Part 5: What Success Looks Like
After everything you've read so far, you might expect this story to end with us finally finding the perfect treatment.
It doesn't. But it does end with a happy dog living a happy life.
Peaches still has allergies. She still needs medication. She receives cyclosporine every day and Cytopoint when she needs it. She’s still on a special diet. She still has flare-ups from time to time, and we still make periodic adjustments to her plan.
In fact, as we were writing this series, Peaches recently came in for a mild ear flare. What’s different now is that it was actually a mild flare. We were able to treat it with a single easy to use medication that didn’t cut it for her ear infections two years ago. And a week after treatment, her ears already looked almost back to normal.
That may not sound like much, but for Peaches it's a reminder of just how far she's come.
When we first met her, she was dealing with chronic ear disease, recurrent skin infections, severe itching, and years of inflammation that had already changed the appearance of her ear canals. She was uncomfortable, and she was scared.
Today, her ears look normal. Her skin is healthy. Her treatments are helping her live a normal life.
That's what success looks like in a dog with allergies like Peaches. Success isn't always curing a disease. Sometimes success is taking a dog whose life revolves around itching, infections, fear, and discomfort and helping them get back to being a dog.
Peaches still has her moments. But today she can come into the clinic and get the care she needs. She can handle situations that once would have been overwhelming.
Looking back through Peaches' record, it's tempting to focus on the medications, the tests, or the treatment plans. But that's not really what her story is about.
Her story is about persistence. A dog who kept trying. An owner who kept working towards answers. A trainer who helped build confidence. And a treatment plan that kept evolving until we found what worked.
Peaches' story reminds us of something we see with many chronic medical conditions:
Progress isn't always fast. It isn't always straightforward. Sometimes it takes years. But small improvements add up. Eventually those small victories become something much bigger.
They become a happy dog living a healthy life.
And that's exactly what happened to Peaches.
About the Author: Dr. Denise Melton is the owner and veterinarian at Tamberly Animal Hospital in Milton, GA. Learn more about Dr. Melton here.
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