pigmentation

Question
HELLO IM IN DIER NEED OF HELP. I HAVE A MALAMUTE BITCH WHO WAS BITTEN ON THE NOSE ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND SINCE HAS LOST FULL PIGMENT ON HER NOSE LIPS AND EYES. SHE SEEMS TO BE OK BUT I CANT STOP WONDERING AND WORRYING WHAT IT MAY BE. DO YOU HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE ON THIS? AND IS IT CURABLE? THANKYOU FRAN

Answer
Has she been losing the pigment for a whole year? Has she not been to the vet's in a year for her vaccinations and heartworm prevention?

I really don't think a bite to the nose will cause a loss of pigment to the eyes, lips and nose. She might have lost some around the bite area but after a year it's a moot point.

Loss of pigmentation can be from many things such as auto-immune diseases, breed predilection etc. Sometimes they get the same thing people have called vitiligo where they lose pigment in patches all over. It is not fatal, but a flaw in the skin code for melanin production.

Here is what the Merck Veterinary Manual says about it:

"Pigmentary abnormalities may be acquired, and some of these may be hereditary or familial as in vitiligo. As a familial disease, vitiligo is best recognized in Arabian horses (Arabian fading syndrome, pinky syndrome); it may also be familial in cattle (Holstein-Friesian), Siamese cats, and in some breeds of dogs (Belgian Tervuren, Rottweiler).Affected animals develop somewhat symmetric macular depigmentation of the skin that occasionally also affects the hair coat and claws or hooves. The onset is usually in young adulthood. Most lesions are on the face, especially the muzzle or planum nasale or around the eyes. Augmentation may wax and wane. Complete remission may occur but is rare. There is no accompanying systemic or cutaneous pathology. No treatment is available; treatments used in people with vitiligo are unlikely to provide significant cosmetic results in animals. "

If you are concerned I would get her in for her check up and vaccs and have the vet look it over and ask him what it is. I don't think it's an emergency after one year so don't rush her in. But she needs to be seen anyway.