"Brugan"
"Brugan" aka "The Bruggie-Monster" or "Minfford Ice Diamond" was adopted by us in April 2006 through Bullies in Need.
I collected "Brugan" from Wales... He was in a sorry state and I had to stop myself crying when I saw him.
He was hideously overweight, covered in weeping sores, green gunk in his eyes preventing him from opening them, servere skin condition and was led out from a outside shed which I later learned from his previous vet was his permanent home.
His previous owners did little other than feed him excessively - He had received veterinary treatment as a pup for his skin but his owners hadnt taken him back for over three years.
"Brugan" was taken straight to my vets who prescribed him antibiotics, steroid tablets and maleseb shampooo for his skin as well as diagnosing him with dry eye (his eyes make no tears) a grade 4 heart murmour and a ear infection.
I bathed him daily in the shampoo and gave him all the tablets as told to by the vet. (As well as eye ointments and drops which he will have to have daily for the rest of his life)
After a month it was apparant that there was no improvement with his skin - If anything it appeared to be getting worse and "Brugan" started gnawing his feet until they bled (I put little socks on his feet)
Wearing his socks - June 2006
The vet upped his dose of steroid tablets and prescribed him a steroid based cream to put on his sore bits... His skin was sore around his face, feet and chest.
His skin got worse.
In August - His skin is starting to get very red especially on his feet and chest.
We carried on with the steroid tablets, creams and maleseb baths but he carried on getting itchier and itchier.
The vet then upped his doseage again and gave him another type of shampoo.
By the end of September "Brugan" looked awful... Within a month his chest, face and feet were red raw. His skin often cracked and bled and it was heartbreaking to see him like it.
I tried tea-tree oil creams and sudocream but nothing seemed to help him long term.
September when his skin was the worst it had been.
We changed his food to Hill's Prescription Diet only and that didn't make a difference so we went back to feeding him what he likes best - raw meat, veggies, pasta, rice etc.
Close up
Once again I asked the vet is there anything else we can try for him - To which she replied "Your best off having him put to sleep now as we have tried everything!!" I was horrified and gave her a piece of my mind and walked out... How many children suffer from skin problems like exema? And they are not 'put to sleep'!
I phoned around all the vets in this area from the Yellow Pages... I found a great vet not far from here who was very keen to see "Bruggie".
She was horrified that his previous vet had recomended me to have him put to sleep. She took skin scrapings from "Brugan" and told me to keep him off the steroids. His antibiotics were increased for a short while to stop his sores getting infected.
He was booked in for blood tests to see if anything was wrong inside.
I started to use "Bob Grass" cream on his sores (this stopped him licking them if nothing else) which is a natural remedy for hair loss in dogs and sore skin. Also from "Bob Grass" we got the "White Dog Blood Tablets" to cool his skin down.
(There is a link to the "Bob Grass" site on my Home page)
Through my friends on the Bullie Bar forum I learnt of a alternative treatment by "Herbaticus" of which "Brugan's" new vet was keen for him to try. He is on 4 different types of herbs which are in capsules which he has with meals.... He is still on these now and will continue to do so until he is 100% better.... Fanny Philbert of Herbaticus has said to expect at least 6 months before he is completely healed.
(There is a link to the "Herbaticus" site on my Home page)
Within a couple of weeks of being on the herbs there was a difference in "Brugans" skin - His skin was no longer cracking and bleeding and although still very red he was not as inflammed.
A couple of weeks after being on herbal treatment - Although skin very red there are fewer scabs and they healing up.
When the skin scrapings came back he was diagnosed with Dermodetic Mange/Mites. The steroids had been feeding the mites and helping them spread accross his body.... If the first vet I had taken him too had done skin scrapings we could have started immediate treatment when we first adopted him.... Instead they failed to pick it up and gave me medicine that was making him worse.
His blood test results came back showing no problems which was one good thing.
To get rid of the mites "Brugan" has had Advocate drops on the back of his neck and weekly Aludex all over baths.... The Aludex baths are awful. They smell like paint stripper but "Bruggie" is a little (big!) angel and is as good as gold when he has to have one.
He needs another three baths with this before he has more skin scrapings to see if the mites have gone.... fingers crossed they are nearly gone now!
"Brugan" at the 'Bullies in Need' Christmas Party in Mablethorpe - His skin was very pink then but hair had started to grow through.
With little sister "Drama" just before Christmas
HE'S GETTING BETTER!!!!
I will keep updating this page with "Brugan's" progress.... Hopefully by the Bullies In Need Fun Day he will look just perfect and I can show him off to everyone!
"Brugan" is the best dog in the world - He deserves to get better and have a happy life.
I would reccomend the Herbaticus treatment to anyone experiencing similar problems with their Bullies - It would seem it's definatly this that is making his hair grow back.
Brugan in a Bubba Gump Shrimp hat in February 2007
Brugan winking for his Mummy on a walk in February 2007
Sunning himself April 2007
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