I encourage all dog owners to contribute and share their thoughts and their own stories. The only thing which will save more dogs from this horrible fate is if we all inform each other.
What is Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis?
It is a possibly fatal disease which can strike any dog at any time. There is no known cause for it other than some speculation that it could be a virus, or parasite. It could also be caused by allergies, a change in diet, stress and many other reasons.
How do I know if my dog has it?
The signs are blood in the dog's vomit and bloody diarrhea. However, in Ansel's case, she showed no clear signs of blood either in her vomit, or in her diarrhea. So watch closely. If you suspect that there is even the smallest amount of blood, rush your dog to the vet.
Is it curable?
Most of the cases of HGE have been cured. The most important thing is to recognize the signs early and act quickly. There is only about a 10-15% chance of fatality with treatment. That's WITH treatment. Without treatment, as in Ansel's case, fatality is almost guaranteed. There is also a 10-15% chance of HGE recurring in your dog once they've had it. So again, it takes dedication and diligence to spot it and get your dog to the vet.
What's the treatment?
Hospitalization is a must. The vet will administer an IV with fluids, antibiotics and sometimes potassium. There is also a possibility of a blood transfusion in cases that need it.
What is the recovery time?
Most dogs should recover in a few days. In that time, their diet should consist of bland foods like boiled rice and boiled burger. After a week, or so a normal diet can resume.
ANSEL JANUARY 2001 - AGE 3 MONTHS
ANSEL JANUARY 2002 - AGE 1 YEAR AND 3 MONTHS
ANSEL SEPTEMBER 2006 - AGE 5 YEARS AND 11 MONTHS
ANSEL FEBRUARY 2008 - 7 YEARS AND 5 MONTHS
Hi. I just read through this post of your beloved dog Ansel and it brought tears to my eyes. I just picked up my dog from the vet and they diagnosed her with the same condition. She was at the hospital all day and was put on IV. They said she was stable enough to take home. I have to bring her back in tomorrow morning to finish her IV treatment. I'm sitting here surfing the net & trying to figure out what happened and what could have caused this to happen.
ReplyDeleteI'm worried, scared and hope she'll feel better soon. Prayers ...
I would like to give you my most humbling condolences. The "love" of our lives, our chocolate lab Hershey is going to the vet tomorrow morning for (I suspect) this very thing, which I had never heard of until this evening. I don't think you should feel guilty about anything, though I would probably be the same way. Sounds to me like you loved your baby dearly.
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry.
Julie,
ReplyDeleteI am terribly sorry to hear about Hershey. My thoughts are with you!
Please let me know how it goes.
Taylor
My , not quite, 2-yr old Pomeranian, Pookie just died of this
ReplyDeletelast night...I thank you for your post as it is helping me to deal
with all of these feelings....especially the "what if I'd taken him in
sooner?" pains.
Pookie was just feeling a little sick, and then we woke up to see
him on the floor with clear fluid and diarhea everywhere. We took
him to the vet, they put him on IV in the morning & he died 10 hrs
later of cardiac arrest. I feel your pain in the suddenness of this hge.
Thx again,
jessie
So sorry for the loss of your beautiful dog. I am looking into adopting a dog who was abdandoned at a shelter with this disease... cruel huh? I am going to go get her right now and take her to the vet.
ReplyDeleteIt's 4am here in the UK and I have just returned from the emergency vet. Seems my Schnauzer has what poor Ansel had. I am so glad that I took her to get attention although I agonised for hours over calling the vet out of hours. The scary thing was the speed in which this thing took her over - a matter of hours. Sorry for you loss.
ReplyDeleteRichard
My condolences on the loss of your dear Ansel! My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is slowly recovering from HGE. This last weekend, he spent two days at the Emergency Vet Hospital after vomitting blood. He became very sick in just a short amount of time, and fortunately received the treatment necessary for survival. Thank you for bringing awareness to this potentially deadly disease!
