Our sick pooch

Our rottweiler, Teddy, didn't seem quite right last Sunday.  He was just lethargic and had no appetite.  This was very unlike him, so off to the emergency clinic we went.  They did some blood work on him which showed he was anemic and had an extended clotting time.  They asked us if we thought he could have gotten into rat poisoning.  I couldn't say for sure that he hadn't, so they started treating him with Vitamin K. He was also running a fever, so started on antibiotics for that.  His condition didn't really improve or get better through Tuesday, and we took him in to see his regular vet for a follow up.

The blood work came back similar, except this time he was more anemic than he had been Sunday.  Sparing you all the details of how his diagnosis came to be, his veterinarian has decided he has a condition called Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia.  Basically, the body decides its red blood cells are the enemy and starts to attack and kill them.  The treatment for this is a) suppress the immune system as much as possible.  This is done by use of steroids b) if red blood cell values continue to decrease, a blood transfusion may be necessary.  There are other steps to the treatment, but these are the main ideas.  With treatment, dogs have about a 50% chance of remission.  Without treatment, they will certainly die.  Age, physical condition, etc. seem to have nothing to do with how well a dog will do with this disease. The odds are just as good for a  young dog to survive it as the old, a dog with other health conditions may do better than a dog that is 100% healthy otherwise.

So here we are.  I'm embarassed to say how much we spent just to come to a diagnosis, and now we have to treat the disease.  He is taking steroids and an anti-rejection drug used in human transplant patients to suppress immune response.  And what caused this disease, might you ask?  Well, that is kind of up in the air among some professionals.  Some breeds are more predisposed to it than others.  Not rottweilers though.  Sometimes, the dog's immune system goes hay wire when attacked by another infectious agent and the dog gets IMHA as a secondary problem.  But most of the time, veterinarians are seeing this as a vaccine reaction to the vaccines we normally give our dogs to keep them healthy. Teddy can never receive another vaccine, he will have a medical waiver for rabies vaccine/tags that are required in our county.

Now I have to decide if vaccinating my other dogs is worth it.  Sure, I don't want my dogs getting parvo but I have to weigh my risks.  One out of four of my dogs was afflicted with this potentially fatal disorder from a vaccination.  It may seem drastic, but I am choosing NOT to vaccinate any more of dogs, current or future, after their initial puppy series and 3 year rabies after initial rabies. 

If you have a dog, especially a cocker spaniel or schnauzer or other breed that seems to have some genetic predisposition to this disease, do some research about IMHA and make your own decisions about the risks and benefits of vaccinating your dog every year.  Ask your vet. I should have. I do my own vaccines. I found out that my particular vet clinic has decided to recommend vaccinating with a regular 7-way vaccine once every 3 years due to the increasing incidence of this disorder.

Thanks to
Pets Emergency 
www.petsemergency.com
and Dr. Archer whose last minute decision to give Teddy a steroid injection might have saved him from a blood transfusion
and
Wellington Veterinary Clinic
http://www.wellingtonvets.com/
and Dr. Tracey Jensen for her wonderul care of Teddy during this adventure!  Wellington Vet clinic has provided excellent care for our personal pets and many foster kittens from Weld County Humane Society over the last 4 years and has been a great resource despite seeing NONE of them on a regular basis, since we do all routine care ourselves.