At 8 months, Tyson began to develop cysts in his paws, itchy ears and skin spots with patches of hair missing. Like any new pet owner, we were off to the vet to try to get some answers. We were prescribed steroids and that did the trick, but as you might guess, once you go off the steroids, the issues return. Back to the vet we go. For the next 8 years, it seemed like we were at the vet’s office every 2-3 weeks. Tyson had rounds of oral, topical and powdered steroids, antibiotics, we tried every food the vet recommended and tried Atopica and Apoquel. It was even suggested we do a skin scraping and allergy serums. We tried all antibiotics until Tyson’s body became immune to it and the issues persisted. Finally, we went to a veterinarian who was a highly-recommended pet dermatologist. We did food trials along with heavy-duty antibiotics to find out he’s allergic to grass. WHAT?!

During the summer of 2017, Tyson won an election to become the honorary Mayor of our hometown, Romeo, MI, during our annual Peach Festival. Even with his new notoriety, the Mayor’s issues were beginning to snowball. He developed small, hard spots on his back, a hot spot near his ear had developed, his neck was raw and bloody and his fur started to fall off. Back on steroids we go, starting at 20MG and weaning down until 5MG, as suggested by our vet. We accepted this as the best long-term solution for Tyson. We were never told about potential side effects, with the exception of watching his liver and kidney levels. Not long after, Tyson was diagnosed with Calcinosis Cutis; prednisone poisoning from being given too many steroids.