Abe is Getting Reacquainted with his Left Hind Leg.

Abe has the giant bandage off, and spent a big part of the truck ride home saying hello to his left hind leg and paw. Checking them out. Making sure they are the same as the last time he saw them...












Except for the shaved part, and the five inch long scar, that is.

Mojo is going to get a flea killer drug that will hopefully will help suppress his Valley Fever. It works on fleas by destroying the chitin -- the stuff that flea exoskeletons are made of.

The Valley Fever thingies in Mo's blood also have a lot of chitin, so hopefully (fingers crossed) the Program medicine will help suppress that Valley Fever.

Here's how VetPartner.com describes what this additional drug does:

A general rule with any fungal infection is that it takes a long time to clear. Valley Fever is no different and a year of medication administration is fairly common. Treatment continues until the clinical signs have resolved, the radiographs look normal, and the antibody level has stabilized (note antibody levels may never fully drop to zero). Ketoconazole, itraconazole , and fluconazole are the usual drugs to treat this condition. Monitoring liver enzymes is important with all of these, particularly since long treatment courses are common.

Lufenuron, the active ingredient in the flea control product Program, was developed to inhibit the development of chitin (the crunchy exterior material of the insect body). The idea was that a flea larva who had fed upon blood pellets (flea dirt) from a pet treated with oral lufenuron would be unable to properly pupate into an adult flea. It turns out that the shell of Coccidioides immitis is also rich in chitin and that lufenuron at specific doses may be helpful in clearing this infection. This is still an experimental use but it may be worthwhile to ask your veterinarian about this product.

Mojo was taking ketoconazole and was switched to fluconazole when it didn't seem to be working...but the fluconazole doesn't seem to be doing the job either. Hopefully adding this other drug will finally do the job, and Mojo will no longer have an active case of Valley Fever.