Fluid Puppies?

My time this week at the Humane Society was chaotic consisting of lines of people waiting to do visits with animals and long list of animals who got adopted. All the animals that I interacted with and got to know were immediately adopted out and thus I have no animal of the week to display. Instead, I want to share a story from a veterinary clinic I volunteered at this week describing an unusual situation with a young female Husky. (Names and affiliations will be kept unknown to preserve confidentiality)

On Friday, November 9 a woman entered the veterinary clinic to which I volunteer with her 10 month old Husky as she made an appointment to evaluate the dog for a spay procedure. Upon entrance to the clinic the staff was aghast at the dog's appearance as the 10 month dog had an enormous belly indicating that the dog might be pregnant. However, once the veterinarian performed an evaluation on the dog, the inclination of the belly being from pregnancy faded as the extended belly felt fluid filled. The veterinarian immediately performed an x-ray on the dog to discover if the dog was truly pregnant or if a different situation existed. The x-ray revealed that the dog's organs were being squished next to the spine because the uterus was filled with fluid. Now the situation was dire because an swollen, fluid-filled uterus, condition known as pyometra, is life-threatening and emergency surgery must be performed when diagnosed. The veterinarian scrubbed in and the dog was prepped for surgery for immediate removal of the swollen infected uterus.

The vet began doing the normal procedures for a spay that would end in the removal of the huge uterus, but after removing the ovaries, the situation became extremely complicated. The uterus was attached to the bladder and one of the kidneys that was extremely small and abnormally shaped compared to the other kidney. The veterinarian then started to drain the fluid from the uterus which was identified to be urine. Obviously, this animal did not have pyometra but some congenital birth defect where the abnormal kidney was draining its fluid into the uterus instead of the bladder. Unsure what to do next, another veterinarian scrubbed in and tried to help, but again the circumstances were such that neither vet knew how to handle this situation; a problem that would require a licensed veterinary surgeon. One of the vet techs called a veterinary surgeon to come to the clinic and help with the case. In the meantime the prognosis for the dog looked grim. The veterinarians decided to let the owner say her final goodbyes in the surgery suite as it was highly unlikely much could be done to save this pet. Within 30 minutes, the veterinary surgeon arrived who began assessing and performing surgery on the female dog. Within another hour, he had got the kidney and the uterus out and was suturing the dog. He saved the dog's life.

While I was volunteering at the clinic today, the same pet came in for further observation as its still uncertain that her urinary system is going to function normally. But, even with one kidney and 10 pounds less weight, the Husky did not act that she had underwent 6 hours of surgery the day before being unruly, uncooperative, hyper, and very talkative; all good signs of recovery.

I am not sure what will happen with the Husky, but I do know that this owner did the right thing. Again and again I see cases where owners see something abnormal occur in their pet, whether it be a weird bump or behavior, where they wait and wait before taking their pet to the veterinarian ending more than likely in a bad prognosis or euthanasia. By waiting so long, the disease got to a point where it could not be reversed and or the cost to fix the condition is too much for the owners. One I cannot believe an owner would let their pet suffer that long and two the earlier you can diagnosis and treat a disease, the less the procedure will cost as the treatments will most likely be less involved and invasive. Bottom line, take responsibility for having a pet. Pets are not toys and by buying and caring for a pet you take responsibility for getting medical treatment as animals do feel pain and its cruel to let them suffer. If this is something you cannot afford, then maybe a pet is not right for you as you cannot invest only half way.