The Solar Lion Saves His Puppy (Dallas)

Scott is the Solar Lion. He has reduced his electricity bill from hundreds of dollars per month to just $20.

The following is the story about how Scott saved his puppy.

I just couldn't do it, so I searched the Internet for everything I could find. The vet called me and said he was thinking Bacterial Mennigitis and wanted to do massive antibiotics during the night. I just said to him "Give her Prednisone". He was stunned. He said "You are not a Vet!"

We purchased a very young Beagle puppy. She was the joy of our lives. Then she turned very sick. She stopped eating and drinking and
she had a very high fever. Two vets didn't know what was wrong with her.
Nothing showed up in blood or urine tests. She has been on an IV for
two days with antibiotics, but no improvement. We were just running up
a thousand dollar bill for a $25 puppy. My kids were crying themselves to
sleep. The vet told me my choices were to take the puppy over the the
Michigan State Vet Clinic, or put her down. My wife took the puppy to the
clinic. Another $1000 bill was run up in no time. The vet there said
they had no clue, and that to figure out what was wrong with our dog
we needed to do about $3000 of additional tests. Our puppy had severe
neck pain, fever, and shivering. We took her back to the first vet. My
wife decided to put her down. I just couldn't do it, so I searched the
Internet for everything I could find. The vet called me and said he was
thinking Bacterial Mennigitis and wanted to do massive antibiotics
during the night. I just said to him "Give her Prednisone". He was stunned.
He said "You are not a Vet!" Then he said "If she has Mennigitis you will
kill her by putting her on Prednisone." Well since we were going to put
her down, I took my chances and cried myself to sleep. At 6:00 am the
next morning the Vet called and said "Come in here and pick up your
puppy!" I was in tears and said "What??". He said "She is running
around, eating, and has no fever!" He said "The Prednisone saved
her life!" "How did you come up with that?" I said I used Google,
and then took a chance!. Neither Vet had ever seen this illness before.
Here is what I read on the Internet about a Beagle named Dallas.

"Antibiotics were used unsuccessfully in
several studies of beagle pain syndrome,
even in animals that showed signs of bacteria
in feces or urine (no bacteria were found in
cerebrospinal fluid). Dogs treated with
Prednisone, a corticosteroid, (1.1mg/kg of
body weight, by mouth every 12 hours)
showed dramatic improvement within the first
12 hours of treatment. All clinical signs and
laboratory abnormalities disappeared. Dogs
maintained on a low-dose, alternate-day
administration of prednisone (.25 to .50mg/kg
every other day) for several months remained
free of clinical signs. Symptoms returned
within two weeks of stopping the
corticosteroid treatments (Jour. Amer. Vet.
Med. Assoc., Nov. 15, 1992). It was shown in
some studies that the corticosteroids
treatments could be gradually reduced over a
one to two month period and then eliminated
without the return of symptoms. It is important
to monitor the dog for symptoms in the future
and restart corticosteroid treatment if
symptoms return. Side effects of steroid
treatments include increased appetite and
increased thirst. “Because of the high
dosages of steroids, Spencer drinks water by
the bucketful and wants to eat everything in
sight. The medication also tends to make him
quite sluggish, so he lies around a lot.
Basically he acts like a 10-year-old dog except
when food and water are involved,” explains
Patricia Robidoux.

Dallas was treated initially with I.V. Manitol
and Dexamethasone to quickly bring down his
brain inflammation. Within the first 24 hours
he dramatically improved, although he
remained blind and was still weak. He began
eating normally and his tail was once again
wagging. He even barked when he heard us
come into the clinic to take him home. After
the initial I.V. treatment he was put on a
course of Dexamethasone pills, .50 mg every
eight hours, to keep the inflammation from
returning. Every two weeks we reduced his
dose by one pill per day. Finally, almost 4
months later we eliminated the
Dexamethasone. Dallas has remained
symptom free for the past five months, and
although he is now farsighted, his vision is
fairly normal."