Matt’s Dog Rambo Undergoes Extensive Blood Work-Up

As pet owners, we all understand that taking on an animal is just like taking on a child. Though I may not have that Evan-style father-son bond, it's damn near close.

Rambo joined our family at just 6.5 weeks old and is now a whopping 11 months! His mother Daisy-Mae is quite proud of the young dog he has become!

In the last week or so, Rambo's health has declined, gotten worse and then better. It's rather perplexing. It all started last Sunday when he wasn't interested in eating his food, which if you know Rambo, is very strange. The pig eats close to 10 cups of food a day and doesn't have an ounce of fat on him. Then he started limping on his front right leg, had an arched back and had no interest in going outside. He also developed a fever as well.

Off to the vet we went! The wonderful staff at the Windsor Vet always enjoys seeing the Bo-binator, though they prefer that he's healthy when he comes in! After a full blood work-up and a negative for lyme, kennel cough and heart worm, we settled on antibiotics and pain meds. However, what we didn't notice until last night was that Rambo's calcium levels were through the roof. So high, in fact, that the chart couldn't even associate it with a number. His phosphorus levels were also elevated.

Fast forward to today (Wednesday), his symptoms are all gone, however, the sky-high calcium is just NOT normal. It could mean fungus, osteomyelitis or even cancer. So, he went back in for another blood test this morning to recheck his levels since there is always a chance the workup from yesterday was wrong. That's what we're all hoping for, that the test was just wrong, and that the big lug just had some weird infection that the antibiotics are kicking.

Thank you to all the listeners and facebook friends that have shown an outpouring of support for old blue! He and I alike are much appreciative. I'll keep you all posted as we should have his new results back by this afternoon.

Matty out!