Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - AIHA now Pure Red Cell Aplasia - anyone else?

Our 6-year-old Italian Greyhound was just diagnosed. It's a long story below if you'd like the background, but I'm searching for anyone else who has experience with a dog with AIHA that has resulted in PRCA. We are so frightened at how long it is going to take for the meds to work. Any advice is much appreciated. Our IG Gwennie has always been fairly healthy and active. We moved to a new home about 2 months ago and since then she has been somewhat aloof - we figured it was just the adjustment. Two weeks ago she started losing a little weight and stopped greeting us at the door. We didn't think too much of it until she had to get up with diarreah in the middle of the night. The next morning our regular vet fit us in. He thought she seemed a little pale and wanted to keep her for a simple blood test. He called me about an hour later with very grim news - her pcv was at 8 and she had a heart murmer. He was amazed she was alive and believes that she must have been adjusting to the condition for some time. He referred us to an internal medicine specialist and we rushed her there for a blood transfusion. After this, her pcv increased to 20, but dropped to 12 shortly after. The next day she received another transfusion, bumping her back up to 20. She began prednisone immediately to treat for AIHA, as well as doxycycline in the case that she was suffering from a tick borne disease (tests later came back negative). She was also put on IV fluids. The pred didn't seem to be making a difference over the next 3 days, and her pcv dropped to 14. The vet began to suspect the AIHA was secondary to something else. On the fifth day the vet performed a bone marrow aspiration. The test came back 2 days later and Gwennie was diagnosed with Pure Red Cell Aplasia. She is now on Azithriopine. I've read that it can take up to 6 weeks before this med kicks in. She was able to come home this weekend, but this morning her pcv dropped to 12 and her heart rate went up to 180 (normal was 120-150). So she had to have a third transfusion this morning. We are so scared at how quickly her pcv drops after transfusions. She seems to only last about 5 days before needing another. If it's going to take 6 weeks, I cannot begin to imagine how she's going to survive with all the possibilities of blood clots and transfusion reactions. We are also starting feel horribly guilty that we are considering the toll this is taking on our bank account. Thanks for listening and hope to hear some from someone out there with a PRCA pup.

Jessica Florida

Hi Jessica. I'm sorry to hear about Gwennie. My dog, Duck, also has PRCA which is a form of AIHA. With pure red cell aplasia the red blood cell destruction is taking place in the bone marrow as they are being produced. That would explain why your vet put Gwennie on azathioprine because it works at the bone marrow level. Was your vet able to discern whether or not there were immature blood cells (reticulocytes) present in the bone marrow? In my dog's case, his bone marrow was producing reticulocytes but they were being destroyed before they could be released. With some dogs, their bone marrow has stopped producing reticulocytes. Is Gwennie being given anything in case of blood clots. They can be a real danger in the early stages and many dogs die from clots that get lodged in the lungs. Ask your vet about this. My dog initially took heparin and then was switched to baby aspirin. Also, what meds if any, is Gwennie being given to protect her gastrointestinal tract from ulcers? The prednisone especially is very hard on our dogs' GI tracts. My dog takes both sucralfate and Pepcid AC. Please ask your vet about this - it is also important. Also, check out Joanne's site. It has a wealth of information: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/index.html My dog's PCV dropped to 5 in at the onset of this illness and he had a heart murmur as well. The murmur disappeared as his PCV's came back to normal. Duck was put on cyclosporine as well as the prednisone and azathioprine and seemed to respond well with that combination. I know you must be mentally and emotionally drained by this but please know that there is hope. Lots of dogs do go into remission and carry on to live healthy, happy lives. Just a couple more suggestions. You might want to write down all your questions before each vet visit. That way you won't forget to ask him anything when you are there. Also, I always get a copy of the CBC printout from my vet. It helps to have copies of those in case you need to pass the information on to a specialist or if you are trying to remember past PCV's and other values. Please keep us posted on Gwennie's progress and I'm sure others will respond to your thread with lots of good advice. Take care. deb and Duck

Debbie BC Canada

Jessica, You might also want to contact Dr. Dodds at hemopet@hotmail.com She is a blood specialist as well as a greyhound rescuer. She is very giving of her time and answers very quickly. Please keep us posted. Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Jessica, One Success Story I would suggest you read at the Meisha's Hope AIHA/IMHA Web site is that of Macy, May 2006. http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/archives16.htm Macy had PRCA and recovered very nicely. I just heard from her owner/caregiver last week that Macy is continuing to do fine. Also at the end of Macy's story is a link to the Veterinary Manual which contains a bit of info on PRCA. Indeed PRCA is difficult but dogs have been diagnosed with it CAN and DO recover from it and go on to live happy healthy lives. I pray this will be the case for you most beloved Gwennie.

