Tina Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 We recently lost our beautiful girl (miniature poodle) to what we don't know and the vets are in disbelief too 2 weeks ago she was a happy healthy dog running around with her sister. She would've been turning 9 in November. At the end of 2018 she was unwell after picking her and her sister up from the kennel where they had regularly stayed whilst we were on holiday. She was drinking and peeing lots and just off colour. Vet diagnosed her with kidney disease and or cushings as her urine results were not good but her bloods were ok apart from the ALP. She recovered in about 2-3 weeks and we got a second opinion who said that she was fine and she didn't have kidney disease although she did like her water. Fast forward 7/9/2022 when she was at the vet for teeth trouble, she had antibiotics and was scheduled in the week after for extractions. 12/9/2022 Bloods were run as standard practice and the vet called up to say she could not have teeth done due to stage 4 kidney disease, so we brought her home to put her on a kidney diet to see if her numbers could come down. She had been in there nearly all day after fasting A few days after coming home she started to feel uncomfortable/unsettled, restless/weak legs, sleeping a lot and intermittent shivering. If she was lying down she would sit up and stretch regularly as though it was uncomfortable for her to lie on her stomach. 21/9/2022 Vet diagnosed arthritis! Gave her a Pentosan Polysulfate injection and sent her home with gabapentin 100mg twice a day and subcutaneous fluid infusions 100ml. The gabapentin knocked her out, she got weaker and couldn't walk and it gave her diarrhoea and so after 2 days I stopped them to get vet help. 25/9/2022 No shivering now, a spot of blood in diarrhoea moaning with the pain, stopped walking, eating, drinking. She was unable to see things that were close to her face and would only have fluids subcutaneously or syringned into her mouth. Her swallowing sounded hard and she could only lie on her side. As her vet was booked out I had to take her to another emergency vet who also diagnosed arthritis. She gave her a Temgesic injection and sent her home with more meds and something for her diarrhoea. She came home and led on her bed moaning and while we waited for the injection to take effect she died in our arms 2 hours after seeing the vet. Neither vet could believe it. So we are wondering if anyone has seen anything like it. We are wondering if the kidney disease can do this so quick or if perhaps there must've been another problem. Any help on getting some closure would be great as we have her sister booked in for her teeth next week (her bloods are good) and we are nervous. Apologies for long post Tina 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 I recently lost my dog (10 year old Dane cross) to hemangiosarcoma, and what you are describing as symptoms of your girl's last couple of weeks raises some flags for me with regards to that possibility. As the 2018 issue seems to have resolved itself and no further symptoms were noted until recently, that may have been an anomaly that has nothing to do with the recent crisis event.... especially as the vet doesn't seem to have followed up on the possibility of Cushing's or other chronic conditions, and your girl seemed to be fine after the initial episode cleared up. I will note that the elevated ALP in her bloods at that time could have been a very early indicator of something going on, but again, it could also have just been an anomaly related to whatever else may have been going on at that time. Without regular blood test results in the interim, it's very hard to link the two crisis episodes so far apart. May I state that hemangiosarcoma rarely presents itself with symptoms until it reaches a critical stage, so neither you or the vet would have known about it unless you were running regular blood tests, x-rays, or ultrasound scans, so please don't beat yourself or the vet up about possibly missing that diagnosis. What is alarming to me is the arthritis diagnoses by 2 different vets 4 days apart - at least one of those being an emergency vet clinic. Did they take bloods, do x-rays, or any other diagnostics to confirm that diagnosis? If not, did they give any reasons for not doing so? Please also note that hemangiosarcoma is not transmissible, nor is it indicated as being hereditary between siblings... so don't panic that your other girl may have it too, OK? If her bloods are normal and she is not showing any other anomalies, then you can be pretty confident that she's fine to have her teeth done without issue. Unfortunately you may never know exactly what caused your girl's last crisis without a necropsy (animal autopsy). If you haven't already buried/cremated her, that could be a possibility in order to get a definitive answer, otherwise you can only surmise what the actual issue was. Please don't beat yourself up that her last weeks weren't perfect... she knew that you loved her and were doing all you could given the advice of the vets she saw during that time... please know that she is not in any pain any more, and is waiting for you at the Bridge with many other awesome pets many of us have also had to say goodbye to over the years. You did good... keep happy memories of her in your heart, and smile for all the wonderful moments you shared for her 9 years with you, OK? Massive hugs to you and your family... T. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 Sorry for your loss so suddenly 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina Posted October 9, 2022 Author Share Posted October 9, 2022 6 hours ago, persephone said: Sorry for your loss so suddenly Thank You 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina Posted October 9, 2022 Author Share Posted October 9, 2022 7 hours ago, tdierikx said: I recently lost my dog (10 year old Dane cross) to hemangiosarcoma, and what you are describing as symptoms of your girl's last couple of weeks raises some flags for me with regards to that possibility. 7 hours ago, tdierikx said: Thanks for your reply . Sorry for your loss, it's heartbreaking to not be able to make them better even with all the love and care we give them. I can see the connection as it certainly sounds very very similar. I have been reading online and the majority of her symptoms were the same. I was also reading https://scij-tmvm.com/vol./vol.6/1/vol-6-1_2021-11-14.pdf which outlines the blood chemistry which again aligns with our girls blood work down 4 years ago and again just recently. We will never know for sure but we are certain that it was something very serious with a rapid decline and a fast end. Any end is a heartbreak. We will certainly keep an eye on her sister. