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Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / December 2006Acute anemia
Hello all Does anyone here have any ideas what we might be facing here? My dog - a 12 y.o. shepherd/Doberman/husky cross - is not doing too well, and he's not doing it at a very bad time for me financially. I spent what I had ($350.00) for blood tests and I.V. fluids. He's very anemic (his gums are practically white), but only intermittently. It seems any kind of stress or excitement sets him off, and he'll just collapse, unable to get up for hours - even to urinate (which I'm sure he's no happier about doing than we are having to clean up). When I took him to the vet, he was severely dehydrated and the vet couldn't get a urine sample, possibly because he'd been too weak to drink water. His urine *is* discoloured, though. After a few hours he'll start to recover and if he makes it long enough before his next episode, he's more or less back to normal. Even his gums get some colour back. The blood test showed his rbc count was regenerative. I can't remember what else he was tested for, but the vet wanted to do more tests, this time looking for toxins, I believe (there was a bit of a language barrier and I was pretty worried about my dog at the time). Unfortunately, I'm out of money and can't afford any more tests. Other than a touch of arthritis in his shoulder, which affects him only occasionally, he's been very healthy throughout his life. His diet hasn't changed, his stool looks normal, and and we're not aware of any injuries he may have sustained. Any ideas? Scott Sorry about your tough situation. Unfortunately, to know what's wrong will take some cash. My first thought, with what you see as an intermittent anemia, is a splenic tumor, which can bleed into the abdomen and if the dog's lucky, will stop bleeding on its own. With time the red blood cells will be produced to replace what was lost. The other thought I have is heart disease, possibly an arrhythmia of some type. This can cause fainting/weakness with pale gums that the dog, if lucky, can recover from and be normal between episodes. There are many other potential possibilities, but I'm just giving you numbers 1 and 2 on my list. Good luck, Sandy, DVM > Hello all > [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > some colour back. > [snip] > Sorry about your tough situation. Unfortunately, to know what's wrong > will take some cash. My first thought, with what you see as an [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Sandy, DVM Thanks, Sandy. Do you think hookworms might be a possibility? Can they cause intermittent weakness? Scott >> Sorry about your tough situation. Unfortunately, to know what's >> wrong will take some cash. My first thought, with what you see as an [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Scott Not likely, Scott. Hooks can cause anemia, but if we see it it's in puppies. Adults have a lot more blood for the hooks to suck out before they're clinically anemic. Sandy, DVM > Not likely, Scott. Hooks can cause anemia, but if we see it it's in > puppies. Adults have a lot more blood for the hooks to suck out before > they're clinically anemic. .........is tick disease a possibility - like Ehrlichia? buglady take out the dog before replying > >> Not likely, Scott. Hooks can cause anemia, but if we see it it's in [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > buglady While there are many, many potential causes for anemia in dogs, the original poster said his dog was having acute episodes of "anemia" with white gums and collapse, but would be fine a few minutes later. Absolutely, Ehrlichia is a potential cause for anemia in dogs, but the "acute" part of the description makes it not fit well into the equation. Good thought, buglady. Sandy, DVM >> >>> Not likely, Scott. Hooks can cause anemia, but if we see it it's in [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Sandy, DVM Thanks for your help. It looks like it may not be so acute after all. He's not recovering anymore. The vet mentioned Immune mediated something or other, so I looked it up and IMHA seems to fit the bill. We're all pretty devastated, but I think it may be time to end his suffering. He can't eat anymore and his breathing is shallow and rapid. It seems like he's in pain. We had a big, unusual dump of snow here and he can't get outside, so I'm sure that's not helping (unfortunately, shoveling for me is impossible - I have my own medical problems). I was starting to think it might be an infection of some kind because his brother (from the same litter) doesn't seem too healthy, either. But in his case it's probably just age. His appetite is good and his gums aren't as pale, although his urine is quite bright yellow and he's lost a lot of weight over the past year. Time for a check-up for him, too. It's really bad timing for this big black cloud to roll in. Scott IMHA seems to fit the bill. We're all > pretty devastated, but I think it may be time to end his suffering. ..........I'm so sorry. buglady take out the dog before replying > ..........I'm so sorry. > > buglady Thanks. As of today, Jake is no more. R.I.P., my friend. http://static.flickr.com/141/318070158_770a62d055.jpg?v=0 Scott |
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