ReplyDeleteIm so sorry to hear about your loss. I live in mexico and I just brought my dog in a few hours ago. Things are not that advanced here and I hope that he is ok. they just gave him a shot because he did not seem that dehydrated. he seems ok but we shall see. don't blame yourself.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear about your loss. My dog is in the hospital right now fighting HGE. She never really throws up but did three times in one night. I thought maybe she had just gotten into something but called the vet just to be sure and thank god I did because an hour after I left her at the vet she started to bleed out. She is fighting for life now its been two days. Its so easy to feel like I could have done something more. I should have been able to stop it but the truth is HGE is just fast and evil and and no ones fault.
ReplyDeleteMy dog got out of the vet today. I took her in fri
ReplyDeleteI've had to feed her with a 10 ml syringe every two hrs.
I went and got her a baked chickin and I'm feeding her
table spoon every two hrs she eats that on her own
Our one year-old Miniature Schnauzer also has HGE. Between my husband's lunch break and getting home from work, our dog went from healthy and happy to explosive diarrhea. Luckily, we got him to the emergency vet as soon as we saw a drop of blood in his diarrhea (he had not begun vomiting at this point) and after one night in the hospital, he is on his way to recovery. At least, he sure is eating like a pig!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing Ansel's story. I hope that it saves many dogs' lives.
Does anyone out there have pet health insurance (the visit was less than $500, but I would like to avoid paying that much again!), and would HGE be covered under your plan?
Our 85-pound Australian Shepherd is recovering from HGE. We are lucky -- she vomited blood on Sunday afternoon but the vet didn't seem concerned when I called; he said he'd see her but it could wait until the next day if not resolved. By the time we got to the vet on Monday she could barely get out of the car. Very high hematocrit, severe dehydration.
ReplyDeleteIf I had known at the time, I would have insisted she be seen immediately. Fortunately, she is now recovering at home after a night in the hospital.
I would suspect that HGE is covered under pet insurance. Unfortunately, because HGE can reoccur, our dogs may not be insurable......
Our six-year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is recovering from this disease. He was perfectly healthy. Three days ago, I awoke to a nightmare of a large pool of bright red blood on the hall floor, then saw another and several areas of vomit, and found him under a table listless. Then I saw the blood stains around his tail area, I grabbed him with a towel and called the vet as I drove him as fast as I could that I was on my way. After 24 hrs of tests and IV fluids, blood plasma, and antibiotics, he is home on his way, so far, to recovery. I thought I had overreacted. I never heard of this horrible disease. Bless you for posting this tribute to Ansel. Your story will surely save other dogs' lives as pet owners learn of the real urgency of action when HGE strikes.
ReplyDeleteOur six year old Airedale Terrier, Alfie, is (hopefully) now recovering from this disease. He was perfectly healthy, then he just went downhill fast, refusing food and water and went outside to leave a large pool of blood. He has spent 2 days in a veterinary hospital on IV and antibiotics. He is now home, very sleepy, but also very hungry so hopefully he is recovering. We had never heard of this disease and neither had the breeder who we spoke to. Your story is saving lives, we only knew about it from your tribute to Ansel.
ReplyDeleteOur dog Harley, a 5 year old rott-shepherd mix, is now home and recovering from this horrific syndrome. We are so blessed that he got treatment in time. I was just researching this and found your blog. I am so sorry for the loss of your gorgeous dog. Thanks for posting this and helping to raise awareness for HGE.
