Maggie and Valley Fever

This week has been really really tough. Maggie started coughing, and I immediately thought, CANCER. But, no it is Valley Fever.

Valley fever, also called coccidioidomycosis, is an infection caused by the fungus Coccidioides. The fungus is known to live in the soil in the southwestern United States and parts of Mexico and Central and South America. The fungus was also recently found in south-central Washington. https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/coccidioidomycosis/symptoms.html

Valley Fever is dangerous to both humans and animals. Time to bug out of southern AZ.

After five hours at the Southern AZ Emergency Clinic in Tucson, Maggie is on a regiment of medication: one pill everyday, two pills every 12 hours, a half a pill every day for ten days.

She isn’t coughing as much and has not lost her appetite. But, it was very scary and you all know how terribly attached I am to Maggie. I start to cry just writing this.

Maggie turned 10 in January. We think, because she is a rescue, we don’t know for sure. Found running along a rural road in southern Virginia, I found her on PetFinder.com. A non-shedding, non-barking, and the sweetest dog ever. Everyone who has ever met Maggie loves her, even my sister Becky. Her only bad habit is digging a nice hole to lay in, her digging days are over. I am sick I didn’t think about Valley Fever, and allowed her to dig.

A boy in a campground put his arms around her neck and asked, “how much will you take for this dog?” A woman yelled at us one day on our way out of PetSmart, “Your dog matches your trailer”. And, she does. I wish my hair was the salt and pepper grey, like Maggie and silver like Scout.

I know the day will come, but please let it be years away.