Joanne MN

Thank you so much for your responses. Gwennie did very well with her 3rd transfusion yesterday and I brought her home this afternoon. Her pcv is at 22. The vet and I are both hoping this transfusion will last longer than the last one. Deb, Gwennie has 0.0 reticulocytes, so that is still pretty troubling. She is on aspirin for the clotting and today the vet suggested adding vitamin E as well to prevent clots. We will add Pepcid a little later down the road, but she mentioned that it has been found that Pepcid only helps once the ulcer has already formed, not in preventing one from forming. We also talked about adding cyclosporine in the coming week. I'll keep you all posted!

Jessica Florida

My beautiful 11 Year old Brittany Spaniel, Abbey, died this past Wednesday from AIHA, it was a recurrance and the toll it took on her was terrible. She survived the first diagnosis last December, and her PCV count went as low as a 13, but she pulld out of it with drugs Predizone, SAMe, Anthroprizone, Vitamin E, and two other drugs I can't recall their names. No transfusion was given then. Her PCV counts steadly increased, then stabilized at 35. She was doing great, so I thought until about two weeks ago. I noticed her very quiet, and starting to turn her nose up at food, and her gums looked pale, of course I panicked and went to the Vet asap, and he uped her dosage of Pred, because her count had dropped to a 29. Steadily, her counts kept going down, and they reached a 14, and she was having difficulty breathing, so I rused her to the VCA Hospital where they did a transfusion. Her counts went up to a 29, and when discharged, were at a 25. the day after discharge, I took her in for another count and it went up to 26. She was happy, pink gums, eating soft food, giving kisses. We went to bed that night around midnight. I got up at 3:30am to check on her (she slept on the floor next to my bed, and she wanted to go outside. So I let her out, she did her business. We went back to bed and I woke up at 6:30 for work, and I saw she wasn't by my bed. I went downstairs and saw her laying next to the couch. She was non responsive and had a very slow heartbeat. I screamed for my two teenage kids and they came and helped to get her into the car, we raced to the VCA, I knew she was dying because she had bloody runny stools coming out of her, and she couldn't lift her head. The Vets offered to do a transfusion, but felt that she had suffered a thrown clot or had internal bleeding from a ulcer. There was no hope for her. Her count was at a 12, from a 26 the day before. Her transfusion failed. So I had to make the decision to euthanize her, and it was so hard, and I never cried so hard, and I got to hold her close to me, and my head was next to her head and I talked to her the whole time and I felt her last breath. My daughter was there as my son. We got to visit with her afterwards as a final good bye, and I had her privately creamated. It was the saddest day of my life. I did everything I could have done to help save her, and the last 7 months, especially the last two weeks was such a roller coaster, but we loved her so much and she knew it. It is very empty in my house and I can't bear the thought of walking in there and not seeing her. I can't stop crying. She never made a sound in the end, and I hope she was peaceful in the end. I hope one day that a cure can be found for this horrible disease. For anyone else that has a dog with AIHA, please watch, and enjoy every moment you can with your pet. Camille, Joe and Anna - In Memory of Abbey

Camille Naperville

Camille, My deepest sympathies to you and your family on the death of your most beloved Brittany Spaniel, Abbey. When you feel up to it, I hope you will visit the Loss & Grief page at the Meisha's Hope AIHA/IMHA Web site: http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/loss.htm This page was written with input from those who have lost their dogs to AIHA/IMHA and contains many resources that will be very helpful to you as you journey along the greif pathway. Once again, my deepest sympathies to you and your family on your loss. Be assured you all are in my thoughts and prayers during these most difficult days.

