Pet of the Month - Bailey

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01/06/2015
Bailey is a 9 year old chocolate Labrador who regularly comes to the practice for desensitisation vaccines for allergies. However in May he was brought in after being very ill at home.
He was rushed in by his very worried owner after being violently sick (which contained blood). Denise our vet examined Bailey and although he was still wagging his tail it was clear he was very depressed and subdued.

He was admitted for blood tests to rule out pancreatitis and to check his hydration levels. Denise was also concerned there may have been a foreign object blocking Bailey’s digestive tract causing him to vomit; an X-Ray would help to diagnose this. 

We took blood from Bailey and ran them in our in house laboratory. They confirmed pancreatitis but it was important to try to find the cause. His bloods were sent away to the external laboratory for further confirmation. He was also dehydrated so it was important to start his intravenous fluids. His medication was also given intravenously to begin to make him feel more comfortable, including antibiotics and pain relief and anti-sickness injection.

Bailey then also had profuse haemorrhagic diarrhoea in the garden which led us to believe a severe case of haemorrhagic gastroenteritis could have triggered a bout of pancreatitis. His radiographs showed no clear evidence of an obstruction so it meant we could press on and treat him for haemorrhagic gastroenteritis.

He stayed overnight with Maria to ensure he could have his medication at regular intervals and by the following morning he had no further signs of vomiting or diarrhoea, however he was still depressed and not his usual happy self.

He also wasn’t interested in eating, which for Bailey was very unusual. We continued to monitor his blood and it showed that his Total protein and Albumin levels were dropping, this indicated that we needed to get Bailey eating as soon as we could, small amounts, little and often, with a formulated sensitive diet. 

Because he was depressed and refusing to eat at the surgery, Maria and Denise both felt he may be happier at home. As there were no further signs of vomiting or diarrhoea, he was sent home with oral medication.

Bailey went home and is currently doing really well. He has shown no further signs of gastroenteritis and is much happier. We would like to thank Baileys Mum for being so vigilant in identifying his condition early and in caring for him post treatment. Luckily he is insured so we were able to treat him without the worry of rising costs of his treatment. 

We will be seeing Bailey shortly for his desensitisation vaccine and we are looking forward to seeing his waggy tail once again, and hopefully be keen to eat our treats!

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