ReplyDeletemy dog is presently in the hospital on an iv with this disease. i am so heartbroken and so scared. thank you for this posting this blog. i also am so upset bc we waited two days to take her in. she hadn't been feeling well when we picked her up from the kennel and we figured she was "upset". we then saw a pool of blood last night, and took her in for a fluid shot. she has a pool of blood again today and they admitted her into the hospital. my heart goes out to everyone on this blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the beautiful pictures of Ansel. I am so sorry for the loss of your companion. We had to go though the same thing but were lucky with our outcome. This weekend was horrible. Our dog , Sadie, a cockerspaniel/toy poodle, began vomiting up blood on Thursday. She then had a terrible odor , followed by bloody diarrhea. I was worried but didn't call the vet until later that afternoon. She ended up staying at the Animal Hospital all day on Friday and Saturday so that they could give her hydration through an IV. They also gave her antibiotics and B12. We were able to bring her home for the night after the full day of hydration. It was the longest night of my life and she didn't look like she would make it. I held her half the night as she layed in my arms lifeless. She pulled through the night and was much better after the second round of hydration at the hospital. She is now home and doing well. Dogs that have had this can have a relapse, so know to watch for the signs again. Please tell anyone who has a dog about this syndrome/disease so that it can be caught immediately. We waited because we didn't know but we were very fortunate that Sadie survived. I am angry that this disease is so sudden in healthy dogs and that it takes their life so quickly!
ReplyDeleteThis just happend to us with our Black Lab over the weekend. I had not noticed anything wrong with him Friday day or night. But Saturday morning I went to let him out and he had a bout of Diarreah and some vomiting. I put him in the garage for the day so that he didn't mess in his crate. I had to leave for a funeral out of town. While there my daughter calls to see if I am home. She had left her computer in the house and wanted to retrieve it. I told her to let herself in and check on Gage..(our baby) to see if he was ok and to give him water. 10 minutes later she called me back telling me of the horrific scene she has seen in the garage. There was blood everywhere she said. Said he needed an "exorsism" I rushed home to find a half dead dog. I took him into the ER Vet. And they immediatly started IV fluids. I think that was the only thing that saved his life. If my daughter had not come home...Gage would have not made it till I returned. This is a very odd and QUICK SETTING disease. I am so thankful Gage made it out ok.
ReplyDeleteTwo weeks ago my husband and I adopted another Pomeranian. Her name is Murphy.
ReplyDeleteA week after we received her from the rescue, she started to vomit. I was a bit alarmed but attributed the vomiting to the stress of being subjected to a long rescue transport from LA to WV, and trying to adapt to a new home with four other Poms.
Around bedtime, Murphy seemed to be a little better and had stopped vomiting. I went on to bed but woke up three hours later to a horrific smell!
On the floor in the middle of our dining room, there was a huge puddle of diarrhea and blood! Murphy was laying in the doorway, and when I checked her hind end, she was covered in blood!
I quickly mopped up the mess on the floor with paper towels and put them in a plastic bag, knowing the Vet would need to see the evidence.
I put Murphy in the deep sink and rinsed her hiney, then telephoned the Vet's emergency call service.
The Vet told me to bring Murphy in to the clinic immediately and stated that from the symptoms I described, she felt sure Murphy had Hemmorhagic Gastroenteritis.
The Vet immediately began fluid therapy and put Murphy on antibiotics. Murphy responded quickly, and after an overnight stay, she was discharged from the clinic with medication.
Less than four days later, which was yesterday, I again awoke to a familiar smell!
I jumped up, found Murphy and checked her rump thinking, thinking she had a relapse...but didn't see any blood or potty on her!
In a panic, I hunted down the four other Poms we own, looking under beds and pulling them out one by one to check behinds.
It turned out to be Piper, who is five years old and all of three pounds. She had blood all over her hind end and feet.
Again I called the Vet in the wee hours of the morning and made an emergency trip to the clinic.
Piper was also diagnosed with Hemmorhagic Gastroenteritis but had not shown any symptoms prior to the bloody diarrhea.
No vomiting or listlessness. She had been energetically playing with one of her squeeky toys before going to bed, so it was a shock that she had come down with the same illness as Murphy! Especially since prior to Murphy's arrival, Piper had been extremely healthy with no serious medical issues!
