours and weeks reckless as if they would last forever.

A dog's life is short compared to most human lives. They live twelve, fifteen, maybe twenty years depending on breed and care and a hundred other little factors. Those strange twists of fate, environment, and genetics that rule us all control their destinies as well. Lady lived eighteen years. She would've been nineteen in August. She had a long life for a cocker-spaniel mix. And, unlike many of her breed that are afflicted with hearing problems, back and leg injuries, and other hereditary woes, Lady lived her eighteen years relatively unscathed. But, unlike ear infections, vestibular disease, or even some cancers, age can't be cured. Time has a way of chipping away at us all--flesh and furred alike--and, in the end, there's not really a lot we can do about it.

Sometimes we forget just how much our pets impact our lives.  We take them for granted.  I know I did.  I don’t know how many times I’ve walked downstairs and patted Lady on the head, absent-mindedly.  She’s been a part of my life for almost twenty years.  And, it really seemed that she always would be.  I remember the first day I saw her.  I was walking dogs at the shelter—which aside from general scrubbing was all they let a ditzy high-school girl do—and there she was, standing up in her dog-run staring at me with her huge brown eyes.  It was her first day at the shelter.  When I tried to pet her, she hid in her bed.  She was afraid of cars, smaller yipping dogs, and thunder.  Although she never got over her fear of thunder, as her hearing dimmed, she no longer shivered with each boom of a storm.  I could turn on the dryer during most thunder storms and she never even realized it was raining.  

For the first three months that Lady lived at the farm, she never barked.  I guess she was feeling her way around, determining her place.  The woman who brought her to the shelter said she found her abandoned in the parking lot of her apartment complex—a skinny half-grown dog with a tiny note around her neck that said, “My name is Lady, I’m a cocker-spaniel, retriever mix.”  She kept her for two weeks until her apartment manager came in to fix the air conditioning and noticed the small, yellow dog.  It was a no-pets apartment complex.  Lady had to go.  So, she was taken to the shelter, where I volunteered, and we found each other. 

She saw me through college and grad school and marriage.  She moved with me from my parent’s farm, to an apartment in Bowling Green, Kentucky and finally, back to Tennessee.  She saw me through good times and bad.  She watched my two “original” cats—Pepper and Licorice—age and die—and helped train our three unruly “current” cats, Tig, Nonny, and Morwen, now all grown fat and happy. 

After Lo’s death from hemangiosarcoma last year, we adopted a kitten, Ichi.  She’s white with just a splash of black on her head and huge yellow-gold eyes.  Ichi, who probably had never seen a dog, was instantly fascinated with Lady.  She followed her around and sat on the stairs staring at her for hours.  At night, Ichi slept on Lady’s bed and sometimes our “stray” cat, Yuki, curled up at Lady’s feet.  Now, Yuki and Ichi sleep alone in Lady’s bed.  The first night Lady was gone, Yuki cried for hours, searching every nook and cranny, looking for Lady.  She searched for days, but now, she and all the other cats realize that Lady isn’t coming back.  She’s gone forever.  It’s a hard thing for me to realize as well.

I find myself picking up Lady’s leash without thinking and opening the door to take her for a walk.  I can’t help but keep filling up her water dish.  She cats certainly don’t mind—its just more water to splash.  Lady’s bed still sits against the wall, the faint smell of Lady clinging to its fibers and reminding me daily of the reality of her loss.  Of course, I’ll always remember her and like anyone facing the loss of a friend, we are comforted by our memories of good times—and even bad ones.  But, memories are a poor substitute for a cold nose in the palm of your hand or a warm head in your lap. 

I miss my dog.  I miss Lothario and Pepper and Licorice.  And, although I love all my current kitties, there’s something about your childhood pets that is indescribable.  The loss of them is like the final loss of your childhood.  They can remember all those long summer days spent lying in the sun or running in the woods.  They remember a time when you greatest care was what you were wearing to the school dance or how you would finish your term paper on time.  They can remember a time when you were more carefree and you found it hard to imagine that summer vacation wouldn’t last forever. 