Joanne MN

Camille, Joe and Anna I am so sorry for your loss. As you said you did everything you possibly could to save Abbey. I think that is one of the very cruel things about this awful disease, you feel if you do all this they should get well, unfortunately sometimes they don't.I lost my dear Salome 2 years ago this month so I know the pain you are feeling. Please believe that there will be a day that the pain does ease (it never really goes away) and you will be able to smile again when you remember some of the happier days with your dear girl. Abbey has joined a lot of our dogs at the bridge where she will play until you are reunited. Take Care Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

I LOST MY GOLDEN RETRIEVER, HUNTER WHO HAD JUST TURNED 4, TO THIS HORRIBLE DISEASE oCT. 16, 2003. HE WAS FIGHTING IT AND LIVR DAMAGE, BOTH BROUTH ON BY PROHEART6 THE 6 MONTH HEART WORM PREVENTATIE INJECTION. TEN MONTHS AFTE HIS DEATH, THE FDA HAD THEM PULL IT FROM THE MARKET, BUT IS ALLOWING IT BACK WITH A TON OF WARNINGS ON THE LABEL--IF VETS PAY ATTENTION. HAD HE ONLY BEEN FIGHTING ONE OR THE OTHER, HE WOULD HAVE LIVED I DO BELIEVE, BUT HE COULDN'T HANDLE THEM BOTH. HE SPENT 8 DAYS IN ICU BEFORE HIS DEATH. BUT ONE THING YOU SHOULD KNOW IS THAT YOU DON'T GIVE UP. MANY DOGS GO ON TO LIVE MANY MANY YEARS. IT IS A HORRIBLE DISEASE, IT CAUSES YOU TO BE IN A VALLEY ONE DAY AND ON A MUNTIAN THE NEXT. BUT DON'T GIVE UP BECAUE YOUR DOG COULD VERY WELL BE ONE OF THE ONES THAT MAKES IT.

SANDRA TEXAS

My doggie, Pablo, a 10 year old lab/border collie mix was diagnosed with Pure Red Cell Aplasia in April. His red blood cell count at diagnosis was 24. This dropped to 14 AFTER 2 weeks on Azothioprine and prednisone. We then added on a 2 week course of Cyclosporin. Again, after the first week on this new cocktail of drugs his RBC was 14. His specialist indicated that the chances of him responding to treatment at that point were very low. I took him home from his appointment and began to prepare for the inevitable. But I kept giving him his drugs. (Which counted 11 pills a day!) He didn't seem to get much better, but he didn't get any worse over the next 10 days. When I took him back in for another blood test his red blood cell count was up to 30!! And, more importantly, instead of having zero baby red blood cells in his blood, he scored 291,000! Most recently he scored 40 on his CBC and we have cut back his prednisone intake by 3/4. He is slowly recovering from the ravages of the disease (and the ravages of steroids!). This past weekend was the first time he really seemed like his old self since this whole nightmare started. There were many times that I felt I was putting him through hell because I wasn't ready to let him go. Probably true. But, for the moment he is feeling great, chasing squirrels and barking madly at the neighborhood chihuahua. (Also, as I think back on the time he was really sick, he seemed to absolutely crave protein. I ended up cooking hamburger for him as it was about the only thing he would eat. And, for the first time in 7 years, I started giving him the biggest, marrow-i-est soup bones I could find at our local grocery store.) Needless to say, he is going to get away with murder for the rest of his days!

Diane Colorado

Hi, I am sitting here with tears streaming down my face as I read these messages. Yesterday my beautiful 9 month old Maltese pup Benny was diagnosed with AIHA - It has all happened so fast and I cannot stop crying. He is in a critical care unit in a specialists Vet hospital and had a blood transfusion last night. His initial count was 16 and now it is 26 and has stayed at that for about 18hours now. The hospital is 1 1/2 hours drive from my home and I feel so far away from my Benny. I am hoping that he is one of the lucky ones who comes through this. I just wanted to say my heart goes out to all of you as this is truely heartbreaking.