Our Vet admitted Piper and sent me home with a bottle of antibiotics to administer to the other three Poms in our household. They don't appear to be ill, but the Vet said to give them the medication to prevent onset of the illness.
I spoke with the clinic yesterday afternoon to check Piper's progress. They said she was doing well, responding to treatment and barking non-stop at the other animals in the clinic!
Hopefully she'll be able to come home today.
I've been doing research on Hemmorhagic Gastroenteritis, which is how I found this webpage, and appreciate all of you who have shared your experiences! I would like to express my condolences to those of you who lost your pet to this terrible illness. I feel truly blessed that my Poms were diagnosed quickly and responded to treatment.
The Vet assured me she doesn't believe this disease is contagious, so I'm trying to figure out exactly how Murphy and Piper contracted the disease.
The only common factor I can think of is Murphy, who is extremely overweight and had to be put on diet dog food. My dogs were being fed Kibbles and Bits until Murphy's arrival, and I switched everyone to Purina Fit and Trim in order to help Murphy lose weight.
Needless to say, I dumped the diet food out of their dish and replaced it with their usual food. The change of diet had to be the culprit.
I'm not sure I'm 100% convinced this illness isn't contagious. It seems too ironic that two dogs in the same household could have such a violent reaction or hypersensitivity to changing food.
We lost our Ollie to HGE on Saturday. I am wracked with guilt because he was a bit off colour on Friday. He had vomitted during the day and had a case of diahorrea but it was all clear. As Ollie had these issues before and they only lasted 24 hours - he was always fine and chirpy the next day, I decided to wait until the morning to take him to the vet. When we woke up he was under the children's trampoline in the elements barely breathing - it was unusually cold and wet overnight. We still didn't see any blood and assumed that he had a severe case of gastro. Unfortunately, we were wrong. The vet lifted his tail and found blood. What if I took him on Friday instead of waiting? What if ... As odd as it sounds, thing I can't deal with, more than his actual death, is that was he in pain?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry to hear about Ollie.
But please don't beat yourself up. This is a horrible disease that comes on like wildfire. And unless you've researched it beforehand, there's simply no way of telling until it's already hit. In which case, it may be too late.
If you want to honor Ollie spread the word about HGE to your family and friends.
Taylor
This article is amazing. Your story really touched my heart. Last night, we took our dog straight to the Vet and he is undergoing treatment for HGE. Thank you for your information and spreading awareness for this illness. I'm deeply sorry for your loss, if only we could turn back time. Ansel was such a beautiful dog, and I hope you and the rest of her loved ones are doing well. Thank you for writing this article.
ReplyDeleteI'm so, so sorry for the loss of your sweet Ansel. My dog, Gracie, suddenly came down with HGE 24 hours ago. She goes to doggy play care and was fine when I dropped her off in the morning. She was her usually bouncy, playful self. By 3pm that day I got a call from the staff at play care that she'd been vomiting blood. An hour later I took her to the vet and by then the bloody diarrhea set in. She had all the symptoms you describe, I cannot believe how fast this thing happens. It looks like we caught it in time and Gracie will be ok. I have been sick with worry and I can't begin to imagine your pain. Thank you for sharing your story. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteFolks:
ReplyDeleteMy litle dachshund Sable is taking IV as I type this. Blood in his stool for the last couple of days and suddenly vomiting all over the place and just outright bleeding this morning. At first I was shocked because I just lost my first dachshund to sudden illness last Christmas, but your comments have the effect of making me feel very lucky to have gotten him in to the vet this morning. Condolences to all those who have lost a pet, I know the pain. Keep up the good work spreading the word about HGE.
