8/28/12 - Cletus had his 2nd acupuncture treatment on Tuesday the 21st but it did not take as well as his 1st treatment for some reason. After about 12 days of getting better and better and about 2 days prior to his 2nd treatment, Cletus began to show some regression signs. He was becomming a little weak when walking and began to fall sometimes. We were hoping that the acupuncture treatment would correct this.
It has been a week since his 2nd treatment and Cletus has continued to get worse. Although he is happy (tail wagging), Cletus has been falling more and more due to his hip dysplasia and torn ACL.
I took him into the vet today and due to being on steroids, he cannot go on the normal treatment for hip dysplasia because it would react with his anti-seizure medication and cause internal bleeding. Cletus also does not have the option of surgery.
We will be giving Cletus fish oil and some other natural type holistic treats to try to counteract his pain and discomfort. In addition, we are looking for a physical therapist to work with Cletus.
It is sad to say but we are running out of money. With all of his treatments and trips to the emergency room, we have spent over $9,000 this year alone on Cletus. The acupuncturist, which was supposed to be free, turned out not to be free but instead costs $145 every 2 weeks and who knows how much physical therapy will cost. Cletus is on special dietary food and takes up to 9 different medications depending on the day. He is also now taking 2 different and very expensive herbal suppliments per his acupuncturist. Today we added fish oil and the holistic treats (which the vet gave for free and we greatly appreciate) but next time will not be free. We want to do what is best for Cletus but it is putting us in the poor house. What do we do? The answer is not to put him down because we can save him, we just need more money to give him the help he needs.
Please help us by contacting Ellen through FB and tweet through the avenue below...
Submit your story to Ellen to potentially be on her show and have her help "change your life": http://ellen.warnerbros.com/show/respond/?PlugID=432
Tweet her: http://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/
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 up to 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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