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Is it possible to research whether or not a veteranarian is board certified? We recently lost our dog to Blastomycosis. He had been to a kennel within the last month and we took him to the vet a couple weeks later when his occasional coughing would not go away and he started limping on one of his legs. the vet told us it most likely was kennel cough and a pulled tendon. That was on Thursday. On Monday night he began panting and wouldn't stop. We took him to the emergency hospital that night where they immediately did a chest xray and diagnosed him properly. they then put him on oxygen and medecine. He passed on Tuesday night. The chest xray had shown his lungs were almost entirely covered with the fungus. We have had a very hard time getting any straight answers on how he could have gotten other than it's in the dirt and it happens in this area. I have done some research and I think i know understand the disease but am still very upset that the vet we saw on Thursday (who admittedly had seen blasto before) did not put the persistant cough and lameness together and start treatment before my poor dog had lost all of his lung capacity. The vets at the emergency clinic stated that had we started treatment on Thursday instead of Monday it most likely would not have made a difference, as the fungus would have been just as far along, however, i can't stop thinking that had we started treatment on Thursday before the dog started breathing abnormally, it wouldn't have helped. So I guess I have 2 questions:
1) how can i find a history on a vet... are they board certified, have they been sued/investigated in the past?
2)at what point is Blasto fatal no matter what treatment a dog receives? would he have had a chance of survival if we had started treatment 4 days prior when he wasn't breathing abnormally? or given that the infection was all over his lungs the result would have been the same?

I'm sorry if this is too long, it's just that i can only find general information on the internet about the disease.

Thank you.

Optional Information:
Age: 2; Male; Breed: german shorthair pointer

Customer (name blocked for privacy)

Hi Customer (name blocked for privacy),

Sorry for your loss. Your upset is understandable when things happen this fast. From my perspective, I think there were some unfortunate decisions and unsubstantiated conclusions involved that aggravated the situation, possibly.

Blastomycosis (blasto for short?) is a common soil born fungus, transmitted either by contact through a skin wound, or inhaled. It can produce lung lesions when inhaled, or skin lesions from the other route.

It resembles a dozen other fungal lung lesions on x-ray, which means it can not be definitely diagnosed by radiographic imaging. That it is likely a fungal disease, yes. Blasto, no. It is only positively diagnosed by culture, which is either by biopsy of a skin or lung lesion, or on post mortem exam, which is the usual way it is diagnosed. Presumptive diagnosis may be made by consecutive serum samples, taken over a period of time to demonstrate an increase in the dogs serum antibody level to blasto. This is almost, but not quite, 100% accurate, and takes several weeks to accomplish at best.

Development of the disease is quite variable, and may show a host of signs during development, such as sneezing, coughing, loss of condition and activity. All occurring before respiratory distress appears. We are talking months of development.

Treatment of fungal diseases is drawn out and utilizes the strongest of antimicrobial drugs. Success in treatment is not guaranteed, partly because of the intensity and extent of the infection at start of treatment, especially when started at a later stage of the disease.

Now, as for the events recently. The first vet would be operating only on speculation to suggest a chest x-ray based on persistant cough and limping at a first visit. It was an unfortunate, but understandable decision at that time. Pulmonary fungal diseases are not common enough to x-ray all coughing dogs, limp or not. Granted, many conditions go undiagnosed at initial visits, but clients would not put up with the expense of our present level of technology to explore all possibilities in depth.

Requests for such testing done at recheck visits when the conditions are not better are not received much more enthusiastically, but can be justified more easily.

I hope you realize I am trying to explain circumstanses, not excuse them. As the people at the emergency clinic noted, things were too developed to change the inevitabile outcome. Your dog had been infected some months before, and, understandable, you had no cause to have him examined before signs developed. The kennel stay was an inconsequential event.

In the deserts of Southern Arizona and California there is a fungus causing Valley Fever. It is common, as fungal diseases go here in Phoenix. Animals and humans catch it, simply from the dust that occasionally fills the air. But we still find cases that are fairly well developed before we discover it. If suspicious, we draw a blood sample. If really suspicious, we do an x-ray in addition to the blood. And, when showing on x-ray, we will probably recommend starting treatment without a positive diagnosis. In your case, all this would have been to no avail.

If you wish to pursue this farther, the State Board of Veterinary Examiners keeps records of veterinarians in the state, and any complaints or suits against them.

But I do hope you consider whether anyone was really at fault in this truely unfortunate situation.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.

Please check just one ACCEPT box. Feedback is nice, too. Medicine comes in doses of Science, Art, and Miracle, given as needed.

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