My chiwee Brownie is in the hospital because of this awful condition. I thought she was dead yesterday evening when I called her she didn't come to me, I found her lying with her tongue hanging out in my closet. She played all day she never showed any signs of blood in stool or vomiting. she had a foul smell in mouth before this no signs at all. Thank God I rushed her to hospital. she is a very active little dog.. I pick her up tomorrow I still don't understand what this is and wish everyone will keep posting about this HGE
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know of actual veterinary studies that have been done on HGE? To me, it's infuriating that we hardly know anything about the cause of this devastating disease. Yesterday, we lost our 4-year-old German Shepherd in a matter of hours.
ReplyDeleteIf the blog owner or anyone has any resources on this subject (other than the general websites) please post.
Thanks. My sympathies to everyone on this thread who has had to go through this experience.
I can barely see through my tears to post this comment. Your dog's story is ripping me apart, especially since my dog is in ICU with this disease at this very minute. He has been spraying blood for almost 36 hours now. I am sick with worry and was looking for answers when I found this site. I took my baby, a toy Poodle, into the vet at first sign, first loose stool, yesterday afternoon, and then back to their ICU for IV fluids last night; so far nothing is changing in the diarrhea department so I don't know how to feel, even with the recent news that his red cell volume (per mL) is normalizing at this hour. I have seen dogs crash without warning (the ashes of my sweet baby who died from AIHA eight years ago rest atop a shelf in my closet). Today I am hopeful but distrustful of positivity at this point; e.g. the VT's claim that my current baby is doing great and should recover fully. I watched my last baby crash over and over, over the course of 11 days until I finally was forced to make the worst decision a pet owner can make....and at the same hospital my current baby is in today, coincidentally. Two dogs, two hemorrhagic conditions, same hospital. Actually, make it 3 dogs since one of my other babies (I have 3 dogs now, in a way making sure I have backups to care for in case I lose another one like I did 8 years ago) just got over pancreatitis and was showing the same hemorrhagic signs for about a day. My luck with dogs and bleeding disorders ain’t great at this point. Anyway, my heart aches for you and your baby. To this day I can’t read Rainbow Bridge.........but I hope Ansel’s there.
ReplyDeleteMy guess, as a scientist but certainly not a vet expert, would be a bacterial shigella like organism similar to a disease in humans. Few intestinal organisms cause hemmorage, but shigella does and can be serious. Most viral or vibros organisms do not cause the intestine to loose red cells. Vibros looses fluid but is not hemolytic. Look to some shigella or nasty e coli
ReplyDeleteI wish they could find more out about this horrible disease. my little booboo is in the hospital right now for second night in a row diagnosed with this. i am leaving her at the vets for a week , due to the amount of recovery involved. I will never "wait it out" next time she vomits or has diareahh. Its very serious she nearly died. This is such a horrible dissorder....
ReplyDeleteMy 4 year old Yorkie, Jojo is currently in the hospital right now on an IV for what I suspect to be the very same thing. Although the vet doesnt seem to be entirely sure, and doesnt seem to want to give that diagnosis just yet because this is not the first case of this for my dog. This is actually the THIRD instance of bloody diarrhea and slight vomiting of clear frothy liquid that Jojo has had in the past month and a half! Both of the other times before, Xrays and blood work were done which all came back normal and he was sent home on Metronidazol, a probitic paste/pill combo,and a veterinary prescribed diet for sensitive stomachs. He was fine for a couple weeks after each time, but now its back again. This time with the characteristic lethargy and lack of appetite and dehydration that he never exhibited before! My poor dog was so weak yesterday with a low pulse and had a really bloody episode at the emergency vet that scared the vet enough to make him want to put Jojo on an IV immediately and keep him over night. Today we called and were told that he is doing fine and responding to the treatment much better than the vet thought that he would. We are going to leave him there on the IV all day today to make sure that he gets the most help that he can before we bring him home. I hope and I PRAY that he makes a full recovery this time and that with this round of medication and treatment, that we will never have to deal with this again! We are all so tired. This has been a trying month for me, my mother and for Jojo.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for all the losses. I have a german shepherd today he turns 6. His name is cosmo.I believe he has HGE. All the symptoms are the same. Me and my husband were laid off so we have no income. I can't take him to a vet. My 5 yr old daughter is taking it really hard. He has not eaten a full meal in 3 days, and what he does eat he throws up undigested food. He has had 4 accidents in the house. I am so depressed. I have taken so many pictures of cosmo and my daughter so she can always look at them. I don't no what to do!!!! I will give updates.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeleteThat is so sad!
