Nula (5yr old English Cocker Spaniel)

[Vally]

Ruth, yes the treatment is sounding more as it should. The tick treatment in case, the second steroid, thats what most of our dogs had.
Nula you hurry up and get better for your mum.
Lots of love Vally and Bingo.

[Patrice]

Ruth,
It’s good to hear that the treatments are going well! I will be thinking of Nula today.

It’s a lovely idea that the owner of Nula’s littermate has offered her as a donor dog. It is a bit more complicated than just collecting the blood, but it can be done.

Chance’s first donation was from the vet’s donor dog Jake, a happy black lab. We are somewhat in the country and my vet actually lives on a farm! As sick as Chance was this transfusion was exactly what he needed. Fresh whole blood. In some cases that is the best form of transfusion because it contains so many elements (such as platelets!) So there was this big happy Lab hanging out in the room next to ours wagging his tail while he donated blood. It was a beautiful thing to watch. My vet saved Chance’s life in so many ways, so many times.

Dog’s are different than humans when it comes to blood type. You know humans have A, B, O and a few variations on those. Dogs can have up to 11 different “types.”

In addition, a first time transfusion in a dog is essentially “free” of any need to match, this is not the case with humans. Most of us don’t know our dog’s blood type and usually don’t need to know the rest of their lives.

However, once a dog has received that first transfusion, they need to be matched for any subsequent transfusions to avoid a reaction. I tried this with Chance because I thought Cassie might be a good donor for him since they are both Giant Schnauzers. She was not a good match, but I did find out she was a good receiver, being able to accept many types of dog blood.

So we went back to Jake and matched with him. This requires blood samples to be taken and sent to a lab, not something that happens in most clinics right away. And you are probably wondering why we had to match with Jake this second time! Chance’s blood may have developed antibodies to Jake’s blood from the first transfusion! Each subsequent transfusion needs to be matched because of this.

Canine blood banks like Dr. Dodds’ Hemopet have special donor dogs that have blood that tends to match many dogs, a kind of universal donor. In addition, the blood can be washed and this can remove elements that may cause a reaction. So universal canine donor blood can be shipped around the world to most anyplace that can accept shipments!

So there is no reason why you cannot use Nula’s littermate for transfusions, but they must go through a testing process to make sure that she is a matched donor to Nula. If you think that you would want this as a backup, then ask about the process.
my best, patrice

[Ruth]

Ok, just got off the phone with Dick Whites. So far so good! Her scan showed no internal bleeding and her kidney is fine. Her gums are a bit pinker and she’s a bit more alert. Her PCV has gone up to 22! Which is the best news!!!! Platelets are ok too. Hopefully this has bought her enough time for the steroids to kick in. Unless she goes downhill again she wont have another transfusion at this point because they’re going to be looking on Sat to see if her body is producing its own red cells and if they’re being destroyed or not. She’s got someone with her all the time and they’re doing assisted feeding to see if they can keep her gut ticking over, though she’s getting the nutrients she needs in the drip. If she stays stable I can visit at the weekend. She’s on Prednisolone, Aspirin, pain killers, anti sickness meds, gastric protectors, antibiotics. The ones she was on before being admitted to the specialist were the Prednisolone, Ronaxan, Zitac and Antepsin. So she’s still on all those and they’ve added more. Not sure if they’ve kept doses the same. The tick disease test is due back around Tuesday. But they said they rarely see dogs with it in the UK so not expected to be a positive result, but they’re treating her for it in case. So until tomorrow afternoon, back to no news is good news. Thank you all for your replies and the information!! It really helps to understand what they’re doing and how it works. And thank you all for the prayers and well wishes!!!!! ♥ Xxxxx

[admin]

Hi Ruth,
it sounds that Nula is in excellent hands and you have lots of reasons to be positive about her treatment and the outcome. Nula is hanging in and you will see that once she is home with you, she will improve by leaps and bounds.
One thing I know about transfusions, my knowledge is not scientific as Patrices :) the donor should be at least 50 pounds. I doubt if that would be the case for Nula’s litter mate.
Best wishes, thinking of you and Nula,
Brigitte

[admin]

Hiya Ruth
Nula sounds so much better – great news & the drugs she was on look good – I hope that one of the added drugs is a long-acting immuno-suppressant (yes – I am nagging, but in a nice way!). Remember we are all thinking of you & want to hear any news when you have the time to tell us.
Big cuddles to Nula from me & the boys
Sheena xxxx

[joe]

Hi Ruth,

I am so sorry. The disease creates a lot of anxiety for the owner.

Dunes had a HCT of 7when she was first diagnosed. This is a very expensive disease. However, I would spend thousands to get her back. She did live 5more years after the diagnosis.

My friends here are super and they will help you when you are terrified. However, get Nula to a specialist. There is hope! Patrice is superb.

[Ruth]

Thank you all for replies, this forum is an absolute God send!! It’s incredible how positive you all are and what a mine of information you are too! I can’t thank you all enough! For those of you interested in where Nula is:http://www.dickwhitereferrals.com. They have a fantastic reputation round here and our usual vet referred her so quickly. Sheena, you are right to nag! My memory is atrocious! My own health problems make it worse at the best of times! I’m writing that down now so I remember to ask tomorrow! I’m writing out everything the vet says as much as I can so I can keep track of it all. Joe, you’re right, this is an expensive situation, but thank God she is insured!! Up to £7,500 per condition. So fingers crossed I can still get her every treatment she needs! I have no idea about how much treatment will end up costing, which does worry me a little especially as I’m not fit to work atm, so does this £7,500 sound as if it’ll be enough, or do i need to think about trying to get some other monies together incase? Our normal vets said that Evans Syndrome was quite rare, which in a really stupid way, is kind of comforting because the condition I have is also rare, and I’m still here. So if dogs are like their owners, she will pull through this too! Xxxxx

[admin]

Hi Ruth

Thank you for keeping us updated. I was a fellow member of the “sleepless Nula club” last night! I’m really pleased to hear that the scan results were good and that her PCV has gone up following her transfusion. It’s also really helpful to have a list of her medications, which all look good, but as Sheena said, hopefully she is also being given a longer acting immunosupressant.

Re: her littermate. I am confident that DWR would be willing to do testing for a match, as they actually requested I took Mable (Molly’s sister) in with Molly for cross matching. Mable was in overnight for this (as Molly was admitted at night) but unfortunately wasn’t a match. However, it might be worth discussing it with them. Also as Brigitte pointed out, donors usually have to meet certain criteria re: weight, health, age, vaccination status etc so these things will be important to know. Have a chat with the vets who will be able to advise you further about this.

It’s lovely that you are sleeping with Nula’s blanket so that it will smell of you. These little things are really important in making them feel at home. I can also tell you from experience that the staff will do their best to help her feel relaxed. That was very reassuring for me when Molly was there. I do hope that you are able to visit Nula soon and have some cuddles with her.

I am thinking of you and Nula so much and keeping everything crossed that she carries on going in the right direction.

Sending lots of love and best wishes,

Mary x