Jane Nambour Australia

Jane, I am sorry Benny has been diagnosed. You might want to start a new thread so more people will see your post. Know that you have come to a place where everyone has walked in your shoes. We all know that feeling of helplessness. The great thing is you will find so much support here and you will not have to deal with this alone. Keep us posted. Penny

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Jessica, I am scheduled to go to the veterinary hospital at 8:45 AM in the morning for my cherished Barkley to probably receive transfusion #4 before he has another abdominal ultrasound and a bone marrow aspiration. My primary vet told me today that the pathologist thinks that Barkley probably has PRCA but the emergency vet thought this was inconsistent with his reticulocyte count. I wanted to just scream that the whole miserable thing is just totally inconsistent with the life that my beloved little guy should be living! He has been on aspirin, prednisone, azothioprine, cyclosporine, metroni...(the anti-diarrhea stuff), SAM-E, pepcid,...and his bowels are still diarrhetic and orange, his membranes almost white, his appetite a struggle (although he will still eat those WholeMeals bone things)and he walks around like he is the 10,000 year old man...when he is not just laying down. So you have my total empathy...all of you. I talked with Purdue University today about the clinical trial that they are currently running to conduct DNA trials with dogs who have idiopathic IMHA and am enrolling Barkley in the study (it doesn't matter where you live...they will work with your vet). Maybe this way my Barkley will be able to help the researches determine an origin and, in turn, a solution for this demonic disease. I hope some of the rest of the IMHA folks will join us in this effort because this has just got to stop. I wonder too if there could not be some kind of a foundation begun for funds to help loving owners be able to get financial assistance to fight for their animals. Maybe matching funds for every research dollar donated. Or maybe an endowment or something...it also seems wrong that anyone should have to struggle with the whole money issue when they are struggling with so much already. And heaven knows how many animal lovers have had to hear the infamous "What are you doing?! It's only an animal!" Blessings to all of you, two-and-four-legged alike. Barkley and Cheryl

Cheryl Medford

Cheryl, I am sorry to read what you and Barkley are going through. My dog was diagnosed with non-regenerative IMHA at the level of the marrow through a bone marrow biopsy (the internist told us that was different from PRCA). I hope you get some answers for Barkley from all of this. It is all very difficult, isn't it? But, hang in there - Murray turned around when we thought it was the most grim. I am really intrigued by the Purdue trial you mentioned - when you have a minute, would you post any additional/contact information you have? I think a lot of people in this community would be interested. Best of luck to you and Barkley - please let us know how today goes. Take care. Bonnie

Bonnie Chicago

Bonnie, Thanks for your concern and your vote of confidence. How did people go through these things before the wonders of the internet and blogs? I just sent an email to Joanne/Meisha's Hope about the study so perhaps the information will make to her website for everyone to access. In the meantime here is what I sent to her. The website for the studies at Purdue is www.vet.purdue.edu/clinicaltrials and the study I referenced is called "DNA and Serum Bank of Naturally Occurring Canine and Feline Diseases (IMHA and Glomerulonephritis)" being done by Dr. Barrack Pressler. There is no cost for participation, unless your vet would charge you for the necessary blood draw but they told me that my vet could just draw a little extra when he would be doing one of my dogs regular blood draws. You can live anywhere and still participate. To enroll you just need to call the number listed on the website and they will call you back (I believe the person I spoke to was Becky). If they decide your dog is eligible they will have you give the information to your vet for him/her to contact them for details on how to proceed. There is also a second study going on for owners with dogs who have not yet done treatment (you will see it listed right under the DNA study)but you would have to be close enough to the University (it is in Indiana) to be able to take your dog there for the care provided. I hope a lot of our group will follow up on this. By the way, this is, from what I understand, only for dogs with idiopathic IMHA, not those whose disease was precipitated by innoculations or some other known factor. But I would contact them just to make sure. Again, thanks for the support. Barkley and Cheryl

Cheryl Medford

Penny, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the information about Dr. Dodds. I just left a message for her to call me back about my Tibetan Terrier, Barkley. His three vets have to date not been able to come up with a clear answer to what is going on with him since all the meds and the blood transfusions (he is getting #4 as we speak) don't seem to be doing the job, his diarrhea is not resolving even with the medications, and he has been in treatment now since mid-June. The pathologist (professional #4) seemed to be thinking PRCA but the vet at the hospital says that doesn't match with the fact that his anemia is regenerative (he has reticulocytes). I am hoping that Dr. Dodds might be able to help. I just got off the phone with a company about refinancing my home in order to pay for his care so I am hoping for both of us that we will have a true answer soon. Thank all of the higher powers there may be for the power of caring people who come together to help each other! Barkley and Cheryl

