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My 4.5 year old dog died from Kidney Failure, cause unknown
My most loyal companion died of kidney failure last week after 9 days in the ICU. She was seen at three different vet clinics and as a last resort, I brought her to the University of MInnesota to see an internal medicine specialist. She is a terrier mixed breed, possibly wheaten terrier mix.
Her symptoms started after she got into a 4x8 inch piece of rhubarb crisp dessert left on the counter. I had guests over and she doesn't jump on the counters, but while I went to work and the guests were outside the kitchen, she managed to pull down the pan and lick it clean. When I got home from work, she had thrown up the entire contents of the dessert and pooped a normal size/color/consistency stool. The next day, I fed her a small amount of food mixed with a bit of water to ease her stomach. She drank water and slept most of the day. The next day, she puked a clear liquid and still ate her food and drank water normally. I thought maybe she just needed one more day to get over her upset stomach. The next day, I took her outside to play fetch and she was running after her ball and eating a few small milk bone treats. That evening after I fed her, she slept but in the late hours vomited all of her food, and a greenish yellow mucus next to it. She was salivating too and walking slower than normal. Her eyes looked sunken. I brought her to the vet and they drew her blood and her BUN was 116, and Creat 12.2, Phosphorus 16! CBC normal, Amylase 1553, Lipase 2281.
They put her on an IV and checked her blood every 24 hours. After a few days her creat came down to 8.2 and BUN 89, and Phosphorus was normal. Her BUN and Creat remained at these levels for the duration of her hospital stay and her blood pressure began to rise. She developed a heart murmur, (however she had one as a puppy-not sure if this is related or due to the blood pressure) She developed fluid in her lungs as a possible result of uremia, but no fluid in the heart cavity.
Ultrasound showed little to no distinction in her kidneys (i'm not well versed in ultrasonography). I think they were normal size, but the first vet who did the ultrasound said they looked like an 18 year old cat in kidney failure.
Her health prior to this event was good, I thought. I brought her to the vet annually for exams and vaccines. However, she had 3 bouts of UTIs in her young life. Her most recent was about a month prior to this incident. She was put on enrofloxacin tablets 68mg. Upon diagnosis of that UTI, she also received her rabies booster and distemper/parvo vaccine the same day. If her kidneys were actively fighting a UTI (maybe it was more advanced than the bladder and ureters) would a vaccine be too much for her kidneys to handle? Could it have weakened her kidneys? I have noticed she drinks all of the water in the bowl at my parents house, but I thought it was because they have a dog and she is defensive of her food. I thought it was behavioral. She also has peed in the house at night and sometimes it looks clear almost watery. I thought she just drank too much water after going for a walk with me earlier in the day.
Or could this have been pancreatitis?There was butter and sugar in the dessert. Although this wasn't the first time she has gotten into the trash or eaten other human food on accident and had been completely fine. I am wondering if all of those occasions where she got into human food has accumulated clots in her pancreas. The vet doesn't think it's rhubarb toxicity since the dessert was made with the cooked stalks and not very many of them. The toxic oxalates are in the raw leaves. However, I read that if a frost occurs, the toxins can leach into the stem portion, although in small amounts. The vet thinks it's possibly leptosporosis as we have mice in the yard and it was been a wet spring and summer. It was too soon for an antibody titer to be collected and proven, since it can take the body a few weeks to develop a high enough titer to be detected with current testing mechanisms. They performed a needle biopsy of her liver? Liver biopsy was normal. But no biopsy of the kidneys. I'm not sure why. At this point, I had little to no sleep and was not eating for two weeks. I even slept next to Brandee at the 24 hours emergency vet to make sure she slept the night.
I opted out of a necropsy since I couldn't bear to picture her being cut open. Now I wish I would have done this.
She was everything to me, especially while my husband is deployed. I am guilt ridden with not taking her in sooner. I did not know anything about pancreatitis or kidney failure until this happened.I don;t know if this was acute renal injury or acute on developing chronic and a bout of possible pancreatitis triggered her downhill battle? I had been feeding her high quality food from Chuck and Don's called FROMM, and it's made in Wisconsin. I doubt that food had any problems associated. About a year ago, I bought a bag of chicken jerky treats from Waggin Train, and now realized there was a recall on them!
I thought I was taking care of a simple upset stomach, but ultimately I lost my best friend due to dumb negligence and inability to act upon the little worried voice in my head until it was too late. I wonder if I had brought her in after throwing up the first time, she might be here at my side. I can't live without her. She meant the world to me and I failed her.
