Clifford

Clifford was abandoned in an Arizona desert, he had no water or food and no shelter or relief from the 100 degree heat. While alone in the desert he contracted Coccidioidomycosis, also known as Valley Fever. The condition develops when a dog with an unhealthy immune system inhales Coccidioses immitis (fungal) spores. The spores grow into spherules within the lungs. Early symptoms are lack energy , fever dry cough and decreased appetite. The spherules will grow until they burst releasing hundreds of endospores which can spread throughout the lungs and other parts of the body where the cycle will repeat itself. If the fungal spores reached other parts of the body the symptoms include painful swollen joints, persistent fever, weight loss, eye inflammation and blindness.

If caught in the early stages most dogs receive 6-12 months of anti fungal medications and recover others may need to be treated longer and others die even with treatment. Clifford has been on medication for 18 months and he has shown improvement.He is retested every few months and we are optimistic that he will recover and be adoptable.

In the last couple of weeks Clifford has had pains that make him cry out. He has seen three different veterinarians and the source of the pain can not be identified. He is now on pain medication.

Clifford is now three and living in Colorado with a foster to adopt family.

All of our rescues are spayed/neutered, up to date on shots and micro chipped before being placed. Completed application and reference/home check required. We do NOT ship or fly rescues as it’s too stressful on them. For additional info on any of the dogs in our program email info@ddbrescue.org