I wish you the best.
Please keep up updated.
Taylor
All of these posts are so moving. I'm Ansel's people "gr'ma", and I still miss our girl something fierce. Taylor's research into HGE has certainly brought this horrible disease into focus but why aren't the vets warning dog owners about it? Sue
ReplyDeleteHi. I'm sorry to hear about the loss of Ansel. I'm going through the motions of it right now. My baby boy, my love, my heart Heckler, my beautiful German lines German Shepherd was diagnosed with HGE on Monday, August 29th. He has been in the hospital since then. He started vomiting on Sunday night. At first, it was normal, vomit, so I thought nothing of it. I stayed up with him for the night and since his vet didn't open until ten on Monday morning, I decided to go to work (which I regret). I came home around nine or so and there was blood everywhere, so I rushed him in (I mean, doing 95 on the freeway). They took xrays and there where no foreign bodies, but they still didn't know until they checked for parvo. As we where waiting, he collapsed with blood literally pouring from his rectum. Already beside myself, I lost it. I though he was going to die. They admitted him into the hospital and he's been there ever since. They have him on an aggressive IV treatment with penicillin and other antibiotics and anti vomiting meds. I visit him everyday with today going on my lunch break and me headed there after work. I'm at a loss because I was afraid that I was going to lose my best friend. We're on day three and it's a struggle. He's still not eating but he's looking better, not good, but better. They say he's out of hot water and into cool. I feel like I failed him because I shouldn't have left him alone when I went to work for a few hours. I research everything with my babies (I have a cocker spaniel and a Norwegian Forest Cat and a Manx at home as well) and I feel stupid that I didn't even know about HGE. I'm on a mission to teach my fellow parents about this horrendous disease. I just think that if I would have acted sooner, or have done one thing different, that I would have him home. I need my Heckler and I cannot imagine my life without him, especially at only three years old. I'm on my way to visit him right now. I can just only hope that we can spread the word and teach other parents the warning signs before it hits like it did with Heckler and Ansel and all the other babies it affects. :( Knowledge is power.
ReplyDeleteI just returned with our 6.5 lb. little sweetie, who, night before last vomited all night. After a trip to the vet in the morning, I was sent home with antibiotics and my baby in tow, who had been given anti-nausea medication and sub-cutaneous fluids after x-rays failed to show any foreign bodies in her stomach or intestines. Later - long after Veterinarian hours, the bloody diarrhea started to appear, and happened 10 times during the night. I was on the Vet's doorstep before they even opened. They gave her more sub-cutaneous fluids, antibiotics and anti-nausea drugs, and ruled out parvo. Once again, they sent her home with me after observing her for the day, and she is on the antibiotics, and limited water and bland food to make sure she can keep it down. I am praying that she continues to improve. There is a remarkable difference in her demeanor tonight compared to last night, and there has been no more vomiting or bloody bowel movements. I once lost a large breed dog to something that I had never heard of commonly referred to as "twisted stomach." It took her life in less than 12 hours. Even with surgery to turn her stomach back to the proper orientation, she died from the damage that had been done in such a short period of time. I am always the alarmist when something is off with one of our pets. They can't tell us when they aren't feeling well, and sometimes, by the time they show us, it is too late. I pray that soon thoughts of your beloved Ansel will be those that warm your heart and bring a smile to your face. You were lucky to have had one another.
