Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Lost our Hailey Today

Our beloved 8 year old Shih-Tzu, Hailey, had to be put down today and I am beyond crushed. :( This all happened so fast - she was healthy and fine and then last night she started acting bewildered/wouldn’t eat or drink/was extremely lethargic/she was turning white - her skin, her gums, and even her little tongue was turning white and her urine was a dark, dark yellow. I took her to the vet that night, they did blood work and they found she had hemolytic anemia and was very sick. They gave her a shot of a steroid and 3 different medications and told us to watch for her gums turning even whiter than they were and if they did turn whiter to take her in to the 24/7 animal hospital. I stayed up all night with her and watched my once energetic, very happy, healthy dog go completely down hill - extremely fast, literally right before my eyes. I called my vet as soon as they opened and brought her right in. She couldn’t even stand on the exam table! Her blood levels dropped to 10 from 15 the night before, despite all the medication they had given her the night before and I had given her at home. They said she had a small chance of survival if taken to a specialist right away and given a blood transfusion. Something told me she wasn’t going to make it through that - it was a deep gut instinct I had as I knew my Hailey very well. I didn’t want her to be put through the trauma of the transfusion/IVs/etc given those odds of survival. I had to make the very painful decision to have her put to sleep as I just knew I had to let her go, although I didn‘t want to ever let her go. This all just happened so fast and my vet said it does happen and they don’t know why. She had just been to the vet a few weeks prior for her yearly blood work and it only showed her liver enzymes elevated a little so we were going to watch that. NO signs of hemolytic anemia! I had never even heard of it before last night. Other than the elevated liver enzymes she had a perfectly great yearly checkup. She was put on two medications for stomach issues (diarrhea) she had been having so I am wondering if those darn medications had something to do with this! The vet said there is nothing pointing to either of those medications causing this, she checked and rechecked and found nothing linking them to hemolytic anemia. How can a healthy dog be gone now so fast? Why did this happen? Is this how this horrible illness goes - comes on suddenly and takes them from us quickly? Thanks for reading!

HaileysMom USA

To Hailey's Mom - I am so, so sorry to read your story. It is heartbreaking and there is no explaining such a sad and unexpected loss. I believe one of the hardest things about IMHA is that most of us have never heard about it until we face it. I hope that in time you gain comfort from happy memories of years with Hailey and knowing that when faced with the most difficult of decisions you made the selfless choice for her. I also hope it brings you some comfort to know that you've reached a community of people who have walked in your shoes, understand the pain you are feeling now, and will offer comfort when you need it. Please take care. Bonnie

Bonnie Chicago

Hailey's Mom, I am so very sorry to hear you lost your most beloved Hailey yesterday. Please accept my deepest sympathies on your loss. 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. While you are there please visit the other pages of the site which will help you to learn more about Canine AIHA/IMHA. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers during these most very difficult days.

Joanne MN

So very sorry to hear of your sudden loss, it is hard enough to get your head round IMHA when the dogs do have a chance. Our thoughts are with you. Sue and Archie

Sue and Archie Cambs UK

Please accept my heartfelt condolences in the loss of your fur baby Hailey. God saw you getting tired, A cure was not to be. So He put his arms around you, And whispered, "Come with me". With tearful eyes we watched you, and saw you fade away. Although we loved you dearly, we could not make you stay. A beautiful heart stopped beating, your tender (paws) at rest. God took you home to prove to us, He only takes the best. RIP Hailey Chery & Ginger

Cheryl & Ginger Pinevile PA

Dear Hailey's Mom, You have my utmost sympathy in your loss of Hailey. I, too, had never heard of AIHA before my dog came down with it. Please take comfort in the wonderful life and love you gave Hailey. Barb

Barb Ohio

I am so very sorry to hear you have lost your dear Hailey. The swiftness of this awful disease stuns us all. I hope that your happier memories of the time you had with your dear girl helps ease the pain of these terrible days.

Penny Lytle Creek Calif

Dear Hailey's Mom -- I'm so sorry to hear that you lost your dear Hailey to this horrible disease. IMHA does strike so quickly, and most of us never heard of it until it entered our lives, and then we have to make quick decisions, oftentimes with very little information. The hardest thing is that we usually don't know the cause, so we play the "what if" game when we just have to accept what happened. You did the best you could do for sweet Hailey, and your love was the last thing she knew before she died. I hope your memories of your sweet girl and your wonderful life together comfort you. Like many others here, I lost my beloved dog to IMHA, and it is a comfort to be a member of this forum where people understand what you and your pet have been through and can comfort you. Please take care and let us know how you're doing.

