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My son's beagle is very sick...need any advise! 1 Attachment(s) Okay...my son has a 5 yr old female Beagle who's not spayed. She just finished a heat and began showing odd symptoms. Lack of Appetite X 4-5 days Increased Lethargy Clear (but smelly) Vaginal Discharge Pale Gums Today, we took her to the Vet and after running preliminary blood tests, her HCT was 11.2! A smear of her vaginal discharge appeared normal and her uterus does not feel abnormal. The Vet is puzzled because he doesn't see other symptoms that could be associated with a reason for her to be in such bad shape. Something my son & I are wondering about is if Sammy's recent interest in eating "DIRT" is a clue. I know the Vet is leaning towards a lymphoma of some sorts but, I was just wondering what anyone else thinks. Sammy has been in excellent health and became very sick in a short amount of time. I will try to attach her lab results but, just in case it doesn't work...here are her (abnormal) lab results: RBC 1.82 HCT 11.2 HGB 5.9 MCH 32.46 WBC 17.33 NEU 14.56 EOS 0.08 BASO 0.10 Thank you for any thoughts or suggestions that you might have for us! |
bump....and I hope someone can help! |
pale gums can be a sign of intestinal parasites blood loss due to something even fleas any infection fever can cause loss of appetite smelly discharge could be and infected uterus but you said it "felt" normal??? Hematocrit (HCT) or Packed Cell Volume (PCV) - Provides information on the amount of red blood cells (RBC) present in the blood. Decreased levels means anemia from hemorrhage, parasites, nutritional deficiencies or chronic disease process, such as liver disease, cancer, etc. . Increased levels are often seen in dehydration. |
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Please call your vet immediately and ask if they specifically checked for "pyometra". It often appears a few weeks after a heat cycle - can be an open or closed pyometra - and you list almost ALL the symptoms. Pyometra is an infection in the uterus and in most cases the female needs an emergency spay. Five is a little young for this to happen......but I just had it happen to my 4 1/2 year old silky about 60 days ago and she had an emergency spay and is doing well now. |
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He's at a loss due to the lack of other significant indicators that you might see with levels like this. Other things that he was thinking of was if Sammy has ingested rat poison, rodents, or metal (Zinc) of any type. The only thing that crossed our minds was the eating of the "dirt" and also that Sammy is a "poop-eater" (ick!) and that possibly she has some kind of parasite. Our dogs do not have access to any wilderness areas and for the most part are indoor doggies & have access to a well manicured back yard. The Vet is sending out her blood for a further work up and was pretty blunt about suggesting that we may be looking at a diagnosis of a rare lymphoma. :( He also said that they didn't want to start an IV just yet because they do not want to dilute her blood. They will start her on a course of doxycycline & a steroid and if necessary she may need a blood transfusion. |
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Should I request any different exam? Do they do a vaginal? Xray? Help! :confused: |
shes still at the vet right? the infected uterus will give a yellow puss discharge from vagina not clear and uterus would be swollen and hard . eating dirt sign of missing minerals |
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Her vaginal discharge although it was odorous, it was "clear". The Vet said her uterus felt normal. I thought the same thing about the dirt eating (Pica) but, my son also read that parasites can also be in the dirt an in turn cause anemia when they enter the blood. |
Something else that was different in Sammy's usual routine was that a few weeks ago her appetite was not it's normal...she wasn't interested in her food without encouragement. So, my son began adding carrots & broccoli to her kibbles...the carrots are the kind that come peeled in the little snack size bags & the broccoli is frozen (thawed). I had just read somewhere here in the Nutrition section about those carrots being treated with Chlorine which is a carcinogen. :confused: |
1 Attachment(s) I know this isn't pertinent...but, I just had to post a picture of Sammy with two of my Yorkies (Abby & Bella) about a year ago. She is the sweetest Beagle with the most velvety soft ears that you have ever felt, too. I am just sick to see her "the pack leader" not even lift her head when my Yorkie girls go into my son's room to wake them in the morning. Usually...Sammy will let out a howl for each of them and sniff them to pieces to make sure they are part of her company before permitting them access to her room...lol! |