ReplyDeleteMy 7 yr old pomeranian was fine friday morning but was listless and had vomited profusely friday night. My husband took him to the vet he next day where he had blood work done and was sent immediatly to the emergency hospital where he has been ever since. He has had 4 plasma transfusions and was put on vitamin k as a precaution against possible rat poisoning. He still looks terrible and now has liver problems, could it be HGE ? I am so scared that he won't make it .
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI'm very sorry to hear about your pomeranian. Was there bloody stool?
Normally HGE is accompanied by bloody diarrhea as well as vomiting.
In any event, I hope he recovers.
Taylor
Thank you for sharing your heartbreak with others. My girl frenchie, Meika, is currently in a critical care clinic with HGE. Reading your story helped me to make sense of her very sudden illness. She was fine Saturday night, but not really interested in her supper. Sunday morning, she began to vomit blood, and had bloody stool. I rushed her to the vet immediately, but we almost lost her on the way to the clinic. She was limp and lifeless. She is not well enough to come home yet, but I can only hope that we caught it early enough. She's a tough cookie.
ReplyDeleteHi , i was just looking on the websites about HGE, when i found you blog. I know how you felt, my dog just died of HGE , it wasn't even 24 hours after the vomiting and bloody liquid stool. It started around midnight, i put newspapers down on the floor all around the bed, it looked like a blood bath. I work for a Vet so i took Gizmo to work and they gave him sub q fluids, a shot of antibiotics and a shot to stop the vomiting. work closes at 12 noon Wednesdays, I took Gizmo home and he died 2 hours later. I was devastated. I have two other dog that have gotten mild cases of it, they got fluids with antibiotics and were fine the next day, then in a week or so another one would get it. I could swear it is contagias, but the vets say not,but they don't know so, why when one got sick did another soon after get it also. Now i just had my Gizmo die from it and i am so scared my other dogs will get it again and die from it. this is a quick acting illness. I just can't believe my Gizmo is gone. I have been grieving for 2 days now, i know it will get better and yes the vets need to educate the public about this awful HGE. Sincerely Robynn
ReplyDeleteRobyn,
ReplyDeleteI'm so very sorry for your loss!
I truly hope your other dogs will be fine, but at least you now know how quickly you must act with this terrible disease!
Taylor
I'm so sorry for your loss. I just lost my 6 year old Maltese, Nemo, from HGE 2 days ago. I miss him so much and it hurts so much. He was perfectly healthy and such a loving and energetic dog. He was really one of a kind.
ReplyDeleteWe had a baby 10 months ago, and about 6 months ago, we sent him and our chihuahua to live with my in-laws and their minpin. We have a small 1 bedroom condo so 2 adults, baby and 2 dogs is a tight fit. I thought he would be ok there and planned on bringing him back as soon as we moved into a bigger place. We imagined our son growing up with Nemo, chasing him around and torturing him (but secretly we knew Nemo would enjoy it). We just saw him on thanksgiving day when we visited, 3 days before he got sick, and we usually visit on sundays, but we didn't go this week bc we were just there. That sunday afternoon, Nemo started the vomiting followed by bloody diarrhea. This was at 3pm and they called the vet right away, but by around 9:30pm, he was gone. When he started vomiting, we all thought he had just eaten something bad and would be ok in a day or so. I didn't know it was that serious and had planned to visit on Monday, but he was gone by Sunday night. I never got to say goodbye.
Thank you for your blog. This all happened so quickly and suddenly that it's been very hard for all of us to make sense of it all. I was certain that this happened because Nemo was lonely and heartbroken, because we had sent him away. I couldn't think of any other reason for a perfectly healthy, young dog to die so suddenly. It's terrible that we have all had to suffer from this terrible disease but it gives me some comfort knowing that there is some sort of explanation for what happened to my Nemo. I hope Nemo wasn't in too much pain and I hope that he is in a better place now. Nemo will always be my guardian angel. He came into my life when I needed him the most and left as soon as he was certain that his job was done.