Cheryl Medford

My little Beagle Darcy has been diagnosed with nonregenerative anemia. After blood testing that determined the type of anemia, she was put on Doxycyline to take care of possible parasites/worms that had not shown up in the stool or blood samples. She was also given Baytril for a urinary tract infection. In addition, I started giving her Pet Tinic, an iron/vitamin supplement. After one week, her PCV had gone from 25 to 20. I scheduled an appointment with a veterinary specialists group in the area. Two weeks later (this Monday) Darcy went in for an ultrasound and extensive blood work. The cost was $845, but I would do anything to help my little girl. The ultrasound looked good, only a little mottling on her liver which the vet said was an againg thing (Darcy will be 9 in October). I received the results of her blood work today and broke down and cried when the vet said her PCV was 13. She talked about a course of action which would include a transfusion followed by bone marrow testing. She did say that the blood test to determine if there is a tick related blood disease would not be available until tomorrow. She couldn't make any promises about what a bone marrow test would reveal if anything at all, but said it could possibly show an immune system problem which they would treat with prednisone. I decided to take Darcy in for the transfusion today and start her on prednisone. I want to see how this works out and also see what the additonal blood test report shows. I will pick her up this evening. Her appetite is still good when it comes to organic chicken and brown rice and an occasional egg and Frsoty Paw, but she seldom touches her Newman's Organics kibble. I was just devastated today over the blood results and knew I had to make some important decisions. I hope I've done the right thing, opting for the transfusion and the prednisone. Has anyone else had a similar experience or can anyone offer suggestions?

Karen North Carolina

Karen: any decision you make with your pets best interest at heart is a good one. I would have done the same thing. It is wise to do the bone marrow to rule out any other underlying issues. The transfusion is a must with a pcv under 15-17. Thinking of you two, keep us posted.

