Boltz Update – 12 November 2020

As you may have read in the Center’s press release, we euthanized Boltz at approximately 7 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2020. His condition really declined in the last week, not only physically, but behaviorally.

 

While the lack of mobility and swaying of his back legs didn’t seem to elicit a pain response, he began to fall more frequently, began dragging his feet and he started to struggle to get up.  Initially, his mobility would noticeably decline when stress would seem to exacerbate the condition.  So we modified the wolf yard access, cancelled programs and did whatever possible to keep him calm. Surveillance video was reviewed each morning to assess how long he rested and his posture upon rising in the morning.

 

In the last few days, we saw a decline in mobility that was independent with any external activity in the wolf yard that may trigger stress.  Our biggest concern was that he would seriously injure himself falling as the colder weather and snow on Tuesday created icy conditions.  The other concern that is equally important as the physical was the psychological.  This condition seemed to cause confusion and panic when he didn’t have the strength to support himself.  His struggles were heartbreaking and we were helpless to find him any relief.

 

Boltz deserved better than to struggle and panic through this decline.


Since this condition was first identified on Aug. 23, he had a Thoraco-lumbar and brain MRI, CerebroSpinal Fluid cytology, CerebroSpinal Fluid infectious disease assessment, protein tests, cancer cell tests, and a genetic screen for Degenerative Myelopathy and all were inconclusive. We assessed and used possible treatments in the absence of a diagnosis in hopes that we would see some response or improvement.  Despite our Veterinarians dedicated efforts, we had no improvement.  When the decision was made to go forward with the USDA Animal Welfare Act Euthanasia protocol, we consulted with the University of Minnesota pathologist to discuss all sampling that could be performed at the necropsy and made sure we did everything possible to find an answer.  We also sent nerve and muscle biopsies to a specialist at the University of California San Diego Neuromuscular Lab.  Their reputation has been described as: “…an international reference center dedicated to the diagnosis and study of spontaneous neuromuscular diseases in companion animals. Specialized testing performed in this laboratory includes evaluation of muscle and peripheral nerve biopsies by state-of-the-art methods, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence staining and immunoblotting for the diagnosis of various muscular dystrophies and other congenital myopathies.”

 

As is standard protocol for any wolf mortality at the International Wolf Center, we did allow all the remaining ambassador wolves to see and smell the body through the fence.  This has been a practice recommended by our Veterinarian years ago to help the other wolves process the loss of a pack member.  All the wolves showed interest, but Grayson had the strongest whining and licking response, and had a significant amount of bark howling throughout the day.  Staff spent time with Grayson to help calm him and also transitioned Grizzer and Denali into the Pack Holding Area where Boltz had been residing. Boltz’s body will be cremated at Pets Remembered in the Twin Cities and his ashes will be spread with his pup mate Luna’s, who succumbed to cancer on Nov. 26, 2019.

 

I am grateful to all of the people who emailed me with comments, suggestions and their own pet’s medical histories.  I wish we had more time to try every procedure, but without any diagnosis, we couldn’t let him suffer without any treatment nor continue with invasive procedures that had limited outcome.  We hope to learn of his condition through the final necropsy and tissue samples provided.  Boltz’s legacy will be to help us learn all that we can about his condition and serve the ambassador wolves to the best of our ability for generations to come.

 

– Lori Schmidt

10 November 2020

Despite an extensive amount of diagnostic testing, research and treatments, Boltz continues to decline from his neurological condition.  On his Monday morning vet check, the wolf care staff discussed quality of life issues and efforts are being made to keep him comfortable and calm as the next steps of the USDA Animal Welfare act protocol are addressed.

Boltz Update 6 November 2020

Boltz completes his treatment for Myasthenia Gravis on Sunday.  Unfortunately, there were no improvements seen in a week of treatment.  We are preparing the USDA quality of life assessment that includes a behavioral assessment of alertness, pain response, social engagement, willingness to take food, tolerance of ambient temperatures, lack of tolerance for environmental changes and climatic stresses, ability to rest and impact of medical condition to behavioral stress.  To accomplish this, we rely on our surveillance cameras, monitoring when he goes into the den at night, when he first rises in the morning and if there are instances where he rises during the night.  At this time, all video shows Boltz getting a good night’s rest, often entering the den by 10 pm and not rising until after 6 am.  Rest is certainly a beneficial component for his situation.  Weather today is causing a challenge for all the wolves.  The temperatures are expected to be record breaking in the high 70’s.  This is causing Boltz and even Denali a bit more agitated with the heat.

Boltz Update 2 November 2020

After seeing Boltz get excited about a deer leg on Saturday night, I was hopeful that the new treatment for Myasthenia Gravis was helping. However, today he continues to have issues with back leg strength and mobility.

We will continue five more days of treatment and monitor his activity closely to assess improvement. The veterinarian has prepared me for the gravity of this condition. We have exhausted all test options for treatable conditions. All that is left are some invasive biopsies that wouldn’t yield any treatment options, only a diagnosis. The recommendation from the veterinarian is that we don’t need to put him through more painful invasive procedures while knowing there is no knowledge to be gained that would help him. Under permit from the USDA Animal Welfare Act, we are accountable for Boltz’s quality of life including what he endures during medical treatments. We will be assessing quality-of-life standards, both in his social and behavioral health, as well as his medical condition to determine what is best for Boltz

Boltz update 31 October 2020

Boltz tested NORMAL for the mutated gene associated with Degenerative Myelopathy, meaning he does not have the mutation commonly known to cause the development of DM.  Our vet decided to start treating him for Myasthenia Gravis, and if that is the cause, we would expect to see improvement in a week.  Based on the extensive tests that have already been completed, the one remaining diagnosis being discussed is degenerative peripheral neuropathy which can be diagnosed by a nerve or muscle biopsy, but has no treatment.  Since this condition has no treatment, our local vets and the neurological specialists concur that this more more invasive test would not be recommended at this time.