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 @Tina, if it was hemangiosarcoma, there would have been very little either you or any vet could have done to fix it (or even catch it earlier and fix it), so please, please don't think "what if?", OK... it's just one of those crappy things that happens from pretty much nowhere and takes all of us by surprise. To be perfectly honest, most vets wouldn't be looking for it even when a crisis event is happening, there are just so many other things that can be indicated by certain blood test results - things vets CAN treat - and that is most likely why certain diagnoses were made that may not have been the exact cause/issue. To be perfectly honest (I'm a vet nurse by the way), when my girl started her symptoms - only 48 hours before I had to say goodbye to her - my thoughts (and the vet's) were either an obstruction in her gut, or kidney failure (Danes can be prone to kidney problems)... but when her bloods came back, I brought up hemangiosarcoma to the vet, and we did an ultrasound that completely confirmed the worse case scenario. I understand that not everyone has the same animal medical background that I do, and that one should always be guided by vet diagnosis and/or treatment options for what they see in front of them... remember that their first goal is to find something that IS treatable, and they aren't looking for worst case scenarios when presented with ambiguous blood test results and animal symptoms, OK? Neither you or the vets who saw your girl could know intuitively that what was going on may not have been treatable... the vets definitely did their best to diagnose what they saw in front of them.... and no vet will ever be 100% right with a diagnosis 100% of the time. Please take comfort in knowing that your girl passed in your arms surrounded by love and care... you did good! Again... massive hugs to you and your family... give your other dog lots of cuddles and kisses from me, OK? T. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina Posted October 9, 2022 Author Share Posted October 9, 2022 4 minutes ago, tdierikx said: @Tina, if it was hemangiosarcoma, there would have been very little either you or any vet could have done to fix it (or even catch it earlier and fix it), so please, please don't think "what if?", OK... it's just one of those crappy things that happens from pretty much nowhere and takes all of us by surprise. To be perfectly honest, most vets wouldn't be looking for it even when a crisis event is happening, there are just so many other things that can be indicated by certain blood test results - things vets CAN treat - and that is most likely why certain diagnoses were made that may not have been the exact cause/issue. To be perfectly honest (I'm a vet nurse by the way), when my girl started her symptoms - only 48 hours before I had to say goodbye to her - my thoughts (and the vet's) were either an obstruction in her gut, or kidney failure (Danes can be prone to kidney problems)... but when her bloods came back, I brought up hemangiosarcoma to the vet, and we did an ultrasound that completely confirmed the worse case scenario. I understand that not everyone has the same animal medical background that I do, and that one should always be guided by vet diagnosis and/or treatment options for what they see in front of them... remember that their first goal is to find something that IS treatable, and they aren't looking for worst case scenarios when presented with ambiguous blood test results and animal symptoms, OK? Neither you or the vets who saw your girl could know intuitively that what was going on may not have been treatable... the vets definitely did their best to diagnose what they saw in front of them.... and no vet will ever be 100% right with a diagnosis 100% of the time. Please take comfort in knowing that your girl passed in your arms surrounded by love and care... you did good! Again... massive hugs to you and your family... give your other dog lots of cuddles and kisses from me, OK? T. Yes very well said, they do have to prioritise their diagnosis to the more commonly seen and treatable illness. I did some vet nurse training too but didn't finish! Thank you, cuddles and kisses given x 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazm Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 So sorry to hear of your loss. Sounds like you’ve had a very sad time. 5 years ago my girl was acting kind of “off” and we took her to the vet. He did a blood test, urine test etc and it came back showing very early signs of kidney disease. Two months later she passed away from hermangiosarcoma. We were devastated as to how this can happen so quickly but as tdierikx says by the time that is found it’s too late anyway. Look after yourself and hugs to your other dog. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_PL_ Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 I'm no vet, but have had several senior dogs go down very fast from acute kidney disease. Versus chronic (which is slower and more responsive to diet), it just snowballs and affects their entire system very quickly. It's not known to cause pain, so as T says, she may have had more than one thing going on. I'm so sorry for your loss Rest in Peace little one Quote Please don't beat yourself up that her last weeks weren't perfect... she knew that you loved her and were doing all you could given the advice of the vets she saw during that time... please know that she is not in any pain any more, and is waiting for you at the Bridge with many other awesome pets many of us have also had to say goodbye to over the years. You did good... keep happy memories of her in your heart, and smile for all the wonderful moments you shared for her 9 years with you, OK? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina Posted October 10, 2022 Author Share Posted October 10, 2022 11 minutes ago, Powerlegs said: I'm no vet, but have had several senior dogs go down very fast from acute kidney disease. Versus chronic (which is slower and more responsive to diet), it just snowballs and affects their entire system very quickly. It's not known to cause pain, so as T says, she may have had more than one thing going on. I'm so sorry for your loss Rest in Peace little one Thank you ❤️ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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