For the love of Pod

[HangingOver]

All aboard Podsquad, it's Pod thread number 4.

In case you were wondering:

• What is this (surprisingly) long-running thread about? A unique lunatic rescue Podenco, known as Pod. Featuring his pals, Stanley, GentleHowl, BabyPod, GentleBounce, Fastest and Princess and many more.
• What makes you so special that you get your own thread? See above

Seriously, if anyone is considering getting a teenage/rescued/sight-hound/Podenco/all of the above and has NO idea what they're doing, please enjoy the previous instalments from the day we brought him home, to now, six months later. Posts will oscillate wildly from euphoric to mental breakdown and back again.

Here is thread No. 3 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/thedoghouse/5248472-they-love-a-bit-of-him-podlife?page=1

Here is thread No. 2 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/thedoghouse/5197068-the-pod-cast?page=39&reply=141216881

And thread No. 1 https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/thedoghouse/5177112-oh-my-giddy-god?page=1

Pic of the handsome prick in question.

Oh Hanging, whilst it's not ideal, hopefully he will respond well to treatment and things will improve for you all

Oh, poor Pod. I hope the treatment works.

Argh..... I should have thought of that :(

It is generally manageable and no, its not transmissable to people as you need a sandfly to bite him, then you and we haven't got those. I wouldn't take him on holiday to somewhere that does though.

Leish is one of those irritating things that can lie dormant, can produce very odd and intermittent symptoms and can give you a false negative test depend on what stage of infection the dog is at (but also unfortunately a lot of places do not test routinely or correctly).

Fingers x he responds well to treatment, and well done for persisting and chasing DX when it seems people weren't making that easy/taking you seriously at times!

Hope the treatment helps him quickly.

Dear Hanging and darling Pod, I am so sorry to hear it could be bad news. As others have said, I hope very much that Pod responds well to treatment if that is the case. He has the biggest friend and advocate in you, well done for persisting and I hope the vet can give you the help and reassurance you need. Thinking of you.

I had a Greek dog who tested positive for leishmaniasis (in Greece) and showed some symptoms and she was treated with allopurinol tablets for 2 years initially which was then the only treatment available. After a couple of years, the vet contacted me to say there was a new treatment just available that had had good results in trials. It was Milteforan. We started it (expensive in 2007!) and she had no more trouble thereafter (she did come to live in the UK a year later and lived another 8 years (11), so normal life span for a larger dog, which I had not expected). The Milteforan was given in liquid form, 1 dose a day on her food for 28 days only, then no more. She had no more symptoms thereafter. Your vet will hopefully get the best advice on treatment currently. My dog did not die of leishmaniasis - she developed another, unrelated, problem. Wishing you and Pod all the best!

For info for you and others, I understand the offending sandflies reached the Channel Islands several years ago so seems inevitable that with climate change they will arrive here eventually.

We were in the Channel Islands a few years ago and the sandflies on the beach at Braye in Alderney were awful!

Please go on to FB and find the group "living with Leish", it's based in Spain but they work closely with vets in the UK who might not be quite so switched on about it. They will want a copy of Pods full bloods to give the best advice. Don't get too alarmed, one of our dogs has it (in Spain) and her blood work is so good she's no longer on any meds, just a twice yearly blood test.

"Happy Birthday Mummy, I got you 4000 feathers"

😂😂😂 Happy Birthday Hanging 🎉🎉🎉

What a generous, thoughtful, home made gift…

I'm sure they were much appreciated😁

Happy birthday!

Got to love that Pod.😎

Happy Birthday!

Such a thoughtful gift 😬

Happy Birthday 🎉

Happy birthday @HangingOver!

I guess the pillow smelt like prey.

How’s the sleep and bowels going for Pod?

Happy birthday! What a fun gift - he's so thoughtful 😂

What a glorious boy, one for the wall! 😁. Happy Birthday Hanging, hope the rest of the day is less feathery.

Happy birthday! 🥳 How sweet of Pod to go to all that effort for you 😆

Oh what a generous boy he is! How kind, I bet it's what you've always wanted too!

Happy Birthday! you fabulous human.

Wishing you a very happy birthday!

Happy Birthday, Hanging 💐

If your boy could be feeling better and sleeping through the night, that would be great ( hope the birthday fairy is paying attention! ). 😎

I hope you’ve had a lovely day.

DP put the harness-cam on Pod at the last Podsquad meet up 😁😁😁 It's on his Insta, go have a look.

He looks strong enough to pull a carriage, maybe to get you to the church for your wedding? 😁