Brenda VA

Dear Hailey's Mom, I am indeed very sorry to read of Hailey's tragic death. We lost our Eddie in much the same way in September - not so fast, but with such bewilderment and anguish because we hadn't seen it coming, and couldn't do anything to save our boy. I can sympathize deeply with you and are so sorry you must walk this path, without your beloved Hailey by your side. I promise it helps to read these pages. Even if we can't give you answers, we can give you our support. Thinking of you in your time of grief. Peggy

Peggy Sweden

So sorry to read of your loss of your loved Hailey. Many of us have lost our loved pets in the same manner. In my case a blood transufsion and a month of treatment still made no difference also to a Shih tzu x Maltese. Lots of advice on Joanne's site on the disease will help you understand why this can happen. Most times there is just no reason why a healthy dog can suddenly get this disease. My thoughts are with you during this a most difficult time for you. Julie. Melbourne Australia.

Julie Australia

Hailey's mom, I am so sorry for your loss. It is so hard to come to terms, loosing your dog at such a young age. I hope you got some information from Joanne's site and can a bit better understand what happened . You were with Hailey to the last breath and she knows how much you love her. I hope all the good memories will heal your broken heart in time. Best wishes and my sincere condolences, Brigitte

Brigitte BC Canada

Thank you so much for your kind replies everyone, it means more to me than I can properly express in words. I feel very drawn to this board...I have been reading the Archives and learning more about this awful disease that took our furbaby from us just a few days ago. It is so very sad that they don't know what makes this happen to our babies and that there isn't a proper cure for it! It seems like the ones who do survive it spend the rest of their lives on medications and have relapses...why isn't there a cure yet?! In this day and age I am truly shocked they don't know more about this disease - how to prevent it and how to cure it! I have been beating myself up trying to relive the past few weeks wondering if there were any signs I missed, signs Hailey was getting sick that I didn't see, any sign that I may have missed but she was fine. I am very grateful we had just taken her in for her yearly blood work two weeks prior and it was normal as had we not had that done two weeks prior to her diagnoses I would have always thought I had not seen the signs and spent the rest of my life beating myself up. That blood work truly saved me a lot of pain as it came back normal yet two weeks later she gets this disease - it shocks me and saddens me immensely! I also have guilt that I wasn't there when they put her to sleep...I was in a complete state of shock and I could not do it. I could not even say goodbye to her. I left her in wonderful, kind, caring hands. My vet is truly an angel and she was our angel that morning. She held Hailey before and after, giving her lots of kisses, and she told me she went very quickly and she didn't suffer. In an odd way I am relieved we had the last say, not the disease, as to HOW Hailey went. We were told they usually will go from respiratory distress if the disease took her and I was told she would have suffered. I am relieved she did not suffer, gosh am I relieved about that. Then I have the guilt that maybe I should have taken her for the transfusion, despite her odds for survival. I knew my Hailey well and she was a very sensitive dog and I had such a powerful gut instinct to let her go, that by letting her go it was doing what was best for her. Everything happened in 17 hours. We were at the vet at 7:00 pm Thursday evening and Hailey was put to sleep around noon on Friday. 17 hours from start to finish - not a lot of time to ease the shock and wrap one's head around this disease. I started researching it the minute we got home from the vet Thursday night and almost everything I had read was so grim...I knew we were in trouble. IF Hailey had stayed the same or improved from the night before and not dropped down to a 10 from 15 maybe I would have chosen to get her transfused. It was a long drive from my vet to the specialist and I feared Hailey wouldn't make the drive and I did not want her to suffer. :( Boy I wrote a book, I am just utterly in shock still and I miss my dog and want her to come home, although I know she is gone and will never come home again yet I am left with WHY?! Why did this happen to her in such a short time? I know no one has an answer to that...but this disease changed our lives and I want to do something about it so Hailey's death was not in vain.

HaileysMom USA

Hailey's mom, There is actually something you could do. Have you gone to Joanne's site, Meisha's hope? Joanne started a fund through the Morris Animal Foundation that sponsors research into AIHA. http://www.cloudnet.com/~jdickson/newhope.htm Through this fund Joanne has helped to sponsor research and studies at universities. As far as I know Meisha's Hope has given out $250'000 to shed more light on the disease. Joanne has also started this board and crated the wonderful Meisha's Hope website. I honestly don't know how I would have done it without the board or the website. When my 3 1/2 year old Standard Poodle Kahlu died in January of this year, after a year long fight, I was devastated. Like you I didn't want his death to be in vain. I started to do some fund raising at dog agility trials. In the few months since Kahlu died I was able to collect almost $400. This is of course not a whole lot, but every penny adds up. I also talk to people at the trials and have a few pamphlets that I got from Joanne with me. I don't know what was the trigger for Kahlu, but I will never routinely immunize any of my dogs, nor will they be given flea or heartworm medication as a preventative. I made it my mission to talk to anybody that wants to listen about AIHA and the things that could possibly cause it. In the beginning it was very hard to constantly talk about this horrible disease over and over again, but then I started to feel better every time I found somebody that was truly interested. I have no illusions, a cure won't be found anytime soon. The disease is just to complex. But through research there have already been changes made in the treatment. Please consider donating to Meisha's Hope, every penny goes right into studies at veterinary colleges in the USA and Canada. Please don't beat yourself up if you have done the right thing. Some dogs recover and live a long and happy life after the diagnosis. Some don't..... We do what we can, but sometimes it is just not up to us. You are in my thoughts, best wishes, Brigitte & the poodle boys

