Kenna was abandoned out in the country. Left to fend for herself. Left for dead. She somehow, honestly by a happy accident, ended up at Puppy Haven and we’ve been obsessed with her ever since. Her road to her happily ever after hasn’t been easy though. She was so scared, so shut down, so unsure. She was stinky, COVERED in more ticks than you can imagine, and so thin. We painstakingly removed her ticks, started to build trust, and got her medical attention. She tested positive for both heartworms and Ehrlichia, so we started treatment right away. We were so excited for her healing to begin. But sadly, her journey to wellness is still just beginning.

After being treated for heartworms and for Ehrlichia at the beginning of May, Kenna felt a bit better…but still not 100%. She was taken back into the vet for some bloodwork. The results have us confused, and concerned. Kenna’s white blood cell count was over 50,000, an excessive amount for a number that should be closer to 15,000. Combined with other abnormalities on bloodwork, the doctors believed Kenna is battling some type of infection- but of what we don’t know. Additionally, radiographs revealed that Kenna’s body is riddled with BB gun bullets. We’re devastated to think of all she went through before coming to us.

Months of testing, trial and error on meds, multiple consults with different vets, intermittent fevers, a lengthy hospital stay and more testing and we still were lacking answers. We were targeting more invasive diagnostics as the next step. Then we finally got a positive result back on a test that we had already run. Kenna has officially been diagnosed with hepatozoon americanum. Hepatozoonosis is a disease caused by a protozoan, and there are two strains. Kenna’s strain is not curable. Dogs get infected with this disease by ingesting an affected tick. As it takes over, the protozoan creates large cysts that can lead to significant inflammation. Without treatment, dogs often only have months to live.

We are so grateful to have an answer and be able to help our girl feel better. As of September, she finished up an intensive multi-week round of multiple antibiotics, and was started on daily meds. We’re so happy to report that our girl’s white blood cell count has resumed normal and that she is finally starting to act like a happy, healthy dog!

Hepatozoon americanum is not curable. She will be on a daily powder medication for her food for at least the next 2 years, if not for the rest of her life. She will be at risk of a flare up requiring report courses of antibiotics for her whole life.

We need help to continue to provide her medication for her, as well as provide her with the fresh food diet she is happily eating that is helping to control the pain & inflammation associated with her disease.

Kenna’s disease is the direct result of human failure. We won’t allow her to be failed again.