[ SHOWGSD-L ] Does your Dog chew on bark mulch? READ THIS
- From: Peggy <pmick@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 07 May 2005 20:04:37 -0400
I just received this...please read it, it may save a dog's life!
Peggy
permission is given to crosspost...........
I recently lost a dog. As I understand it, all the proper procedures
were followed but occasionally there is a limit to what
we can do with our technology and knowledge. It is an unfortunate
situation and I'll share it with you so, if you ever face this
situation, you will know more than I did.
I have limited veterinary knowledge so feel free to point out my
misunderstandings. I'm sharing this so we can all learn. And, if
anyone would like a copy of the necropsy report or discharge report or
has a question, feel free to email me privately.
On March 15, a three year old champion bitch that was essential to my
breeding program stopped eating and started vomiting. The next day she
was not better so I took her to my vet who took x-rays and did blood
work. Nothing showed up in either so she was given a shot to stop the
vomiting and was sent home for observation. That night she continued
the vomiting and I felt that something was very wrong so I elected to
take her to the local veterinary teaching hospital where she would have
access to high level veterinary skills and equipment.
Since she had been in season a couple of months before, I was concerned
that she might have an asymptomatic pyometra. Upon exam, the emergency
room vet thought that it might be a possibility but he was concerned
about a blockage and asked if she had eaten anything. I said that this
was possible since the dogs and I had recently spent a lot of the time
in the backyard and they had been chewing on shrubs, eating grass and
munching on bark mulch. She was admitted into ICU with the
understanding that depending on the outcome of the x-ray and ultrasound,
she would probably go to surgery that night. After midnight he called
me back and said that the ultrasound showed an inflamed pancreas and
that she would be started on fluids and turned over to Internal Medicine
in the morning.
She remained in ICU until March 28 when she was sent home. In the
beginning she was treated for pancreatitis. When the vomiting
continued, she received another ultrasound which showed that the
pancreatitis was resolved. As the days went by and I watched my
dogs chewing on stuff in the backyard, I became more and more convinced
that this was a case of ingested bark and suggested it
again to the vets. However, they assured me that there was no evidence
of any blockages, etc. on the x-rays, blood work or
ultrasound. So, they recommended that she be scoped. This was done and
it revealed a slight overgrowth of helicobacter. She was
started on an antibiotic. The vomiting continued. On March 26, I again
raised the possibility of bark. After she tried to eat out of
my hand, her pain increased and she started to shiver. I also noted
that she had been filled with stool since March 15 and that nothing was
moving. I was assured that there were no blockages from either the
stool or bark and to satisfy me, she was given another x-ray and
ultrasound and three enemas. The vomiting continued. By March 28, we
still had no reason why she was vomiting and the vets decided to send
her home with medicine and ringer solution in hopes that the vomiting
was stress related and that the vomiting would stop when she got home.
Again I raised the possibility of the bark ingestion and suggested that
it would be better to go to surgery now rather than wait until she was
critical. Again I was assured that there was nothing to indicate any
blockage and we could wait until Friday with no problem. So she was
sent home with ringer solution, antibiotics, a motility drug and with
the understanding that as long as she was simply receiving fluids, in
the interest of trying to control some of the costs, the university
would remain in charge of the case and my regular vet would perform the
routine procedures.
The next day she was more depressed and still vomiting. I reported this
to the university vet. She decided to pull her off one of the
medications in order to see if it was the problem. The next day she
seemed a little less depressed but was still vomiting. I
reported this to the university vet. She said to keep trying to feed her
and to call her back the next day. The next morning she had a
temperature of 104 and was extremely ill so I called the teaching
hospital and was referred to the emergency room. I was told that
all of the clinicians were in rounds. I was told that I could bring her
in but her vets would not be able to get to her until
afternoon. I chose to take her to my vet. Again I raised the
possibility of bark. He took another x-ray which showed no evidence
that she had swallowed bark so he continued with the university's
recommended treatment. By afternoon, her temperature was down so he sent
her home.
The next day she died.
A necropsy was done and the cause of death was a perforation of the
small intestine by an approximately one inch square piece of bark and
the resulting infection. The final report states that there never was
pancreatitis.
I have discussed the case with the head of internal medicine and have
learned:
1. There are a number of intestinal problems that can have symptoms
similar to pancreatitis
2. Sometimes there are cases where you can have a perforation and the
body seals the area over so that nothing appears wrong
3. Because of access to sophisticated technology, a barium swallow was
not used in this case. And, even if one had been used, the bark might
not have shown up. Although the bark was approximately an inch square,
it was very thin and the barium may have flowed around it and blocked it
from view.
4. A vet with less sophisticated equipment probably would have done an
exploratory surgery early in the process but, in this case, the vets
used the standard procedures for the type of sophisticated equipment
available to them.
5. Bark does not show up on x-rays or ultrasounds.
I'm sharing this experience so others can learn from my experience.
Feel free to cross-post.
Sheila Parish
Rosethorn Dachshunds
rthorndox@xxxxxxxxxxx
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