“Kinsley” the Pug Puppy

KINSLEY THE PUG PUPPY!

Kinsley came to see us at Head to Tail Veterinary Hospital at the end of June this year. Her owners brought her in because they noticed that she had a rash on her stomach and she smelled not quite right. Dr. Catherine Stuart noticed that Kinsley’s had “alopecia”; the medical word that describes hair loss. Kinsley had alopecia on her legs, head, abdomen and around her eyes. She also had “hyperpigmentation”; which means that some parts of Kinsley’s skin were darker than others due to inflammation.

 Dr. Stuart and the team at Head to Tail Veterinary Hospital took samples from these areas using a skin scraping method and swabbing with a cotton swab. We looked at the samples under the microscope and saw demodex, bacteria and yeast. Demodex is a type of parasite that lives in the layers of the skin. Puppies are the usual culprits to get demodex. The type of bacteria Kinsley had was “cocci”; they look like small circles that appear dark purple after we stain the slide. Yeast is a type of fungus that likes to grow in warm places with lots of moisture – the folds in a pug’s nose are unfortunately perfect! Under the microscope yeast is also purple after it’s stained and it’s shaped like little peanuts in the shell.

Kinsley was put on an oral antibiotic to clear up the bacteria infection and an anti-parasitic medication to kill the demodex. She will also have to have baths with a special shampoo to help her skin get better as soon as possible. This little girl will have to come back for a couple of more visits to take more samples and see how her skin is improving. Hopefully Kinsley will be back to her normal puppy self in about two months. Get better soon Kinsley!