Last weekend, Daddy and I brought Rossi gal for a review and health check at ARVC. Since the last visit months back when Dr. Ly recommended us to switch to raw, we had not been back to see him, until now.
At the same time, I also wanted to do a blood test and heartworm test for Rossi gal. I had wanted to do these two tests during May this year when she did her first (& last) annual vacc at another vet clinic. But this particular vet was very reluctant to do both tests on her.
For the heartworm test, he said that as long as Rossi gal was on the heartworm meds, it was not necessary to do it. Then for the blood test, he said that it was not recommended unless the furkid exhibited symptons of illness and also, most of the time his clients did not request for the blood tests if the physical examination was fine. He said blood tests were "uncommon" and very costly. Well, I did not insist on the two tests, cos the only reason I went to this clinic for the vaccination was because it offered the 5-in-1 vaccine.
What makes him so sure the heartworm meds will definitely work? Whether or not Rossi gal is on heartworm meds, the test should still be done to ensure the meds are working right? That's why there is this heartworm test available at the clinics for furkids to be tested.
For the blood test, expensive, yes, but this is not a factor to me . "Uncommon"? I don't really think so. I believe there are people out there who request blood tests for their furkids. Blood test to be done ONLY when the furkid show symptoms of illness? Oh dear, would'nt this be too late for furkid? Would'nt it be so much better to just do the test and catch signs of illness in advance? Chances of healing are also higher when illness is detected earlier. Well, there is not a single doubt that this will be the First and the Last time I step into this place.
The Review & Wellness Check
The appointment with Dr. Ly was on Saturday, 4.30PM. We waited more than an hour after the appointment time before we saw him. As Dr. Ly was still caught up with a patient, one of his assistants started us off by asking us for our purpose of consultation and some general questions on Rossi gal's health.
When we told her we wanted to do the heartworm test, the first question she asked was, if Rossi was on any heartworm meds. I answered 'Yes' almost immediately. When she enquired about the specific heartworm meds Rossi gal was taking, I answered 'Revolution' in a heartbeat. Yes, I totally Lied. Rossi gal have not been on any heartworm meds for a long time. As I didnt want to give her the chance to educate me on the dangers in not giving her the meds, I have decided not to tell the truth.
Then she went on to advise that actually the heartworm test did not need to be done, since she was on the meds. But I insisted on doing it and she said nothing more.
The moment Dr. Ly stepped into the room, she updated him on the purpose of our visit and highlighted the heartworm test+the monthly revolution Rossi gal was on. I held my breath. In my heart, I was thinking, not again..don't tell me Dr. Ly was going to say the heartworm test is not needed..But to my great relief, Dr. Ly did not say this. Instead, without a question, he told his assistant to that he will do the Wellness Check (which consists of general health check, blood test and heartworm test) for Rossi gal. Finally, Rossi gal got to do the tests!
Dr. Ly looked at Rossi gal's bald patch where it used to be and was pleased that hair had grown back. I told him this was the result of 4 months on raw. He smiled and commented, "Raw is good, right?" Daddy and I nodded in full agreement. He emphasized for us to stick to raw diet for Rossi gal, as she's clearly doing well on raw.
The only thing that baffled us about her re-grown hair was that the hair was mostly white in colour. Yes, her colours are a mixture of black and white with a touch of tan. But the hair on her back is mainly black, but the re-grown hair is white..hmm...Dr. Ly joked that we needed to get some black dye to make the hairs black. However, the white hairs are not an issue to us. For us, the most important thing is, her bald patch is gone. :)
He did an overall physical check on her and said she's doing very well. Then he proceeded to draw some blood from her right hind leg for the tests. We were advised the results would be ready in about 15 minutes. But we gathered that we would have to wait longer than this, as he was also attending to another patient in the next room. It was fine for us.
I was pacing up and down the room, while Daddy tried to calm me down. Yes, no doubt Rossi gal is doing fine, but a blood test would reveal more specific aspects that could not be detected physically.
Half an hour later, Dr. Ly came in with the results. The first thing he said, was her blood test results were good and heartworm test was negative, except that based on the results, her immune system was a little bit on the low, but he said that this was not an issue. We just needed to work on boosting it up with supplements like Sang Hwang Lingzhi.
I believe her immune system can be boosted up in time to come. Actually, she is just a 0.1 short of the acceptable range. I know her immune system has improved from before, as evidenced by the re-growth of her hair. Demodectic Mange is immune system related, if her immune system is still very poor, her bald patch will still remain. Dr. Ly had also told us in one of our visits that no hair re-growth for her case, was a sign of a very poor immune system.
Before we left, he also said that Rossi gal will continue to do well, as long as we keep up with what we are doing for her now. This further confirms I'm on the right track in what I'm doing for Rossi gal.
I will continue her in the "chemical-free" (no heartworm/deworm+tick & flea meds, no annual vacc & no processed food+treats) route.