Courtney SLO

After reading some of these threads I must let you all know what has happened with my Jewel since she was diagnosed with thrombocytopenia and hemalytic anemia 7/25 - 7/29. I took her in a 7/25 because I noticed blood in her urine. My vet (who was new to her because my vet is 2 hours away)did blood work, tick testing and told me she had thrombocytopenia due to probable asprin I had been giving her for her what I thought was arthritis at the time. Her blood work only showed a low platlet count of 32 everything else was fine. He kept her over night and gave her IV's and let me take her home the next day, her platlet count up to 37.(sat) Sunday she was weak and panting from the prednisone and she was also on dicural a very strong antibiotic and still peeing and pooping blood lots of blood. On Monday night when I came home from work,(11pm) I noticed she was very weak & I checked her mouth like the vet told me to and her mouth was PALE no pink whatsoever, I had to carry her outside to go potty and when she found the strength to pee she then would just fall over like she had no muscle to keep her body up. I of course was trying to keep it together to no avail. I snapped myself back and went on line and searched for canine anemia and found the she had the symptoms and took her into the vet first thing the a.m. He did blood work, xrays to rule out cancer of the spleen and an ultra sound. Her blood test showed platlet up to 42 but her red blood cell count was almost off the chart to the negative side. Her WBC was way up and her bone marrow was still trying so hard to send out cells to fight but they were to young to help. So the vet said she needed a transfusion which we decided to do and she would be in the hospital 1-2 days. The transfusion went well and he let me take her home the next day. She was on 40mg prednisone 2x's a day and Imural 50mg 2x's a day. Her back legs were really weak still but she was able to motivate slowly. Let me say we had motivational talks every second I could! While she had been in the hospital I did a lot of research on tick information I was given in the beginning of testing, and even though the vet said she showed up negative for all tick diseases. ( Being from WI I only thought of Lymes disease and when I found her first 2 ticks in her whole 9 years of life in May and early June, I did not see any of the signs Lymes disease in her so I did not feel worried. But some how my gut was trying to tell me her limping was due to the tick I pulled out in June but I never listened and then again my antennae went up when the vet was first testing and came in and said had she been in any tick areas and I told him about my concern over her limping and the wood ticks I took out in May and June.) To make a long story short in my research I found Ehrlichiosis and found that my Jewel had ALL but one of the symptoms of the chronic stage and that in the beginning stage limping and lameness was one of the beginning phases(we know how much I wanted to beat myself up but now I know I can do something)I researched other dogs that had any and all tick bacteria diseases and thrombocytopenia and hemalytic anemia are stages of these diseases. Since I personally took 2 ticks out of her I knew this was what caused my dog to go through what she was going through and after the research I found the when in the subacute and chronic stages of tick borne bacteria/disease THE TESTS SHOW UP NEGATIVE because they hide in the white blood cells and even if you have the most expensive white blood cells test done it still could show up negative and they still have the bacteria and disease!!! Which Ehrlichiosis is known as AIDS in the canine world of which there is not a cure but can be supressed. I immediately talked to my vet on Monday after much research over the weekened and told him I wanted Doxycycline because I felt this all came on by the ticks and that is how I wanted her treated. Tetracycline products are the only antibiotics that take care of tick borne bacteria and diseases - the dicural does nothing for it and did nothing for her. Tuesday she ended up getting the last symptom of the tick bacteria and that was conjunctivitis was setting in her eyes so I called and asked for the antibiotic for her eyes so that did not progress further. Now I felt for sure it had something to do with tick disease. She has since been on the tetracycline for 3 weeks 500mg 3x's a day and let me tell you that my Jewel has progressed beyond belief, we still kept her on the prednisone and Imural even though both can hinder the progress of the tetracycline. The first week was slow but steady, I incorporated her multi vitamin and glucosamine tablets, and fed her fresh liver, chicken and beef for week 1 and I fed her 3-4 times a day. Week 2 - now I feed her fresh liver, chicken or beef or a combo of 2 of them with fresh veggies especially carrots combined with either broccli, brussel sprouts, zucchini, cauliflower...then mix it all together with oatmeal. Week 3 is the first week her legs looked stronger she is walking farther and picking up her pace...sometimes she wants to run and jump and realizes not yet but it will come!! Week 3 I also started incorporating a vitmain C and vitmain d and Calcium pills to help stregthen her immune system and she showed the greatest progress this week. She gets her blood test in her 4th week because it take 4-6 weeks sometimes for the pred and imural to show progress and the tetracycline 4-6 weeks. I can already see the progress her coat and body look almost like my old dog before the tick infestation. So please even if they tell you the animal tested negative for tick borne bacteria or diseases please look into whether or not treating them as if they have it would hinder them or possibly help them as in my case. Thank you everyone for your prayers and advise...prayers and prayers for the power of healing work just as importantly as medicine!!

