6/8/12 - Cletus' bloodwork pertaining to his levels of Potassium Bromide and Phenobarbital are within normal range. We were actually hoping that one or both of these levels would be low to account for his recent seizure activity. We are bringing Cletus in tomorrow for another set of tests (bloodwork/urinalysis) to be run as a first step to try to come up for a reason for his very weak hindside. Cletus has had this weakness since going on his medications and we thought that the weakness would go away with time but unfortunately it has been getting worse. He has a lot of trouble getting up, frequently is not able to get up if he is not on carpet, and often falls or his back legs slip out from under him. He has no strength at all in his back legs. The past few weeks, this weakness has been noticeably worse.
Next week Cletus will be going back into the University for a re-check and they may raise his Prednisone dosage. Our main concern at this time is the weakness. He is very happy, does not act like he is in any pain at all, and constantly wants to play, but we hate that he has so much trouble with his legs/hips. A two year old puppy should not have to deal with all of this.
As far as Cletus' doctors are aware of, Cletus has the only known reported case of open lipped schizencephaly in a canine. The key word here is reported. Most vets are not aware that schizencephaly exists or they are not aware that this condition is possible in an animal. Cletus is living proof of this possibility.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are 78.2 million dogs in the U.S. (http://www.humanesociety.org/). Some sites state that schizencephaly affect 1.54 per 100,000 people. According to rightdiagnosis.com, schizencephaly affects 1 in 2719 people or 0.04% of the population (http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/lists/preval.htm). The fact is that no one is sure how many people schizencephaly truly affects. If we assume these same statistics in dogs, it equates to somewhere between 1,150 and 31,280 dogs out there with schizencephaly in the U.S. alone.
Please help me to get the word out about Cletus and schizencephaly. Contact your local news organization about Cletus or have your local news organization contact me directly at dsilber27@hotmail.com
Thank you for your support,
Doug & Cletus
I am Douglas Silber and I was the owner of Cletus, a bloodhound who is reported to be the 1st dog with open lipped schizencephaly (OLS). Even though he has the only reported case of OLS in a dog, he can't be the only one with the condition. This blog began with the purpose of following his life and to help educate about OLS in an animal. Cletus may no longer be by my side but I will continue to push for schizencephaly education and awareness... in the name and memory of Cletus the Bloodhound.
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