JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville family is breathing a sigh of relief after their rescued Golden Retriever battled a rare and potentially deadly disease.
Trout’s months-long fight included surgery, blood transfusions and weeks in the hospital.
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Now his owner hopes his story will help other pet owners spot the warning signs and act quickly.
When Shayna Rogers rescued Trout in December, she knew the Golden Retriever needed help.
She found him along the Trout River in Jacksonville’s Northside thin, malnourished and clearly unwell.
“He was probably 49 pounds when we got him in the same body. He’s now 95 pounds, so he was in not great condition, but I figured he was just sick. You know, worms. Something that was making him malnourished,” Rogers said.
After months of testing, Rogers finally got an answer, and it was one she never expected.
“The vet said his prognosis was limited, and that’s all I heard. I stopped hearing anything else. I just lost my mind for a second. And so we waited for biopsies to come back. And it was Pythiosis,” she said.
Pythiosis is a rare fungal disorder that thrives in warm, stagnant or slow-moving water, making places like ponds, swamps and wetlands prime areas for exposure.
Florida’s warm climate creates an environment where the organism can thrive. For dogs, drinking or even swimming in contaminated water can pose a serious threat.
In dogs, Pythiosis can attack the gastrointestinal tract or cause lesions on the skin and once it takes hold, it can be incredibly difficult to treat and, in some cases, fatal.
Rogers says pet owners should know what to look for.
“If your dog is vomiting, having diarrhea throughout the night, not eating well, won’t eat hard foods, definitely take them into the vet. You’d rather be safe than sorry,” she said.
For Trout, the diagnosis led to a long and painful road to recovery.
He underwent exploratory stomach surgery, received multiple medications and immunotherapy, then came more complications, adding weeks in the hospital.
Working with Dr. Walker, a specialist based in Nassau County, Trout was put on an aggressive treatment plan. The family finally received the news they had been waiting for.
“Now Trout was almost nothing. I mean, his Pythiosis numbers are lower than five, which is negative,” Rogers said.
For Rogers, the journey was as emotional as it was exhausting.
“When I was going through all this, all I could think was I was losing my best friend and I was losing the most important thing to me,” she said.
Veterinarians say there are steps pet owners can take to reduce the risk of Pythiosis:
- Avoid letting dogs swim in or drink from stagnant or questionable water
- Keep cuts and scrapes clean and protected
- After walking through wet or muddy areas, check your dog’s paws and skin for cuts, irritation or other injuries
One challenge Rogers didn’t anticipate finding blood for Trout’s transfusions. She says veterinary blood shortages are a real problem, and getting what Trout needed took significant effort.
Trout will continue to be closely monitored for the rest of his life, but for now, his family is celebrating a milestone they never thought they would see.