I have been contemplating writing this post for a while, as I always thought to myself “I will write it when we know for sure what happened and when we are done with the process”. Well, we are still deep inside the process of getting back to normal and we don’t know what happened. I do however want to write this in case this happens to your dog, so that you know how to react and what symptoms to look for.
It was back in may and I randomly noticed small pink dots on Ziggy’s belly. It looked like a usual rash, the kind that Ozzy had often from walking in high grass, so I didn’t think anything of it. The Next day, bright red spots started appearing on her belly, and gradually started appearing on other areas of her body. The difference was seen hour by hour and when I saw that she had bright red (blood) spots in her ears, on her gums and in her eye, I panicked and took her straight to our local vet. Amazingly, Ziggy was happy and active, maybe a bit more chill but otherwise she looked like nothing was wrong. This is what is so confusing to me. If I wasn’t working from home that day, with her by my side, I probably wouldn’t even notice anything was wrong.
The vet did her bloodwork test and checked her vital signs, his diagnosis was that it might have been rat poison intoxication. She got a K vitamin shot and since our local vet clinic is very small and not equipped, we rushed to the vet clinic in Ljubljana.
In Ljubljana, they did another bloodwork test, with completely different results and we found out that her thrombocyte (platelet) count was extremely low, so they had to keep her there overnight. You can imagine how shocked we both were, since she was happy and energetic like nothing was wrong. I don’t know if that’s her or being a working breed, but she never shows any signs. This was probably the hardest moment for us, leaving her overnight and when they told us that there is a chance that she might die, I was very close to having a panic attack. We were both quiet the entire ride back home, I don’t know about G, but my mind was replaying saying goodbye to Ozzy in January, and saying goodbye to Darwin 2 years ago on a loop. I was in complete shock.
The reason why I was so shocked is that only a few weeks before, we have completed all her medical and genetic tests for her breeding exam and she had the best possible results. No issues, no hereditary diseases in her pedigree. So when I say that this came out of f* nowhere, it really did.
Luckily the next day her bloodwork results were much better and she could go home with us. But this was just the beginning of a very long journey that we are still on.
So, WHAT happened and WHAT could have caused it?
– this could be an allergic reaction to something in the environment. The bad news is that it could be almost anything: insect bite, tick bite, animal bite (snakes), intoxication from a substance in the grass, or in the garden, in the farming fields, it could be rat poison, or something else she ingested, or something she just got in contact with (for example, a toxin gets on their paw and the dog licks it). Since we live in the countryside, ANY of these is plausible.
– it could also be a reaction to a medication, vaccine, tick repellant, or any other treatment or substance dogs ingest or we put on their fur (not in our case*)
– the reaction causes thrombocytopenia: a decrease in the number of thrombocytes (platelets) in the blood. Thrombocytes are produced in the bone marrow and help with healing bruises or bleeding, to prevent blood loss. If the number is low, this causes abnormal bleeding (these red spots on skin, gums, in the eye, etc.), blood in urine, vomit or poop. The blood loss causes anemia, and in severe cases dogs can die. Symptoms are also pale gums, increased breathing rate and lethargy. Though, as I said, Ziggy didn’t show any symptoms so regular blood testing is crucial.
– thrombocytopenia occurs in humans as well, it could be a one-time-thing, or it can be a chronic condition, where dogs require regular bloodwork and medication. In case of a chronic condition, this is called immune-mediated thrombocytopenia.
This is a very complex condition and the only way to find out what has caused it, is the process of elimination. And of course, regularly checking her bloodwork. It is a long process and a waiting game, because you cannot speed up the process of thrombocyte production in the bone marrow. You cannot speed up the process, you can only support your dog’s immune system with good nutrition, lots of rest, and regular (mellow) exercise. That’s it.
We have spent the entire summer very chill, and we are still checking her bloodwork on a regular basis and the numbers fluctuate every few weeks. She is given Medrol and Imuran (immunosuppressant medicine) that help with thrombocyte production, but it unfortunately affects her in other ways:
– she has very delicate digestion now, so I needed to start cooking food for her. Feeding her raw or commercial food would cause severe, bloody diarrhea, so I have to control everything that she eats.
– She has also “thrown off” all her undercoat, which she would usually do this time of year, but not as intense as now.
– Due to being forced to rest, she has lost most of her muscles. We are slowly increasing her physical activity, but it will take a while before she will be back to her old fitness levels.
– her immune system is slowly improving but it’s very delicate, so I don’t allow her to be around unknown dogs or people.
– she has had a complete hormonal imbalance, causing her to have fake pregnancy, mood swings and she is very sensitive in general.
So far we have eliminated tick-related diseases as a potential cause (all the tests came back negative), and apparently rat poison would show up with different symptoms. I also don’t think it’s food, because I learned from living with Ozzy, how food allergies manifest and it’s just not the same. Other than that, we are still in the process of figuring out what exactly happened and how this will affect her in the future. I hope that we are out of the worst part and that she will be able to live a happy, healthy and active life. I hope I will be able to let you know more and this helps your dogs.
if you notice these kinds of red spots (small bleeding on the skin, gums, ears, eyes, etc.), GO to the vet NOW the causes could be:
– rat poison intoxication
– allergic reaction (something in the environment or something ingested)
– snake bite
– allergic reaction to vaccine/medication
– autoimmune disease
… in such cases, time is of the essence 