Her symptoms started after she got into a 4x8 inch piece of rhubarb crisp dessert left on the counter. I had guests over and she doesn't jump on the counters, but while I went to work and the guests were outside the kitchen, she managed to pull down the pan and lick it clean. When I got home from work, she had thrown up the entire contents of the dessert and pooped a normal size/color/consistency stool. The next day, I fed her a small amount of food mixed with a bit of water to ease her stomach. She drank water and slept most of the day. The next day, she puked a clear liquid and still ate her food and drank water normally. I thought maybe she just needed one more day to get over her upset stomach. The next day, I took her outside to play fetch and she was running after her ball and eating a few small milk bone treats. That evening after I fed her, she slept but in the late hours vomited all of her food, and a greenish yellow mucus next to it. She was salivating too and walking slower than normal. Her eyes looked sunken. I brought her to the vet and they drew her blood and her BUN was 116, and Creat 12.2, Phosphorus 16! CBC normal, Amylase 1553, Lipase 2281.
They put her on an IV and checked her blood every 24 hours. After a few days her creat came down to 8.2 and BUN 89, and Phosphorus was normal. Her BUN and Creat remained at these levels for the duration of her hospital stay and her blood pressure began to rise. She developed a heart murmur, (however she had one as a puppy-not sure if this is related or due to the blood pressure) She developed fluid in her lungs as a possible result of uremia, but no fluid in the heart cavity.
Ultrasound showed little to no distinction in her kidneys (i'm not well versed in ultrasonography). I think they were normal size, but the first vet who did the ultrasound said they looked like an 18 year old cat in kidney failure.
Her health prior to this event was good, I thought. I brought her to the vet annually for exams and vaccines. However, she had 3 bouts of UTIs in her young life. Her most recent was about a month prior to this incident. She was put on enrofloxacin tablets 68mg. Upon diagnosis of that UTI, she also received her rabies booster and distemper/parvo vaccine the same day. If her kidneys were actively fighting a UTI (maybe it was more advanced than the bladder and ureters) would a vaccine be too much for her kidneys to handle? Could it have weakened her kidneys? I have noticed she drinks all of the water in the bowl at my parents house, but I thought it was because they have a dog and she is defensive of her food. I thought it was behavioral. She also has peed in the house at night and sometimes it looks clear almost watery. I thought she just drank too much water after going for a walk with me earlier in the day.
Or could this have been pancreatitis?There was butter and sugar in the dessert. Although this wasn't the first time she has gotten into the trash or eaten other human food on accident and had been completely fine. I am wondering if all of those occasions where she got into human food has accumulated clots in her pancreas. The vet doesn't think it's rhubarb toxicity since the dessert was made with the cooked stalks and not very many of them. The toxic oxalates are in the raw leaves. However, I read that if a frost occurs, the toxins can leach into the stem portion, although in small amounts. The vet thinks it's possibly leptosporosis as we have mice in the yard and it was been a wet spring and summer. It was too soon for an antibody titer to be collected and proven, since it can take the body a few weeks to develop a high enough titer to be detected with current testing mechanisms. They performed a needle biopsy of her liver? Liver biopsy was normal. But no biopsy of the kidneys. I'm not sure why. At this point, I had little to no sleep and was not eating for two weeks. I even slept next to Brandee at the 24 hours emergency vet to make sure she slept the night.
I opted out of a necropsy since I couldn't bear to picture her being cut open. Now I wish I would have done this.
She was everything to me, especially while my husband is deployed. I am guilt ridden with not taking her in sooner. I did not know anything about pancreatitis or kidney failure until this happened.I don;t know if this was acute renal injury or acute on developing chronic and a bout of possible pancreatitis triggered her downhill battle? I had been feeding her high quality food from Chuck and Don's called FROMM, and it's made in Wisconsin. I doubt that food had any problems associated. About a year ago, I bought a bag of chicken jerky treats from Waggin Train, and now realized there was a recall on them!
I thought I was taking care of a simple upset stomach, but ultimately I lost my best friend due to dumb negligence and inability to act upon the little worried voice in my head until it was too late. I wonder if I had brought her in after throwing up the first time, she might be here at my side. I can't live without her. She meant the world to me and I failed her.
I forgot something very important!;
"THANK YOU" to YOU & your HUSBAND for your "SERVICE TO THIS COUNTRY!!!!" IMO, those left at home sacrifice, also!!!! I appreciate it & God Bless you Both!!!!! Karla
"THANK YOU" to YOU & your HUSBAND for your "SERVICE TO THIS COUNTRY!!!!" IMO, those left at home sacrifice, also!!!! I appreciate it & God Bless you Both!!!!! Karla
Hello Brandeesmom....My goodness, I'm so sorry for your loss! Please, don't beat yourself up.....Sometimes things are out of our control! YOU went above and beyond to save this girl & you should be commended for it!!! I for one, appreciate your unselfish acts of doing everything you could to get her the help she needed!!!!
There's always those unanswered questions that play around in our minds.....The dreaded "IF'S" is what I call them.....They also are a part of the healing process although it's too soon to recognize them as such, yet! I may can help you w/a few answers:
Those Chicken Jerky treats (Made in China) have been killing dogs for about 6 years now.....They should not only be recalled, but banned from all store shelves...I STILL see some of the questionable ones in stores as we speak!