The last few months have been hard ones for us all.  The pet food recall, despite momentary lulls, seems never to completely end.  But, I am thankful that the last month of Lady’s life I took time to make all her dinners and treats.  The weather is warmer and we had lots of long walks in the garden and sunny days just spent watching the squirrels.  Lady had a happy life.  She had a dog’s life in the truest sense.  And, as I watch our neighbor’s new puppy, Honey, roll in the sun, I remember Lady as she was fifteen or sixteen years ago—just a big puppy herself chasing bunnies in the hayfield—although never catching them.  Honey’s quarry is bubblebees.  So, far, her hunt has thankfully proved futile.  But, outside the window I can see her crouched and waiting.  Hope springs eternal—or so Honey believes.

Life goes on.  There are always new bunnies in Spring and a new puppy just around the block.  I’ll always remember my dog and each little jump that Honey makes reminds me of Lady.  Cherish your pets.  Their lives (even the longest ones) are very short and it is easy enough to forget that they won’t be there forever.  A cat is biting my foot, but I don’t mind.  I’m happy enough just to have the company.  Pets make our lives a joy.  They remind us that life isn’t all work—there’s a little play in everything if we only take time to see it.  They bring out the merriment in every day.  And, even though they are gone so quickly, having them as part of my life has been well worth the pain of their loss.  So, take your dog for an extra-long walk on a sunny day.  Get out the laser pointer and let your kitty play tag.  Life is short.  Enjoy it.
Beverly Forehand is a contributing writer.  She can be reached at Bevforehand@earthlink.net

 

Hair Loss

in Horses

by Sarah Wynne Jackson

at left : Samantha Keeney & her best friend Quinney, a Belgian Draft.

Most horses will always have a few hairless nicks and scrapes at various stages of healing. But what if that bald patch starts spreading, or grows weepy and crusty? Hair loss can be frustrating simply because the possible causes are so many and so varied. In general, conditions of hair loss can be divided into one of two categories: itchy and non-itchy. Here, we’ll look a few of the most common skin problems from both groups.

Itching creates self-inflicted hair loss. Watch your horse in his stall and paddock to see if he is scratching himself. You can also examine the skin for indications of scratching, such as broken hairs. Redness, scabs, and weeping are not specific to itching, but might be part of the rubbing process.

One of the most common causes of itching during the warmer months is a hypersensitivity to biting gnats, also known as biting midges or "no-see-ums." The gnats create a skin problem called Queensland itch or summer itch. These bugs are especially prevalent in areas near ponds, small creeks, and springs. They cause intense irritation and tend to feed on the sensitive skin of the belly, inner thighs, poll, mane, withers, and tailhead. Your horse’s tail may get a "rat tail" appearance and his mane is also likely to be mutilated and bald. Usually the rubbing starts out lightly, then increases as the allergic response progresses. The condition worsens with more aggressive abrasion from itching and over the years as the horse becomes more sensitive to the bites.

If you think your horse has this condition, keep him stalled during the dawn and dusk hours, when the gnats are most actively biting. Applying a fly spray containing permethrin may offer him some protection. Fly sheets help to some degree, but these bugs prefer the abdomen and thigh areas, which are not covered well by fly sheets. Although these gnats feed most often on the belly, your horse is likely to experience a general allergic response which will create itching in places where bites have not occurred. Excellent management and insect control strategies are a must, and some very sensitive horses might also require corticosteroids and/or antihistamines to control the allergic response.

Another cause for skin itching is lice. By themselves, lice do not cause immediate hair loss, but they create an intense amount of irritation which causes the horse to scratch itself incessantly. With repeated scratching comes increasing hair loss. To tell if your horse has been infested, spread the hair apart to look for dandruff-like particles that move. A magnifying glass may be helpful. Look especially carefully at the mane, the shoulders, the back, and the base of the tail.

A horse with lice needs bathing with appropriate medicated shampoo products specifically targeted for louse therapy. Unfortunately, louse infestation most commonly occurs in winter or early spring when most horses sport a thick coat, making bathing difficult. Topical pyrethrin or permethrin products applied two weeks apart are effective against lice, as is ivermectin dewormer given in two doses two weeks apart. You should also clean the horse's tack and grooming equipment with insecticides so he is not re-infected after successful treatment.

