Since Barbara Manley had brought up the canine Circovirus, I decided it would be a good idea to share my story to highlight the importance of rushing your pet to the vet if/when they experience any of these symptoms. This virus is EXTREMELY deadly and by no means should be taken lightly. Last summer I had taken Pixel to the dog park. She was a little over 1 at the time, and as many of us know, was as rambunctious as can be. This was part of our weekly routine as she loves to play with other dogs and interact with other people. We had left the dog park and had gone and everything appeared normal. The day had gone by and around midnight, Pixel had gotten up and had vomited. It is normal for dogs to vomit every now and then so I had shaken it off. About 5 minutes later, she had vomited again. She kept on vomiting until only bile was left. Meanwhile I had talked to the emergency vet on the phone and she said all would be OK. So I just sat with Pixel all night, trying to get her to eat and drink which she wasnt doing. At about 3 am, I noticed she was extremely lethargic. In fact, she was having some trouble walking.Her body was hunched over as she walked indicating that she was having terrible stomach pain. At 5 am, close to our morning vet appointment, Pixel had taken (sorry for the graphics) an extremely bloody diarrhea. Eventually, the blood was projectile-like. Very scary. The smell was an unforgettable one, which should be noted. She had about 3 episodes of bloody diarrhea before our visit at 7 am. We got to the vet and she took blood work and stool samples, all of which turned out normal. This all happened about 2 months prior to news stories about this virus and so my vet declared it to be a severe case hemorrhagic gastroenteritis with an unknown cause in Pixels case. The vet prescribed anti-diarrhea medication (which didnt work) and kept her on fluids all day, and kept her overnight. Pixel didnt seem to get any better. She still wouldnt eat or drink on her own for the next 2 days so the vet decided that because Pixel had anxiety, that perhaps it would make her recuperate faster if she were to sleep at home. I would take Pixel over night and drop her back off in the morning all day for more fluid. On day 4, I had tried to feed Pixel chicken (like I had been doing every 15 minutes), and she started to eat it. I was so overjoyed because at this point, the vet couldnt guarantee that Pixel would make it. So she ate some chicken and I gave her some Gatorade and Pedialyte that the vet told me to try and it was working! Event though Pixel was not eating on her own, I continued to take her to the vet for fluids for the next 2 days for just-in-case reasons. Overall, this was one of the scariest experiences of my life. Seeing all of the blood, and seeing Pixels body lay there nearly lifeless was a really traumatic experience. Therefore, it anyone sees any of these symptoms, bring your pet to the vet immediately, as this virus escalates quickly and aggressively. I have researched that almost all pets with this virus die if not taken to the vet during the first 24 hours of its occurrence. Again, watch out for the signs, and have an emergency veterinarians number handy.
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 17:58:12 +0000