That's the diagnosis for our Border Collie rescue dog, Weed. We are glad to have a diagnosis after a long month of feeling that all was not well with her, despite her obsessive efforts to reassure us that she was A-okay.
On January 17, after noting blood in her urine, I took her to our vet clinic, and she was prescribed antibiotics for a bladder infection. Not satisfied with her improvement, I took her back to the clinic two weeks later. Her blood and urine had elevated levels of bilirubins. She was prescribed a different antibiotic and a diet for kidney health. On Sunday, five days ago, she worked like a trooper during shearing. She was everywhere she should have been, helping to push resistant ewes into pens, eagerly sending freshly-sheared ewes out of the barn, and vigilantly patrolling fence panels that ewes wanted to crowd against. That evening, however, she was lethargic and off feed, and her malaise continued. Two days ago, back at the vet clinic, her blood work showed declining levels of red blood cells and increasing levels of bilirubins. She was diagnosed with the above anemia. In hindsight, I'm glad that I was pushy and insistent upon her need for immediate attention, for her diagnosis was, by then, evident, and she was put on an IV drip to address her moderate dehydration and started on prednisone to recalibrate her immune system.
Today, we learned that she needs to stay at the clinic at least through the weekend. As Dr. Nydam expected, her red blood cell count has dropped and she is weak from anemia. He stated, "She runs out of steam pretty fast." He and we are hopeful that the steroid has encouraged her immune system to reboot. Meanwhile, she is eating a "delicious" rich stew formulated for rebuilding red blood cells. We are optimistic and lonely.
On January 17, after noting blood in her urine, I took her to our vet clinic, and she was prescribed antibiotics for a bladder infection. Not satisfied with her improvement, I took her back to the clinic two weeks later. Her blood and urine had elevated levels of bilirubins. She was prescribed a different antibiotic and a diet for kidney health. On Sunday, five days ago, she worked like a trooper during shearing. She was everywhere she should have been, helping to push resistant ewes into pens, eagerly sending freshly-sheared ewes out of the barn, and vigilantly patrolling fence panels that ewes wanted to crowd against. That evening, however, she was lethargic and off feed, and her malaise continued. Two days ago, back at the vet clinic, her blood work showed declining levels of red blood cells and increasing levels of bilirubins. She was diagnosed with the above anemia. In hindsight, I'm glad that I was pushy and insistent upon her need for immediate attention, for her diagnosis was, by then, evident, and she was put on an IV drip to address her moderate dehydration and started on prednisone to recalibrate her immune system.
Today, we learned that she needs to stay at the clinic at least through the weekend. As Dr. Nydam expected, her red blood cell count has dropped and she is weak from anemia. He stated, "She runs out of steam pretty fast." He and we are hopeful that the steroid has encouraged her immune system to reboot. Meanwhile, she is eating a "delicious" rich stew formulated for rebuilding red blood cells. We are optimistic and lonely.
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