Most healthy horses rarely seem to be affected by lice. Situations of overcrowding, poor nutrition, or poor environmental hygiene are factors that set up conditions for lice to flourish. Ample sunlight and regular grooming are effective tools in minimizing the risk of louse infection.

Although mange is uncommon in horses in the United States, it should be considered in any horse which is very itchy and losing hair. There are several types, named for the type of mange mite that causes them. Your vet can identify mange by examining a skin scraping under a microscope. Treatment includes doses of ivermectin along with topical applications.

If your horse is missing hair but is not itchy, there are a number of other conditions that could be the cause. “Ringworm” refers to a variety of different fungal infections of the skin that cause lesions that are often oval or round in shape. Fungi thrive in dark, damp barns, particularly in autumn and winter months. Once the fungus gets established on the horse's skin, a long winter hair coat helps maintain the infection. Fungal infections can also become established in warm, humid climates, particularly during fly season.

Fungal infections are highly contagious and easily transmitted between horses by shared tack and equipment. The incubation period for fungal infections takes anywhere from one to six weeks. An infection might start with a hive-like lesion that then becomes circumscribed in an oval shape. The lesions look scaly and crusty, are accompanied by hair loss, and are commonly seen around the girth and saddle areas, the hindquarters, and along the chest, neck, and face. Sometimes the edges of the lesions have frayed, broken, or distorted hairs just prior to the hair falling out. Usually a ringworm infection is not itchy or painful to the horse, but it can be.

Although your vet can make a diagnosis with a fungal culture, it can take as long as six weeks to get the results, so in the meantime, treat the horse as if it had ringworm. This requires diligent attention to hygiene. All saddle pads, brushes, girths, and cinches must be washed and disinfected, and each horse should have its own designated equipment to reduce the chances of transfer from horse to horse. Strip bedding from stalls and disinfect stalls and stall cleaning equipment with bleach. Infected horses should be isolated from others.

Bathe your infected horse daily for the first week, then once or twice a week to control the infection until all ringworm lesions have been gone for at least two weeks. When you bathe, work the medicated shampoo into the skin and allow it to remain for at least fifteen minutes before rinsing. Salves and ointments can be applied to small lesions. Useful products contain the ingredients miconazole, clotrimazole, or thiabendazole.

In most cases, ringworm is self-limiting once the horse's immune system has had a chance to kick in. With the help of good hygiene, exposure to sunlight, and frequent antiseptic baths, most horses clear the infection within about six weeks.

Skin scald results in loss of hair on the lower legs due to poor hygiene in the stabling or pasture area. Urine or manure scald on the legs will cause hair to fall out from chronic skin inflammation, usually accompanied by crusting and scabs in the areas of patchy hair loss. Thoroughly clean the horse’s environment of caustic irritants like urine, manure, excrement-soaked straw, and soaked shavings. Washing the lower legs daily will clear up most of these without too much trouble.

If you cannot point to damp or dirty environmental conditions, have your veterinarian check your horse for the presence of a bladder or urinary stone that might be causing abnormal urination and scalding of the skin where urine contacts it.

Rain scald, also called rain rot or dew poisoning, is caused by an organism that infects traumatized skin, such as skin abrasions, insect bites, and skin softened by constant exposure to moisture such as mud or rain. Often, the initial lesions are seen along the rump, lower limbs, face, muzzle, withers, and in the saddle region. This organism lives in the soil as well as in the scabs of infected horses. Horses might be "infected" with the organism, but show no outward signs of disease. They still remain as carriers to high-risk individuals.

Rain scald lesions are crusty and scaling and the hair pulls away with the crust still attached, revealing a sore beneath. Initially these might start as raised tufts of hair with crusts. Usually these are painful. Unfortunately, crusting and scaling abnormalities in the skin accompany many types of skin problems, so the best way for your vet to diagnose rain scald is to look at a skin scraping under a microscope and to culture the organism from a scraping.

Some causes of hair loss require very simple treatment, but others can cause deeper tissue damage if not attended to properly. Some can spread to every horse that shares the infected horse’s tack. If your horse has any hairless patches, itching, skin sores, or other skin abnormalities, it’s imperative to have your vet examine him as soon as possible.

Sarah Wynn Jackson is a devoted horsewoman from Hebron, New Hampshire.  She can be reached at horsesbehorses@hotmail.com.