UPDATE TIME!!!

Long time no update…. Lots of things have happened in the life of Festus over the past year. I’m sure I’ll miss some of it but I’ll at least try to hit the main milestones for him.

(June 2014 - At the river)

All was going well for him on the Cyclosporine he had the occasional flare up but nothing serious and it didn’t last more than a day or so he still wasn’t able to go and lounge in the grass and still had some issues on shoulder seasons with the change in the airborne pollens. Fast forward to roughly December 2013 for whatever reason the Cyclosporine had stopped working for him, he relapsed and was starting to be come a mess again. January was a rough month for him, he was back to being a miserable itchy mess and I was seriously contemplating euthanasia for him but am thankful that I didn’t. A new drug called Apoquel was coming to market and upon consultation with our wonderful veterinarian, we decided as a last resort we were going to try this new drug on Festus. I was SHOCKED at the response Festus’ system had to the Apoquel. Within hours his itching had started to subside by the next day you could touch him without him starting to itch. Let me just say, it is an AMAZING feeling to be able to hug my dog now without him going into an itching frenzy which brought me to tears more times than I can count.

(February 2014 - one month on Apoquel)

When we were close to being though the first bottle, heartache struck me again, the words I never ever wanted to hear, “I’m sorry this medication is now on backorder and there is no guarantee that your dog can remain on the drug”. I went into full momma bear mode (after a slight panic attack I might add) and started my crusade to allow Festus to have comfort that he wasn’t able to feel in years (He’s 5.5 years old now and this all started when he was roughly 15 months old). I was calling the drug company every day, pleading my case over and over again to anyone that would pick up the phone. Without the Apoquel, Festus would have been miserable and there is no way on earth that I could allow him to lapse back and be miserable again, not after seeing him happy for the first time in years, seeing him have the ability to enjoy life again, enjoy pets, enjoy laying outside watching the world go by, enjoy not itching every waking moment (and sleeping one as well). I finally was able to get ahold of someone that listened while I pleaded his case to her, I sent in a case study to her which she passed up the chain and was able to get a guarantee that he’ll at least be able to remain on the drug as there is a limited supply and those that get to stay on the drug until supply is readily available is done on a case by case basis. The backorder is expected to be resolved at some point in the summer of 2015. Which is really unfortunate for all the dogs that it has helped that aren’t able to get it and other dogs that could really benefit from it as it has been simply AMAZING for my Festus.

(July 2014 - Sunset river dip)

To end this update, since Festus has been on the Apoquel he has been able to be a dog. He can lay out in the yard and sunbathe in the grass without being itchy, he can eat things without going into a fit of hives all over his body if it had an allergen trigger in it. He has gained weight (and cut back on his food) and is now a healthy 160 pounds. His energy has gone up, and he is finally a HAPPY normal dog who can just enjoy life and live in the moment.

(May 2015 - Time for a well deserved nap)