If you own a Dog, Please Read This.....

[Paul455]

Last year, I lost the best dog I have ever owned to a condition called Thrombocytopenia.

It is an auto immune disorder where the body cannot make enough blood platelets.

What happens is the lack of platelets allows internal bleeding.

After lots of money and a few months of misery, my dog Kenji passed away.

I got through my grieving, and bought a replacement dog, and he is an Akita named Kaizen.

Now 14 months old, we decided to have him neutered.

Our vet, Franklin Veterinary, is very thorough, and did a series of blood tests before the surgery.

We got a call, and Kaizen has a lower than normal blood platelet count....I am thinking NO WAY.

Further testing showed that he has Anaplasmosis, a disease that is from a tick bite.

Kaizen had no symptoms, and he seemed to be perfectly healthy.

What I found out was Anaplasmosis can weaken the immune system over time, and once it is compromised, there is no recovery.

So, when your dog goes into the vet for a check up, please have blood work done.

The amount of suffering my previous dog went through should be avoided.

The good news is that we caught it in time, and a 30 day regimen of antibiotics should clear him up.

 

[goslow]

Sorry about your pups. Many thanks for the heads up!

 

[Yazz]

Sorry for your loss. Thanks for the update!

 

[jbehuniak]

ticks and lyme can really F a dog or any mammal up. Best of luck, my dog has Lyme he has good days and bad days

 

[boxerjake77]

Sorry to hear about Kenji... Good luck with the new pup, hoping the best for you all.

 

[The5thDentist]

Sorry to hear. And glad you caught the problem early on Kaizen.

 

[johnnymac101]

Thanks for the heads up! Sorry to hear about your ordeal!

 

[Silversnake]

So sorry to hear about both your pups. Wishing you all the best in the treatment of Kaizen. Thanks for this reminder to one and all.

We had a dog many years back who suffered through bouts of something very similar to Thromocytopenia - his immune system was basically attacking his own red blood cells. Our vet caught it the first time on a blood test when we brought him in because "he's just acting awful 'down' compared to usual". I'll never forget that Friday afternoon phone call where the vet said "his blood results are back, I'm faxing them to the emergency vet. hospital in Woburn. Get him up there tonight or you might not have a dog by Monday." It was a really rough weekend and following week but he pulled through. He had 2 more "waves" of it over the next 5 years of medical management before he died of the complications of being a very old dog.

Today, we got blood work results back on one of our current dogs - seems the reason he decided he doesn't like going on long walks anymore is because his thyroid is out of whack and he might have Cushings on top of that. All caught by blood tests.


Bottom line - if you love your pets, don't skimp on the blood tests as part of routine care or if something "just doesn't seem right". They gave us many more happy years with our furry family members than we would have otherwise.

 

[richc]

Thank you for the heads up.

Sadly we lost our yellow lab named Gilligan last week to liver cancer. But he had multiple fights with Lyme disease even though we used the preventative measures available. It's a miserable disease. In fact at first the docs had a another bought of Lyme disease but then noticed his liver function tests were off the charts.

Someday I expect we'll get another dog. I imagine a lab or lab mix. But it will be a bit of time before we pull the trigger.

 

[MarkT]

Sorry to hear. Thanks for sharing this info.

 

[bigblue]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Ticks can carry numerous diseases that can kill or harm our dogs. Since their "communication skills" don't include telling us when they are bitten, sick, or in pain we have to be extra vigilant. We lost one of our dogs this spring to a bacterial infection probably as the result of a tick (she didn't live long enough to do thorough testing).

Using flea & tick control year round that actually kills the ticks so they can't pass on these diseases is crucial. Ticks need 48 hours to pass on most of their nasty stuff so take that into consideration when choosing how to protect your pets. Deer Ticks become active at the first frost contrary to what many people think.

 

[GaryO]

Franklin Vet Clinic is the best vet I've used. They wont do unnecessary tests but will be upfront with you.

 

[Brian48]

Thanks for the head's up. I'm pretty sure bloodwork is part of the normal routine whenever I bring my dogs in for their annuals, but looking for it the next time.

 

[afeid]

Sorry about your loss, and thank you for sharing the information.My last furry family member was an Akita, they are a unique breed.

 

[OldeBD]

So sorry to hear about both your pups. Wishing you all the best in the treatment of Kaizen. Thanks for this reminder to one and all.

We had a dog many years back who suffered through bouts of something very similar to Thromocytopenia - his immune system was basically attacking his own red blood cells. Our vet caught it the first time on a blood test when we brought him in because "he's just acting awful 'down' compared to usual". I'll never forget that Friday afternoon phone call where the vet said "his blood results are back, I'm faxing them to the emergency vet. hospital in Woburn. Get him up there tonight or you might not have a dog by Monday." It was a really rough weekend and following week but he pulled through. He had 2 more "waves" of it over the next 5 years of medical management before he died of the complications of being a very old dog.

Today, we got blood work results back on one of our current dogs - seems the reason he decided he doesn't like going on long walks anymore is because his thyroid is out of whack and he might have Cushings on top of that. All caught by blood tests.


Bottom line - if you love your pets, don't skimp on the blood tests as part of routine care or if something "just doesn't seem right". They gave us many more happy years with our furry family members than we would have otherwise.

^This

The immune disease your pooch came down with is called Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia, IMHA for short. My Bull Dog came down with that last year and almost died from it and the vets believed it was from a tick disease. She tested positive for Erlichia and Rockey Mountain Spotted Fever and we are religious with our dog's flea/tick preventive. It's basically her white blood cells killing all of her red ones. When she was in the ICU, her red blood cell cell count was at 12% and normal is 40's to 50's. Two blood transfusions, 4 days in the doggy ICU, tons of meds, and some extremely good dr's, they saved her life.