This is a high possibility of what happened to your Brandee and should not be ruled out! 1000's of deaths have been reported over the years!!!! Were you still feeding these treats?
Next- Lepto.--In my experience w/Lepto, there was a alarming high fever & shivering because of it.....As I recall, White Blood cells were elevated on blood panel! Kidney failure is imminent if the correct antibiotic isn't used....You do not have time to run the lepto panel, but must start kidney failure treatment while the panel is being sent off....This test is VERY expensive and most choose to go ahead and treat because there's only 2 antibiotics that work!!!! Do you live in an environment where Letpo is possible...Most series of Vaccines include Leptospirosis......This IS the perfect time of year for the virus and normally is contained to stagnant, puddles, pools or ponds of water...The dog would have to drink the water source...Did that happen that you know of?
Yes, the excessive water intake & clear out put is a clue of something wrong...Especially if it is sudden and not normal behavior....However, there are other diseases like (Diabetes) that cause this same reaction.....So, until blood is tested, there is no way of knowing....
If you would have had a specific Pancreatic Panel Run, it more than likely would have shown that this was not pancreatitis.....Elevated Amylase seems to go w/Kidney Failure....I do not know why! 1553 is high, but not extreme IMO....
Next-Could this have been a vaccine reaction? Your girl should have never been vaccinated with anything while she clearly was being treated for an illness...Your Vet should have know better....The vaccine packaging states clearly that it should only be used in healthy dogs! That means NO ONE that is sick should be vaccinated....Not to mention, your Vet chose to double whammy her w/ ALL vaccines at once which is a huge mistake!!!!! This IS NOT your fault!!! This is your Vet's fault & is about nothing more than making a buck, at your dog's expense!!!! Been there, done that!
The continued UTIs may be a clue of kidneys not working correctly.....Maybe this was some kind of defect from the beginning that no one would realize until it was too late...That's a possibility!!!!
Again, I'm heartbroken for you.....I hope that this might help you some....I haven't been around here lately, but when I saw your plea & know one had responded, I felt you needed to hear from someone.....
"Run Free BRANDEE"...You are much Loved!!!! One of the lucky ones!!!!
Your in my prayers........Karla
There's always those unanswered questions that play around in our minds.....The dreaded "IF'S" is what I call them.....They also are a part of the healing process although it's too soon to recognize them as such, yet! I may can help you w/a few answers:
Those Chicken Jerky treats (Made in China) have been killing dogs for about 6 years now.....They should not only be recalled, but banned from all store shelves...I STILL see some of the questionable ones in stores as we speak!
This is a high possibility of what happened to your Brandee and should not be ruled out! 1000's of deaths have been reported over the years!!!! Were you still feeding these treats?
Next- Lepto.--In my experience w/Lepto, there was a alarming high fever & shivering because of it.....As I recall, White Blood cells were elevated on blood panel! Kidney failure is imminent if the correct antibiotic isn't used....You do not have time to run the lepto panel, but must start kidney failure treatment while the panel is being sent off....This test is VERY expensive and most choose to go ahead and treat because there's only 2 antibiotics that work!!!! Do you live in an environment where Letpo is possible...Most series of Vaccines include Leptospirosis......This IS the perfect time of year for the virus and normally is contained to stagnant, puddles, pools or ponds of water...The dog would have to drink the water source...Did that happen that you know of?
Yes, the excessive water intake & clear out put is a clue of something wrong...Especially if it is sudden and not normal behavior....However, there are other diseases like (Diabetes) that cause this same reaction.....So, until blood is tested, there is no way of knowing....
If you would have had a specific Pancreatic Panel Run, it more than likely would have shown that this was not pancreatitis.....Elevated Amylase seems to go w/Kidney Failure....I do not know why! 1553 is high, but not extreme IMO....
Next-Could this have been a vaccine reaction? Your girl should have never been vaccinated with anything while she clearly was being treated for an illness...Your Vet should have know better....The vaccine packaging states clearly that it should only be used in healthy dogs! That means NO ONE that is sick should be vaccinated....Not to mention, your Vet chose to double whammy her w/ ALL vaccines at once which is a huge mistake!!!!! This IS NOT your fault!!! This is your Vet's fault & is about nothing more than making a buck, at your dog's expense!!!! Been there, done that!
The continued UTIs may be a clue of kidneys not working correctly.....Maybe this was some kind of defect from the beginning that no one would realize until it was too late...That's a possibility!!!!
Again, I'm heartbroken for you.....I hope that this might help you some....I haven't been around here lately, but when I saw your plea & know one had responded, I felt you needed to hear from someone.....
"Run Free BRANDEE"...You are much Loved!!!! One of the lucky ones!!!!
Your in my prayers........Karla
Also, upon initial admission, the rest of her Chem panel was normal, including electrolytes. Could she still have been dehydrated? If this was pancreatitis, could it have triggered hypovolemic shock to her kidneys, thus causing damage? Could the elevated pancreatic enzymes damage her kidneys?
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