aww I hope Sammy gets better soon and what a cute little pack you have!! |
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Here is what we saw...... Thursday night - ate fine, but not her playful self, noticed clear discharge, wondered if she might be going back into heat, noticed her drinking more water Friday - she woke up and could not get enough water, laying around more than normal, discharge still clear but increasing in volume, continuing the excessive thurst, ate fine again that evening, noticing her peeing very frequently and slightly bloated - opted for a visit to the emergency vet that evening to have her checked for a urinary infection - the vet could not get any urine to test, but expressed immediate concern over the amount of discharge and discussed pyometra with us - we opted for antiobiotics and would bring her back in the morning to test for a urinary track infection. Saturday morning - she woke up a BIG mess, her discharge had increased terribly overnight and turned yellow/greenish in color, tummy was bloated and she had no energy - so we took her back to the emergency vet (Friday night and Saturday morning were both spent researching pyometra, so we were better informed as we had not heard of it before)........the vet discussed options with us but felt without a doubt it was pyometra.....after much discussion with our co-owner and him with his vet, we agreed to the emergency spay - only if they agreed to check her carefully once they had her in surgery to verfify - and they did use a needle to pull some of the fluid from her uterus before proceeding - and found her uterus was 4 times normal size.) I hope and pray this is NOT what is going on with your son's beagle.....and the vets can find the real problem soon! |
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The Vet was going to do an Xray or Ultrasound to double check for the Pyometra even tho' her vaginal discharge was clear earlier today. He had done a swab of her discharge and it did not show signs of infection (pus) so, that was one reason he was veering away from Pyometra. At this point, I kind of wish that is what we were looking for...seems the prognosis would be a better one. |
Sammy UPDATE... Well, we heard from the Vet who's treating Sammy and right now he's leaning very much towards either IMHA (Immune-mediated Hemolytic Anemia) or a Lymphoma. We should have a answer tomorrow morning after more results come back in. For now, they have ruled out Pyometra, GI ulcers & anything Toxic. Will update tomorrow as I hear anything. Thank you for those who've shared with me today! Hugs to all of you!:love: |
feel better sweet sammy.. ((hugs)) Thanks for the update, please update again. |
Hello, I hope Sammy is doing better. I had a 2 year old Jack Russell Terrier that died from Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia. She began to develop bursing on her belly and red spots in her ears then her gums began to bleed very badly. She had blood transfusions etc. but it did not help. I had to drive her to Texas A&M Vet hospital to try and save her life. They were going to do a bone marrow transplant but she didn't make it. Hopefully Sammy gets a different diagnosis. Good Luck. |
I had a pit bull witht he auto immune disorder. She had a blood transfusion (actually 2) and she was much better. She lived for 5 years after that with a restricted diet and very little meds. Don't give up! |
One of our Beagles had exploratory surgery and was found to have untreatable/terminal cancer. Was fine two days before he stopped eating. had even won a field trial the weekend before. |
Thank you for all your kind words... This is where we are today...the Vet consulted with two other Specialists who examined Sammy's blood results and came to the same diagnosis...Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia. For those who are interested, here is a link that explains it nicely: Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia Yesterday, her WBC's started climbing which led the Vet to suspect now it's attacking her bone marrow. Another Specialist had one last hold out and that was for titers to come back in a couple days to reveal if this could be from a tick bite. The only thing that makes me think that it's not this is that we do not live in a rural area or take our dogs out to anything more than a walk in the neighborhood on concrete...but, believe me...I'd be thrilled if this was a tick causing this havoc since that can be corrected. In the mean time, she's already on the medication needed to treat this. She also had some vomitting yesterday and they put her on an IV since she is weak and hasn't eaten in 4 days. :( We'll be going by during the Vet office's lunch hour to visit with Sammy and maybe find out anymore and then, I'll update later... |
