After having dogs for my entire life, of over fifty years, I’ve noticed a weird trend. Most of my dogs have become ill from October through December. Here’s the list:
· Chipper (Cocker spaniel) when I was a kid – was put down in December after a long illness involving his liver (1971).
· Penny (mixed breed Border collie / lab) – developed epilepsy in the fall of 1991.
· Kaylee (Springer spaniel) started limping after a canoe-camping trip after Thanksgiving in 2000. It took several months to diagnosis it accurately, but it was the first sign of bone cancer, an osteosarcoma in her back leg, resulting in amputation.
· Kaylee became wobbly on her one leg and required a wheel chair in October 2001.
· Kaylee became paralyzed less than a week after Thanksgiving 2002.
· Kaylee died a few days after Thanksgiving in 2003.
· Cassie (Springer spaniel) developed Coonhound paralysis on her third birthday at the end of October 2006, leaving her paralyzed for a week.
· Cassie developed leukemia (CLL) during a routine physical exam in November 2011.
· Buffy (Cocker spaniel) developed salivary gland disease in May, but it became much worse in October of this year, requiring expensive surgery.
Quite a trend I’d say. Illnesses outside of this fall period have been very rare. An internet search didn’t reveal any of these trends in dogs or people, except for Seasonal Canine Illness (SCI) which occurs from mites picked up during a walk in the woods during the fall – but in England– not Chicago. http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/sickness-and-diarrhoea/seasonal-canine-illness-sci/ . Fortunately, I have not had this problem with my dogs.
Has anyone else noticed a similar trend?