Brigitte BC Canada

Haileys Mom, You have my heartfelt sympathies on your loss. I had to put my horse who I had owned for 25 years to sleep last year. He went from fine to extremely ill in 24 hours. It is extremely hard to deal with losing someone you love that quickly. Do not second guess yourself. You made a very selfless decision and you know your animal best. I struggled with the same type of thoughts for a long time with my horse, but now time has eased the pain and I truly know I did what was best for him. It was harder on me, but it saved him needless suffering. My prayers are with you. Dione and Smith

Dione

Hailey's Mom~ So sorry you lost your "little girl", Hailey. This disease is such a mystery and confusing for all of us going throgh it. Unfortunately, you can second guess yourself, but it still doesn't change things. Sometimes the meds and transfusions work and sometimes they don't. You were brave for her and she knew how much you loved her. GOD gave them to us for a season and you had a wonderful, though short time of love, play, laughter, and wonderful memories. Please know that we care and are praying for you and your family as you heal from your pain. Blessings, Cindi

Cindi & Tori PCB

Dear "Haileys Mom" I was so sorry to read that you lost your precious Hailey to IMHA. It is truly a devastating disease, which strikes so quickly, and so often with lethal results. Please try not to second guess yourself. You made the best decision you could with the information you had at hand. Hailey did not have to suffer. I truly believe that we sometimes are so connected with our pets, that we know the right thing to do without being told. Take comfort in the eight wonderful years you had with your very special girl. I know its hard to believe right now, but it will become easier to deal with your loss as the days go by. Hold on to all the great memories you have of Hailey----they will help to heal your broken heart. Maureen and Mercedes

Maureen British Columbia

Dear Hailey's Mum, I am so sorry to hear that you lost your darling Hailey to IMHA. This disease takes us all by surprise, most of us having never even heard of it before our dogs are so very sick. Almost every person on this forum has tried to look back for warning signs of the onset of IMHA, but most of us did not notice anything was wrong until our dogs were very sick. It sounds like you and Hailey had a very strong connection, and that you knew what you had to do for Hailey. You made a very unselfish and strong decision to let her go. I have honestly never come across a disease so cruel in how quickly it takes so many of our babies, and how swift it is in doing so. Please don't feel guilty about any of the decisions you made, you did what was in your heart and the best thing for Hailey. I hope your happy memories of Hailey comfort you during this difficult time. Our thoughts are with you, Sam & Millie.

Samantha Geelong Australia

Dear Hailey's mom, I am so sorry to hear that you lost Hailey to this horrible disease. Please know that our thoughts are with you. I too had my boy taken very suddenly, and I know how stressful it can be having to make that decision. And that it doesn't make any kind of sense why it happened in the first place, especially when you're dealing with such little time from beginning to end. Please don't beat yourself up about the signs. They are so subtle, and they are so commonplace. The fact that you saw them, and caught them quickly, shows that you did more than many would have been able to do. You had the best chance possible, but the bad luck of encountering a swift, horrid disease. And the not in vain part of your question sure strikes a chord - that was my big question after losing Mikey, and still is three months later. Here's something I wrote for an article I am working on for Shelter Pet day, as it seems pretty close to what you are talking about: "Mikey helped me see how empty my life was, before I had a dog by my hip, waiting for me to get home, waiting on a soft blanket instead of in a cold kennel. He came into my life wanting to teach me a lesson about work life balance, and wanting me to know that there are other dogs out there who need to be helped out – on the internet, help get a little training, go out for a walk, know that someone cares about them. That there are rights to be fought for, legislation to beat, money to be donated. That life still goes on even when there is hellishly difficult stuff to go through. That life doesn’t revolve around a software release, that there is more meaning to be had. That life is short, and you don’t get a re-do. Oddly enough, the first thing I questioned after he passed was my volunteering. How I regretted doing it, and not spending each of those hours with him. But of course, that was ridiculous as that is what he inspired me to do from the outset. But that is where your mind goes after losing a dog. He taught me so much in those eight months, I learned my lessons, he hopefully had a great time, then it was his time to go. I don’t know why. Maybe he was needed somewhere else, or maybe I was needed by someone else. Because I sure learnt some intense lessons while he was sick, and after he passed – and maybe I needed to know those lessons now, instead of later. We’ll never know, but I assure you Mikey: I listened, I heard, and I understood. Your life was not in vain – it was a life well lived, and a life that changed my own for many years to come." Talk about long book - but I just wrote that about an hour ago, and then came upon your post asking why, and not being in vain. :) Regardless, my heart goes to you. I think you will learn a lot through the struggle, and answer some of your questions - the ones that can be answered. Know that Hailey was lucky to have had such a great life with you, and you with her. Hugs, Jen.

Jen San Francisco

This thread was discussed between 20/11/2010 and 29/11/2010

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