IMHA Is Not To Be Taken Lightly: Know The Symptoms

This story is shared with us by Susan Rakay. She has lost her dog to IMHA and she wanted to raise awareness of this condition because with IMHA time is of the essence.

Please do learn when your dog’s symptoms are truly serious and require immediate medical attention!

I have already written about IMHA in Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde: Razzle’s Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) article, and Dr. Mahaney shared the story of his dog Cardiff and Battling IMHA With Integrative Veterinary Medicine.

Razzle and Cardiff won their battle. Nikki wasn’t so lucky.

Nikki’s Story

It will be a year this coming Saturday that I lost Nikkilodiean to something I knew nothing about. She was my first dog ever but other dog owners I spoke to knew nothing about this disease either.

I took very good care of my little girl, vet visits when needed, grooming every month and brushing her teeth every day.

But one day hen I brushed her teeth her gums looked white and she was breathing as if she had a cold.

I thought it was a cold so I took her to the vet.

She was diagnosed with a severe case of IMHA. 

I immediately took her to the vet hospital in Phoenix and they did a blood transfusion, put her on IV, did a test to check for internal bleeding and other blood test. They could find no bleeding anywhere but she keep getting weaker and weaker.

Immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) is a disease in which the body attacks its own red blood cells. To read more about IMHA check out the Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde: Razzle’s Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) article.

Nikki stopped eating and got to the point where she didn’t recognize me and she just wanted to sleep.

The vet kept telling me to give it time but after three days I was seeing no improvement and didn’t want her to be in pain.  Nothing they did made any difference and I saw her slipping away before my eyes.  They said they didn’t think she was in pain but I knew she was dying. I wanted to take her home (200 miles away) to the place she loved.

I brought her home to my vet during the day and she spent the nights with me.

I would sleep all day and stay up with her at night.  On the third day of doing this while I was sleeping my vet called and said to get there as soon as possible.  I dressed very quickly and rushed to the vet that was only two miles away but by the time I arrived my beloved little girl had already passed.

My vet and the animal hospital said I did everything I could for her. (I’m still paying the vet hospital bill of over $ 4,000).

But I know that if someone, anyone had told me about this disease/illness I would have kept an eye out of it and gotten her to the vet/hospital sooner and she may had lived.

I want to put the word out there about this.

Please be aware and if you see these symptoms in you dog, get them to the vet IMMEDIATELY no matter what the time is (even if it is the middle of the night pay the extra money and get you dog there quickly) as it may save their life!

What symptoms should you watch for?

Your dog will be obviously weak. He or she will have no energy and have lost interest in food. Urine will be dark orange or maybe even brown. The gums, as well as the whites of the eyes, will be pale or even yellow-tinged. There may be a fever. You (hopefully) brought your pet to the veterinarian’s office as soon as it was clear that there was something wrong.

(source: Veterinary Partner)

It’s your dog’s health!
Jana

Related articles:
Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde: Razzle’s Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA)
Battling IMHA With Integrative Veterinary Medicine (part 1)
Battling IMHA With Integrative Veterinary Medicine (part 2)

Further reading:
Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA)

Know whether your dog is pregnant or not By : Thomas Husnik

If you’re curious to know whether your dog is pregnant or not, you have to do certain steps to find out for sure. Pregnancy has its symptoms. And if you have noticed all of them on your pet, then high are the chances that they would deliver puppies real soon. Have you noticed the dog heat symptoms in your pet? Does your pet recently have the need to mate with male dogs? Dogs aged 6 to 12 months would go through what is called the heat cycle. This is when they reach sexual maturity. When they mated during the heat season, which normally lasts for 21 days, the dogs are surely going to be pregnant. Even so, vets and pet experts always say it is best for a dog to be pregnant when it is a year and a half to two years old to be safe.
The dog heat stage would have its own signs and symptoms. The most apparent would be blood discharges and redness of the dog’s vulva or rear. These symptoms indicate that your dog is in heat. Sooner or later, the female dog would want to mate. If you don’t want this to happen, you have to do the necessary precautions. The dog heat cycle normally comes twice every year. So if you see it on your pet today, it may take five to seven months before you see it again.
Generally, to know if your dog is pregnant for sure, it is best that you take it to the vet. You can also try to feel your dog’s abdomen. It should be firmer. Firm bellies indicate that there are puppies forming inside. The ultrasound is the best device to determine dog pregnancy. An x-ray, on the other hand, is powerful enough to determine how many puppies your dog is carrying in its abdomen. The dog’s pregnancy cycle lasts for an average of 63 days. Some dog breeds would deliver puppies in 54 days, though. Others, however, may take as much as 74 days before giving birth.
Pregnant dogs tend to be more affectionate. A good number of them are very clingy too. There are dogs that act very possessively during their pregnancy stage. However, some dogs do the other extreme. If other dogs enjoy the company of their masters, other gets very irritated, aggressive, and anti-social. This is one of the reasons why dog owners should be very wary of the fact that their dog is pregnant so they can adapt measure to protect their pet, family, and strangers around the house.
Pregnant dogs tend to lose their appetite too. For a week or so, the dogs would refuse to touch its food, only to eat like a glutton after three weeks. The increase in its appetite would continue a month and a week into pregnancy. And when the female dog is ready to deliver the pups, it would consume twice as much food as it used to. You have to prepare for the puppies’ coming at this point. Prepare bedding’s to keep them warm and comfortable after delivery.