One year later she is finially cured, just got the all clear 2 weeks ago with a stable 52% red cell count. It was a long haul with a few emergency vet visits in the middle of the night due to digestive problems arising from medication side effects. It's been a long and expensive frek'n haul, but she's worth it. Insuring her from when she was a pup turned out to be a very good idea and I'm glad we did.

Losing a a dog is brutal, all we can to is take care of them the best we can.

 

[vario]

Franklin Veternary are the best. Went there for the best part of 18 years with our SharPei's.

 

[str8shooter]

Sorry you lost your dog... Unbelievable how much love they give to us and how much we can love them! Only a dog owner knows what we know about loving our dogs. Best to you with Kaizen.

 

[Mountain]

Sorry to hear about the pup you lost, but glad you caught the anaplasmosis in time to keep you new pup healthy. Good reminder regarding anaplasmosis and having blood work done for your dog's next check up.

Our year old GSD started limping on a front paw one weekend. She's pretty active and we have a lot of room to run, so the plan was to keep an eye on it and go to the vet on Monday. The limp was progressively worse by Monday but the vet could not find any sign of injury. Blood test confirmed anaplasmosis, which had started causing nerve damage. If left alone, it could have caused major problems. 30 days of antibiotics and she was fine. Went through a lot of cheap hotdogs to get the pills down, lol.

 

[Marine-daughter]

I am so very sorry to hear what you have been through, your loss, and now this new health challenge for Kaizen. Please be sure to have sensitivity testing done, as there is a strain on anaplasmosis that is tetracycline resistant...and it is very important to be treating the infection vs. just following the usual protocol. Will say a prayer for and send healing wishes to your baby boy!

In June I got this article- I'm a major dog-mom nerd. When I read your story, I thought it might help you dialogue with your vet. It is lengthy, but the woman's dog had a resistant strain; was treated repeatedly with routine drugs- hence I advocate you ensure Kaizen's anaplasmosis testing includes drug sensitivities (Not sure why the link is splitting did it a few times).
http://leerburg.com/deathofadream.htm?utm_source=nlist&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=06042015

 

[dogdoctor]

We got a call, and Kaizen has a lower than normal blood platelet count....I am thinking NO WAY.

Further testing showed that he has Anaplasmosis, a disease that is from a tick bite.

Kaizen had no symptoms, and he seemed to be perfectly healthy.

Paul455 - just be advised that it is known that in some Akitas, they naturally run (asymptomatically) with mildly low platelet numbers. Also you should know that some dog are exposed to anaplasma, but clears the infection and never get thrombocytopenia, yet the result is that they immunologically test positive for anaplasma. There is a a PCR test that can be run to see if the anaplasma organism is actually in the blood. So if you treat your Akita and the platelates remain low after treatment, I would suggest checking the PCR to see if Anaplasma is present. It could just be that your dog naturally runs low. Hopefully his numbers return to normal after treatment and there is no worries moving forward. Best of luck.

 

[rivet_42]

So sorry for your loss.

 

[MaxStravinsky]

Thought this was going to be about Autoimmune Hemalytic Anemia. It presents the same way and the dog bleeds to death internally. I had a cocker spaniel years ago that developed it. Fortunately I'm an overprotective mom and rushed her to the vet as soon as she seemed a little 'off' and the vets were able to save her. But it was a good 6 months of treatment and 2-3 times a week vet appts for blood work.

Symptoms: dog seems very listless, gums are pale (indicating shock).

I'm sorry for your loss. Losing a pet is the hardest thing in the world.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

Last year, I lost the best dog I have ever owned to a condition called Thrombocytopenia.

It is an auto immune disorder where the body cannot make enough blood platelets.

Actually, there are three possible causes of thrombocytopoenia -

- Inability to produce platelets
- Destruction of platelets, often autoimmune, also possible by H Pylori bacteria
- Sequestration of platelets in the spleen

Treatments include immunosuppresants such as prednisone; IVIG; or Nplate (a rather exotic, and expensive erythropoiesis-stimulating agent).

Not sure if they have doggie Nplate - that stuff is expensive. Very expensive.

My sympathies for the loss of your buddy.

 

[Synyster]

This exact month last year I had my dog hospitalized for the same exact thing. When I brought her to Tufts in Walpole she was right on deaths doorstep. She had 3,000 platelets, where her norm is around 180,000. She spent a week there, and almost $10,000 later I had a happy healthy dog again. She went for bloodwork yesterday and only has around 40,000 platelets but they estimate the real count is around 160,000 because some of them were clotting. I am going to be keeping a very very close eye on her in the coming months and have bloodwork done every month going forward.

Keep an eye on your dogs gums, and her eyes. Make sure the gums are a bubble gum pink and there is no blood spots in their eyes. Keep an eye on their pink bellies as well. Make sure there are no black splotches anywhere on the belly.

Sorry for your loss, but I know exactly what you are going through.

 

[dogdoctor]

Actually, there are three possible causes of thrombocytopoenia -

- Inability to produce platelets
- Destruction of platelets, often autoimmune, also possible by H Pylori bacteria
- Sequestration of platelets in the spleen

Treatments include immunosuppresants such as prednisone; IVIG; or Nplate (a rather exotic, and expensive erythropoiesis-stimulating agent).

Not sure if they have doggie Nplate - that stuff is expensive. Very expensive.

My sympathies for the loss of your buddy.

Great write up Rob. Nope - we don't have a pet version of Nplate (but it has been used in some studies). We're stuck with immunosuppressives, platelet rich plasma transfusions, and Vincristine (chemo drug) that seems to push platelet release from bone marrow.