Pam Milwaukee

I just went through a horrific experience with my little Schnauzer who I adopted from the shelter in February 2008. I'm still hurting from losing this sweet little girl who attached herself to my heartstrings so quickly. Today all I've been thinking about is what did I do wrong, she was doing okay after coming home last Saturday evening, she ate good Sunday, had solid bowel movements, but Tuesday morning was terrible. I keep thinking it may have been something I fed her to cause her to go into relapse. I started giving her Jake's Cuisine again www.jakescuisine.com mixed with her kibble, but now I wonder if it upset her stomach more. Instead of typing all the events, I am copying and pasting what I sent to Rainbow Bridge grief support right after it happened. My message to Rainbow Bridge: My sweet little baby Miracle who we adopted February 27, 2008 left us on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 because of AIHA which is something I did not understand until going through all the procedures with her. Her problem began last Wednesday morning when she did not move off her pillow to go outside for her early morning ritual. I had to pick her up and take her to the grass. She relieved herself, but when she started walking her legs were wobbly. I got her to the vet's office and her paxel count was 10%, life threatening. The vet did a blood transfusion, but then sent me to the emergency clinic for further surgery to remove her spleen which was enlarged. They removed it with my permission and kept her Wednesday night for observations then transporting back to the regular vet Thursday morning. Her count was up during this visit, but the vet said she needed a bone marrow biopsy which he couldn't do so I was referred to a specialist 2 and half hours from home. I loved Miracle so off we went to Mandeville in the car together. She did very well and never complained or showed any signs of pain. Needless to say she had to spend he night, actually two nights there and was released on Saturday. I'm wondering if I pushed them into letting her come home too soon. She was weak, but ate really well Saturday and Sunday and I gave her the Prednisone medication as prescribed. Monday's vet visit was so encouraging because her count was up to 20%. I left there feeling really good. Miracle ate good Monday evening, but then took a turn for the worse Tuesday morning at 1:00 a.m. I'll never forget the time. For some reason it woke me up and I'm a heavy sleeper. She vomited next to the mattress I'd placed on the floor. Within a few hours she was vomiting more then had diarrhea. I realized it was serious when she showed signs of increased weakness so I got her to the emergency room at 4 a.m. It was evident the vet there was not that experienced because she was confused. At around 5:30 a.m. she called to suggest I drive her the 2 and a half hours to the specialist, but I wasn't sure if she would make it there and I knew the regular vet would be in at 8 a.m. Now I'm feeling guilty thinking maybe she would have fared much better if I'd done that, but I'm so confused about this disease that maybe there wasn't a chance of helping her no matter what. Miracle's stomach was filling up with liquid so the emergency vet relieved that by taking some from her. When I went to get her at 7:30 to transport her to my regular vet the assistant carried her to the car, but Miracle was listless. When I told the girl she immediately looked at her and ran her back inside. They put her back in the oxygen chamber and did what they could do. My regular vet didn't get in until 8 a.m. so I had to wait around and you can imagine how I felt. I was so upset and feeling guilty for having to bring her to an emergency clinic. The drive to the regular vet's office took about 15 minutes and poor little Miracle laid there, but her head was up and she seemed to be breathing okay. When I got her inside and told them I was here I sat down. It seems like the minute I sat down she started going limp. I just knew she was gone...Sarah who showed so much kindness toward Miracle ran out and took her from my arms. The vet talked to me later and said she vomited in the resusitation mask, but they would monitor her throughout the day. I hated to leave her there and that's another guilt because I wasn't able to hold her as she was leaving this world. The vet called me at around 12:30 p.m. to let me know she didn't make it. They tried everything they could to stabilize her, but it was affecting other organs. My mind is foggy right now, but she said the tests done earlier at the specialist showed protein in the kidneys which is not good. She also said something about the vascular system and Miracle was bleeding internally some more, that when she tapped the belly at 9 a.m. there was blood and at that point she was considering calling me about having her euthanized because it was beginning to affect her brain. Also jaundice was developing. More guilt is setting in on me for not staying there at the vet's office for her last moments. This is hard to deal with and please excuse my ramblings, but for some reason I feel it has to come out of me in words before I explode. This little dog touched me in the short time she was here and I so wanted her to have a long happy life for awhile because she was neglected before I got her. I'm beside myself feeling guilty for not recognizing a problem sooner. She had some diarrhea and would vomit occassionally, but not every day. I'm wondering if there was anything that could have been done sooner to save her from this awful ordeal. Maybe if she'd had more blood work done following the removal of a piece of metal from her stomach it would have helped...I just don't know. Maybe when I first saw the diarrhea I should have run her in to the vet's office. I did call to see what I could do and one of the ladies recommended a special food for dogs who have diarrhea, but when it stopped I didn't go in. I've cried my eyes out since getting the news on Tuesday and I'm having trouble right now as I'm shedding more tears while typing this. I could really use some words of encouragement and help from anyone who has experienced this AIHA problem. It baffles me that something could take away a beautiful little dog in such a short period of time. I'm leaving her page up on Dogster because she was so special to me. I made so many wonderful friends there through her and my other dogs. One made me a beautiful Rainbow Bridge picture of her which looks like she's sitting there at the bridge waiting on me to come for her. Another friend made her the most prettiest angel wings which really had me streaming tears when I first looked at it. It's still hard to view right now, but I did manage to upload it to her page. You will see those photos if you look at her page. And if you have time please read her diary from page one and let me know if there is anything in there that could have been a sign of this horrific disease. http://www.dogster.com/dogs/744404 Thank you for taking the time to read this extremely long message. I'm so sorry, but I had to give you all the details so you can understand where I'm coming from. I'm hurting more than anyone could ever know. And thanks for having the Rainbow Bridge site with all its inspirational poems. Ramona

Ramona Hand Lafayette

This thread was discussed between 17/06/2008 and 25/08/2008

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