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| Photo Credit: www.lyttleco.com |
Last month, we
came face to face with a previously thought to be uncommon infection in urban
areas known as leptospirosis.
This is a
bacterial infection carried by urban wildlife (squirrels, raccoons and other rodents), or grazing cattle, in their urine.
It doesn
’t harm these
critters but can cause serious kidney and liver problems in dogs and
people.
Apparently, the long dry summer
followed by heavy concentrated rains in December allowed for a
“perfect
storm
” so to speak, and this bacteria was able to follow the
rainfall into standing pools and drainage areas.
When dogs drink or walk through these areas (in
many cases our own yards after a heavy rainstorm), they can become exposed to
the organism.
It causes acute kidney
failure to start with, but what owners of dogs that are infected notice is
their dog misses a meal, and then two and maybe three
…
How many
times has your dog missed a meal or two and then felt better in 24 hours? Mine have.
Sometimes it isn’t that easy though. One such Border Collie, a young 5 year old
neutered male named “Sammy,” recently
experienced just that.
“Sammy” was
always a little picky about his food, but when he didn’t eat for the
second day, his owners became concerned.
He had vomited once, then just stopped. He seemed especially sluggish
too, but had no fever. He didn’t
act painful or sore, just seemed depressed.
A routine blood test alerted us that his kidney function tests were very
elevated - more than one would expect with dehydration, although he was
certainly dehydrated. After receiving a
liter of fluids and obtaining some urine, it became clear that his kidneys were
not acting normally, and the diagnosis of leptospirosis was considered. He did not have a yard that had standing
water, but he had been to the dog park on occasion, and had killed a skunk a
week earlier. We ran the screening test
and fortunately the diagnosis was made quickly.
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| Photo Credit: www.petvet1.com |
Leptospirosis
usually responds well to antibiotics if they can be administered before
permanent damage is done, and if aggressive diuresis is started to keep the
kidneys from shutting down.
In Sammy
’s
case, that meant aggressive IV fluid therapy and hospitalization for three
days.
Since he wasn
’t
eating to begin with, we also had to give him medication to stimulate his
appetite, prevent him from vomiting, treat the acid build up due to the kidney
problems, and the antibiotics to treat the infection.
Despite all of this, his liver also started
to become affected by the organism.
In
some cases, these dogs do not recover despite our best efforts, and the recovery
period can take weeks to months.
Luckily
for Sammy, he started to turn the corner after about 1 week and now, 1 month
later, he is gaining weight back and feeling like a normal active 5 year old
Border Collie again!
To learn more about leptospirosis, visit this website:
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