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Need advice. AKR and tick borne disease

I took my dog Sadie in to the vet a week ago(9/21).  The night before I took her in she was limping and refusing to use her right hind leg.  Which progressed in to her not using both back legs and then not walking (within 12 hours). They performed a snap test which came back positive. They evaluated her and said it's highly likely it was ehrlichia because of her blood work and she also had ocular hemorrhaging (mainly in her iris's).  Her platelets and RBC were low at the time. She also had a temp of 103.  Based on this, they started her on doxycycline 100mg twice a day.  She vomited when I gave her the first dose, as she was refusing food.  She kept the next dose down, but vomited again with the third dose.  We started syringe feeding her food and water at this point. We were carrying her outside to urinate, which she wasn't having problems with. No increase or decrease.  She was fine for the 4th dose, but vomited with the 5th. She kept down 6 and 7, but puked after 8 and 9.  However, she was walking again. drinking water independently. We were still syringe feeding her though. We were also rotating ice packs to keep her cool.  My vet had called a few days after we had started the doxy.  I told her Sadie was vomiting usually within an hour of me giving the doxycycline regardless of food. She asked if Sadie had had any diarrhea, which was only once after the first two doses of doxy.   I also told her I thought Sadie was going blind, as she had been running in to things like our dog crate, a kitchen chair.  It seems that she could see general shapes, but no fine details.  She told me to continue with the doxy until our checkup Tuesday (9/27).  Sadie had a BM that evening, which was really soft, but not diarrhea.

At this check up, they stated she seemed to be doing better, but we're concerned about the vomiting.  She had a lot of her pep and attitude back.  She still wasn't herself and fatigued easy.  They ran blood work again. Her RBCs were lower than previous check, as well as her platelets.  However. Her reticulocytes were up meaning her body was trying to reproduce more.  They also decided to run a kidney panel.  Her BUN and Creatinine were high (I'm not sure on exact numbers but I believe BUN was around 114 and Creatinine was 6 or 7?) Her temp was back down to 99. At this point, she referred us to the university to provide more critical care.  

That ordeal was enough for any pet owner.  One regular vet started with us, then a student, then another student... Asking the same questions and doing the same evaluations.  I was frustrated.  She was clearly terrified and did not want to be there and they were dragging it out.  The last student came back and stated she was confused because the snap test showed negative for Ehrlichia, but positive for Lyme's.  She was leaning towards Lyme's nephrosis. And basically told me they might be able to give her a couple months with hospitalizing her for a few days.  I agreed to overnight admission so a blood transfusion could be done, as well as IV fluids and medications.  They stated they would run urinalysis which would provide more information.  

They called me this morning.  According to the student, she was "peppy and bright" when they took her out this morning.  She responded well to the blood transfusion and her PCV was up to 28 and holding steady.  I was told the doctor would call me after rounds.  When speaking with the doctor, she didn't really seem to have any answers.  She stated that the anemia was either due to a GI ulcer or hemolysis and based on findings it was likely hemolysis.  Her body went in to overdrive trying to get rid of the infection.  However, she stated that normally symptoms are related.  If her platelets were low and her kidney function was down, that's make sense.  However, with the hemolytic anemia, they're likely unrelated.  Her BP was elevated, but was responding to medicine. Her urinalysis came back positive for proteins, which was making her lean towards a poor prognosis.   She also stated that they'd recheck her kidney levels today and we'd go from there.  She stated that with treatment, we could probably give her a few months if we're lucky.  I'm devastated.

I'm in shock.  In one week, my healthy active dog is now apparently dying. And I have to decide if I want to treat, take her home or euthanize her.  I've researched and researched.  Ehrlichia is known to induce hemolytic anemia.  It's also known to cause kidney damage, as cells become trapped and the body is in over drive.  Im just seeing conflicting information on what the prognosis is.  Most of the research is favorable with supportive care.  I understand she'll never be 100% again.  My primary vet also seemed a little more hopeful than the university vet.  She said it was serious, but  she never indicated I'd be putting my dog down.   I don't want to give up on her when there's something I could have done.  I don't want her to suffer, but she's been fighting tooth and nail to even get where she's at.  I feel awful.  Did the doxy do kidney damage? Was it the infection? Was it something I did force-feeding her?
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974371 tn?1424653129
My daughter's dog was treated for months for, I believe, the same thing.  He was treated with Doxy, Pred, Omeprazole, Cyclosporine, Imidocarb injections.  Regular blood work, adjusting the Pred.  He is doing fantastic now but was told he could relapse.  He was treated for months and it cost a lot.  You might run this past your Vet.  She was going to a Vet in Valley Center or Escindido, Ca. Dr. Hofler.
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We're way out here in Wisconsin. We have her another night in the hospital to see how she does. Right now she's on Prednisone because it's definitely hemolytic anemia. She also told us that could relapse or it may not.  We're waiting to hear how she is today.  She's still not eating as of last night so they added another antiemetic medication.
This definitely hasn't been cheap, but if she's putting up a fight it's hard to take that away
Hope she can rally.  I just put that info for you to maybe show the Vets there.  It was quite a regime they followed for months.  
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Creatinine yesterday was 4.5, today it is 3.5
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Avatar universal
I forgot to add that she is only 3 1/2
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