30 October 2020

Written by Wolf Care Assistant Leanne Martin:

Denali and Grizzer are managing quite well together. They currently share the Transition Area, East Side, and Back Habitat. Wolf care staff separate them in the morning during feeding, and once feeding is done they are put back together. One interesting observation that staff have noticed, is that Grizzer tends to follow Denali around the enclosures. Due to his age, Grizzer’s eyesight is not very good, and perhaps Grizzer is using Denali as a focal point  to move and navigate the enclosures better. Providing stimulus is important for older wolves, and Denali is certainly a great source of stimulus for Grizzer. They have not shown any aggression toward each other, and have even been able to stand near each other while getting meds through the fence.
With the arrival of snow, staff have added cover hay to various spots throughout the enclosures. Grizzer and Denali have been seen sleeping near each other in the Transition Area, an area that is completely covered by a roofline. This spot is one of the prime sleeping spots for the retiree’s due to the fact that it is completely protected from snow and ice.

29 October 2020 –

Written by Wolf Care Assistant – Leanne Martin

With the arrival of 3 plus inches of new snow this week, activity in the Exhibit Pack has increased. Axel was recently observed rolling over in front of Grayson, then springing up and inviting Grayson to chase him. Grayson accepted Axel’s invitation, and chased him around the enclosure with a T-1 tail. According to the IWC’s ethogram, a T-1 tail is one where the tail is sticking up in the air, indicating confidence.
Axel and Grayson are active 4-year olds, and have plenty of energy to burn. Since the wolves are more active during winter than they are in the hot summer months, they typically consume more food to account for the extra expended energy. Since Denali’s retirement, staff have noticed an increase in Grayson’s confidence during feedings. Staff typically feed deer on Saturday nights, and beaver carcasses on Wednesday afternoons. Grayson has been confident enough to claim food, and successfully defend it from Axel. 

Boltz Update 29 October 2020

The last log referenced some tests that run on the spinal fluid sample that was collected on October 15th.  All of the samples came back negative, except some back negative, except some bacteria was identified on the aerobic culture.  The lab reran the sample and determined that the aerobic culture were bacterial isolates due to contamination.
While we await the DNA test to see if Boltz carries a mutated gene associated with Degenerative Myelopathy (DM), we proactively started Boltz on a vitamin protocol recommended by the University of Florida study on Degenerative Myelopathy in dogs.  Our intention was to strengthen his immune system as we go through this diagnostic process. We are seeing the results in a very sleek, thick winter pelage, making him look extremely healthy.  Through this entire process, Boltz remains alert, has a great respiration rate, a good appetite and doesn’t appear to show a pain response.  All appearances show a healthy wolf, but he just has no strength in his back legs to support himself and is frequently falling.  We put him back on Prednisone, but his condition has been so challenging because he has good days and bad days and despite a significant amount of video correlations, it is hard to pin point if the prednisone is working.  We can honestly say that there is no significant improved response with prednisone, but it could be helping, so we are keeping him on a low dose right now.  We have ruled out all of the potential issues except DM and a remote chance that this is a disease called Myasthenia Gravis.  Some of the symptoms are voice changes (BZ lost his high pitch howl over 2 years ago with no definitive issues noted with an endoscope of his throat ) progressive weakness and exercise-related collapse.  These symptoms fit Boltz condition, especially the collapse with more movement.
Our vet just treated a dog for myasthenia and it was 100 percent improved with 4 days of treatment, and response to treatment was pretty much immediate.  To diagnose this condition, a blood draw is typically required.  We have chosen not to put him through the stress of the blood draw.  There was less risk in starting him on the treatment than to do an immobilization in these cooler, wet temperatures.  While we have reversible drugs that would be out of his system in an hour, there is also a risk of Boltz panicking during the injection and injuring himself in this vulnerable state.  We are also concerned about Boltz’s negative association with staff that need to care for him during this critical time.    So, today is the start of the treatment.  If it is  Myasthenia Gravis, we will have good news to report over the weekend.

26 October 2020

After Denali’s retirement on October 16th, Axel and Grayson needed some time to adjust to the change.   I made the decision to retire Denali based on his advanced age needing some time to recuperate from a paw wound.  On a younger animal, this would have been something that we would have treated within the pack, but an injury at this age increased his vulnerability.  Since Denali’s retirement was not a situation where the arctics forced him out of the pack, we saw more stress howling, especially from Grayson.  After about a week, the howling seemed to subside and Grayson has increased his displays of dominance, especially on the weekly deer carcass.  Based on our experience with Shadow and Malik, the last pair of arctic wolves we managed, we know the winter will certainly be active for these two.

22 October 2020 Updates

I don’t have anything to post on Boltz today, we are waiting for additional spinal tap test results to come in (if you recall, there were 3 tests). So, far everything has been negative and bloodwork is all in normal range. I have copied one of the reports here to see all the things that have been ruled out in this challenging time trying to get a diagnosis.  The Vet put him back on prednisone as his condition was declining since we weaned him off of the prednisone to do the spinal tap. Now, we are closely monitoring him by camera and visual checks to assess if prednisone is working. Staff are diligent in reducing any distractions in the wolf yard that might impact his ability to comfortably rest.   I hope to have more answers by the Monday Working for Wolves webinar at 5 pm Central time.  There are still spots available for this webinar if you would like to register check our our Programs – Webinar tab on the website at www.wolf.org.