“Hi! My name is Lolo, and I was born on February 28, 2020, along with my sister Bimba. I was a very happy and playful little dog, and everything was perfect until I turned one. From then on, everything started to change. I'm currently a sick dog, and unfortunately, I suffer from a rare, incurable disease. Let me tell you my story from the beginning…”
Lolo's illness was very difficult to diagnose. That was one of the biggest problems. On March 3rd, Lolo started becoming lethargic, with no desire to play or eat, and with a slight limp. Given his young age, it seemed like he'd just hit his neck while playing; no one suspected anything more serious. Weeks later, seeing that he wasn't improving and was actually getting worse, they started running tests, and he tested positive for Ehrlichiosis (a tick-borne disease). With the prescribed medication, the illness should have improved within a month, but when that didn't happen, we took further steps and began our fight: we started giving him daily injections, and on several occasions, we even had to hospitalize him.
Lolo spent more than two months fighting, with fever, unable to respond to any medication, and becoming increasingly weak and anemic.
After numerous tests and analyses, Lolo's condition deteriorated rapidly. The tests for ehrlichiosis were now negative (so it may have been a false positive), but his fever, limp, and lethargy worsened, and he was no longer the same; he could barely walk or eat.
We decided to get an ultrasound, and much to our dismay, the results were quite bad. Things looked very grim. With Lolo in our arms because he was no longer moving, we rushed him to a veterinary hospital, where they confirmed the worst: Lolo had a huge mass in his mesentery (abdominal area), and there was no other option but emergency surgery; otherwise, he wouldn't survive. They stabilized him for the operation, as he arrived at the hospital with barely any blood pressure, a fever of 41ºC (106ºF), and completely weak. The surgery was crucial; they couldn't guarantee his survival due to the severity of his condition and the location of the tumor, which contains the vena cava and aorta. The hardest part was having to say goodbye to him without knowing if he would make it out of the operating room alive. But Lolo came out of the surgery; it seemed like a miracle, and it was all over, only rehabilitation remained.
Everything seemed to be going great, but after a few days, Lolo started to get worse. The fever and his previous symptoms returned. No one knows what's wrong with him, and we're desperate. Lolo was readmitted for further tests, until we received the worst possible news: Lolo has a rare autoimmune disease with no cure. It's a matter of time; we don't know if it will be months or even a year. However, the process is going faster than we thought. The only way to keep him alive is with high doses of corticosteroids, so he will soon begin to experience serious side effects. We're already dealing with them, but we take comfort in the fact that Lolo isn't suffering right now, and although he'll never be the same, he's a happy and loved little dog, and we're going to be with him until the end. We know we've done and will do everything possible for him and his well-being. It's not the length of time we're living, but the intensity of it. Despite everything, he's a lucky dog to have so many friends and so many people who have been there for us, giving us strength, encouragement, and love throughout these months. Thank you, thank you, and thank you!
If you want to know more about Lolo and his family, you can find them on Instagram: @bimba.and.lolo