Just wanted to let you know about those carrots. They are FULL of chlorine. I don't know if any one else has had a problem with them but I have. They caused severe vomiting and diarrhea in 2 of my dogs.This happened several years ago , I thought they were allergic so I stopped giving them. Then I heard about the chlorine, I was so angry. Why does the FDA allow this? Hope your baby will be ok. |
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I did hear of the peeled baby carrots which are in those handy bags...treated with chlorine...a very nice "carcinogen" which makes me angry as hell, too! :mad: I'm not sure if this could be the root of Miss Sammy's problem but, who really knows:confused: It's things like this that make the idea of a garden start sounding like a better idea every day. :rolleyes: |
Sammy UPDATE... Yesterday afternoon we went to visit Sammy & bring her snuggle bed & a stuffed toy to keep her comfy & to remind her of home. She didn't look physically bad to our eyes but, she still had ghastly white gums & there wasn't a pink color to the quick of her nails. She lay in her kennel but, did rise to greet my son. Not her usual greeting...there was no howl as if she had found her prize either. This morning, we received a call from our Vet that despite all their best efforts our lil' Miss Sammy is not responding to any treatment and her numbers are falling. Her Hemoglobin is now a dismal...8. We are preparing right now to go bring our girl home to be surrounded with her family as she prepares for her trip to her final destination...somewhere over the:rbyorkie: Rainbow Bridge My heart is just breaking for my son who's only pride & joy was his lil' Miss Sammy...please say a prayer for him today. :( Will update again...and thank you to all who've been following this thread! |
Sammy:animal36 is finally home...and resting surrounded by Abby:aimeeyork, Bella:aimeeyork & Phoebe:aimeeyork. It's just amazing how they have such a keen sense that their beloved Pack Leader is less than her usual self. There was only a weak growl for each of them as they approached her to welcome her home and give her sniffs and kisses. Since Sammy has not eaten in nearly a week, I was happy to see that she did accept a small bowl of chicken broth from me. I'm getting ready to go grab some Dogsure @ PetCo. She's very weak and her breathing is labored...but, that's to be expected especially, with a HCT of 8.5 (down from 11.4) and a HGB of 4.3 (down from 5.9). Our Vet had told us on the first day that he wouldn't expect her to live once her HCT drops less than 6-8 so, you can imagine our hopes for a miracle...soon! We're realistic tho' and will accept Miss Sammy's final time with us...sadly but, we will accept it. Please keep Sammy in your thoughts & prayers...thank you! |
This is so heart breaking. I hope she does not suffer long. My prayers go out for her and for you and your family. |
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After her meds this morning at the Vet's via her IV, her gums were just a tiche of the palest pink and now they've resumed their shade of white once again. We're offering liquids and Dogsure every 30 minutes just to keep her comfortable since she'd been on an IV for 3 days and hasn't eaten anything for nearly a week. She did attempt to use a piddle pad but, was just too wobbly on her feet to make it there all the way. If at any point, Sammy appears to be suffering we will not hesitate to bring her to the Vet's to be put down but, in the meantime her eyes just say she wants to be near my son, her master & her :aimeeyork-girls. I hope nobody minds my updates...but, it's kind of therapeutic to write my thoughts down while we're going thru this so, I can keep myself together at least for my son. :( |
I am so sorry to hear this news. I love Beagles and my hubby has raised them for forty years. Somee kind, gentle little dogs. |
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I'm including a pic of our Sammy below...with a couple of her girls, Abby & Bella. It feels like :animal36Hospice here today...and I don't like it! Could this all just be a dream:confused: |
Im so sorry.. I will definitly keep sweet lil miss Sammy in my prayers... I too have a beagle and she too is the sweetest baby girl. I will definitly hug all my furbabies a little tighter.. :( ((hugs)) |
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