Lost our 1 yr 3 month old White Boxer

[LifeIsGood]

We recently lost our GracieGrace. She was an all white boxer with a black nose and black spots on her skin, visible through her coat. The doctors thought she had leptospirosis but the tests came back negative after she passed. It took a week. We threw up some unidentified toy 4 days before she passed. We are clueless why she died. We think it was either the toy was toxic or contracted some fungal infection that attacked her organs. The toy may have been buried in our yard from the previous owners, but who knows.

We are very distraught and are seriously considering getting another boxer. We have a 2.5 yr old flashy fawn who misses her terribly.

My wife is just concerned about the white's immune system and life span. A few people have heard that all white's do not live long and drop dead. Gracie did have allergies but she outgrew them after 6 months. She did get a bought of ring worm and the last 4 months of her life had mange which she was treated for.

I would love to hear your thoughts so my wife and I can have a positive outlook on getting another all white or should he steer clear.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

M

 

[Lola's mum]

From what I've learned on here whites are just as hardy as brindles or fawns and no more likely to have a shorter life either. The only issue with whites (and it is not an issue to many people) is that some are deaf.
So sorry for your loss of your baby :(

 

[Austin's Mom]

Other than the deafness I haven't heard of any other health issues whites have that other color boxers boxers don't. I'm sorry about your baby, good luck with your decision.

 

[gary766]

Sorry to hear about your baby. Astro is white and besides his being deaf he has no other problems.(unless being a stinker is a problem) He is 4 1/2 years old now.

 

[Donna1969]

There is no corrolation between life span and health in regards to a white boxer vs colored ones. The only thing that occurs more in the whites is deafness.

My Blizzy was white and had no health problems nor deafness. She passed from lymphoma. But many others here on the board have lost their brindle or fawn to lymphoma. With the exception of the lymphoma she had zero health problems. She lived to be 8 yrs old (I've read a variety of life spans ranging from 7-9 & 8-10, so she basically fell almost in the middle of the two)

My handsome boy Carson is white, his health is perfect and he is hearing.

 

[Louise501]

That's so sad, I'm sorry. I don't think whites are any more likely to succumb to illness than any other coloured boxer.

 

[Murp.mm]

Ah, I 'm so sad to hear about your baby. Not knowing what caused her death makes it that much harder for you. You mentioned that your other boxer misses her. I watched Dog Whisperer the other night and he was talking about when people lose their dogs and how the other dogs in the household react. Apparenty, dogs do grieve just like us humans and we have to let them grieve before getting another dog. This lady waited about a month before getting another dog. Wish there was something I could say or do to make you feel better. Rest in sweet peace pretty girl.

 

[ELubas]

Just wanted to say how sorry I am for your loss. I lost my sweet (fawn) girl at a little over three years and it is so, so sad to see them go before thier time. Like ohers here have said, I know of no icreased risk with whites. I have only heard of the deafness, which I believe effects about 25% of them . Again, so very sorry you lost your sweet pup so young :(

 

[LifeIsGood]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to still do some research.

Your right, not knowing what caused her illness really makes it much harder. There's no closure.

We brought her to the best facility here on Long Island and they thought that it was Leptospirosis. It made sense since she was at everything. But when the tests came back negative we were even more disheartened.

The harder part was that since Lepto is contagious to humans, after she died, we had to bleach down our hour: couches, new 'real' wood floor, rugs, bedding, etc. We have a 7 month old daughter and we were worrying about her too. The vets at the facility said should all get our blood tested. So My wife, daughter and I had our blood testes, which too a week for the results, that came out negative. We also had to put out 2.5 yr flashy fawn on antibiotics for 1 month, just in case he was exposed by stepping in her urine, etc.

Needless to say we were all scared. The even sadder part was with all the clearing, it was like eradicating her presence. We were about to throw all the toys she played with away, and she played with everyone in the box we have every day, until the tests came out negative. The sad thing is that we have all the toys but our flashy fawn will not even take one of their old toys out. He only plays with new bones and toys people have given to us.

So again, you can see how cautious we are being in getting another all white. Reading everyones responses and that no one has had a similar health issue is encouraging.

Many thanks!

FYI, Gracie's pict is now my Avitar.

 

[Pearlywhirly]

I am very sorry for your loss. I had a cat pass suddenly for no apparent reason and it's hard to deal with still and it was seven years ago. I can't advise you on your next dog, when it's right you will know but I don't think you should exclude whites.