Peggy Sue Pugster

Yey! Peggy Sue can open her mouth!

Peggy waiting with Papa for her turn to see the Dr.

Peggy and her Dr. Jennifer De Berry at Veterinary Specialty Hospital

Awwww! Poor Peggy Sue has been very sick. She has a disease called masticatory myositis, an immune disease that affects the facial muscles used for opening and closing the mouth. She has been on meds for about 2 months now and she can finally get her mouth open enough to chew and pant, etc., but when she tries to yawn, she still can't follow through. Her little cheek bones are more pronounced because the muscles behind them have atrophied. We went in for a recheck today, had some blood work done, and we're waiting to hear if she is handling the meds ok, insofar as her liver and kidneys are concerned. She'll probably be on these meds for a long time, if not forever.

I am so grateful to the Doctors at Veterinary Specialty Hospital for correctly diagnosing Peggy's problem immediately. And, thankfully, once they determined what they thought it was, there was a blood test that verified it. Unfortunately Peggy's titer for this disease was off the charts. The good thing is that because of that, they know what and how to treat her so that she can eat and be comfortable.