Thank you for creating this blog. HGE is a little known disease that can kill a healthy animal within hours.
ReplyDeleteWe just lost our precious 8 year old and very agile and healthy greyhound on 12/23/11 to this horrible disease, and are trying to make sense of what happened. What is truly troubling, is that we took Valentine in to our holistic vet first thing in the morning before she had any vomiting or diarrhea, because she was a bit lethargic and losing her appetite. Her blood work was normal and he found no significant findings so we were not worried, but watched her closely as we do when she is not feeling well. Around 7:00 p.m. that night, she had explosive diarrhea on her bed, as if it happened so fast she couldn't control it. We took her to the best ER Hospital immediately, and after sub-q fluids and anti-diarrheal meds and 3 hours of observation, she was released to go home with us. At 3:00 a.m. she woke me to go outside, and began vomiting (no blood) and more diarrhea. We rushed her back to ER and they began aggressive IV fluids, anti-diarrheal, anti-vomiting meds. We slept overnight in ER with her, and she seemed stabilized by the next afternoon. Then they added antibiotics and she began bloody diarrhea and more vomiting. I know that her healthy gut flora, pro and prebiotics were already compromised, and was concerned that a massive dose of antibiotics could really hurt rather than help at this point. A downward spiral began and at 8:45 p.m. we ended her suffering with euthanasia on the recommendation of two of our holistic vets via phone consults, and the ER doctors.
So incredibly heartbreaking with so many questions about this disease unanswered. We have vowed to learn more, spread the warning signs, and advocate and educate to help other loving pet parents never have to go through this. To all of you who have posted and shared your stories of survival and death, thank you.
Buddy is also suffering from HGE as of now.. we take him to a vet giving him a medical treatment.. too bad we have to take him home for we have no enough money to confine him at vet clinic.. we have to give our fees for the electric bill in the expense of his medical treatment. I just hope and pray he can make it, I constantly monitoring him now and send sms to the vet doctor of his condition
ReplyDeleteHGE killed my best friend Axl a couple of days ago. About 4 months ago he had the same symptoms....vomit which looked like yellow bile. At the time I thought maybe he had ingested a pencil. Then came the bloody diarrhea. I scooped him up and made the grueling trip to Houston with him pooping blood the entire way. He was treated aggressively but we never received the diagnosis of HGE. A few days ago, the symptoms came back and of course after hours. We called a local vet and they advised pepto bismol and pedialyte. We would bring him in to the vet first thing in the morning. Axl went into a coma laying under my covers beside me. We found a vet that would See him ASAP. It was 3 in the morning. We had to leave him there. He died before we made it back home. I lost my very best friend.....I feel so guilty for not taking him immediately. I miss him so much! I am literally sick with grief....
ReplyDelete4 months ago my 2 yr old chiweenie was fine the one night when i went to bed. i woke up 6 hours later to find that he was throwing up blood and having bloody diarrhea. it was 2am i called the emergency number for his vet. the vet said to bring him in when the office opened up at 8am. so for 6 hours i watched him decline with each time he would vommit or have diarrhea. he was to the point that he couldnt even stand up withot falling over. when he got to the vets office he was in shock because of the blood loss. his blood was thickening and his prognosis was not looking good. the vet sat down with me to give me my options. i decided to leave him there for IV fluids and antibiotics. he spent 4 days there and the vet was suprised that he pulled through.
ReplyDeleteJust this morning i woke to wicket acting strange. he once again started throwing up but this time it was clear. not long after he started throwing up the diarrhea started but it was not bloody. so i called the vet and took him in. once we got to the vet he started having bloody diarrhea. the vet again confirmed that he again has HGE. this time i noticed the warning signs and got him there before things got to bad. he is once again on IV fuids due to the thickening of his blood and the vet said he will be there again for at least 3-4 days.
if your pet starts throwing up blood or even having bloody diarrhea please take them to the vet it could save their lives.