Update - Our scare with Charlotte - healthy to dying in 24 hrs - long

[Jennifer Tramell]

Our goldendoodle Charlotte has always been as healthy as a dog could be.  We had her hips tested - great, annual vaccines, flea/tick/heartworm preventative, no sensitive tummy issues, perfect weight, no reason to worry about anything.  

Earlier this month I woke up to undigested vomit.  Normally I don't worry about vomit, but the day before she had no appetite.  I had fixed her some tasty food and she ate it, now her tasty dinner was on the livingroom floor.  Along with the lack of appetite and vomit, she seemed unusually lethargic, so at 9am I called the vet.  Now, I have never needed to call the vet for an appointment - other than yearly check-up/vaccinations, but I knew something was wrong.  My appointment was for 5:15 pm and as the day wore on, I was counting the minutes.  Charlotte was dehydrated, lethargic, and around 1 pm I noticed that her color was off.  I called the vet again and they told me that if she wouldn't drink on her own, to squirt fluids in her mouth.  I forced some doggy pedialyte into her and she started drinking a little on her own.

By the time we arrived at the vet, Charlotte was jaundice.  The vet took one look at her and said "if she were a poodle, I would say she has auto-immune hemolytic anemia".  Well, Charlotte is a 50/50 goldendoodle, but she is definitely more poodle than golden.  The vet ran a couple blood tests and while we were waiting Charlotte literally faded before our eyes.  By 6 pm, she barely lifted her head off of the vet's concrete floor.  The blood test came back with one of the numbers (sorry, I don't remember what one) at 9.5 - a normal dog would be 40.

The consensus was that she needed an emergency blood transfusion or she would be dead in under 6 hrs. The vet said that the problem was finding a donor dog - she didn't have one in the office and she needed one as big as possible.  Our response was that our Webster is 88lbs and my sister's Charlie is 72 lbs.  I numbly grabbed my cellphone and called my sister (who was home with my kids).  I said "Hello.  Bring Webster to the vet."  I was still processing the fact that my sweet Charlotte, not even 3 years old, was dying before my eyes.

Forty minutes later, my sister arrived with Webster and Charlie in her van.  My dad arrived with my brother's two dogs (Rhodesian Ridgebacks) and his goldendoodle - all over 60 lbs.  We had an army of blood donors in the parking lot of the vet :-).  Webster was brought in, prepped, and gave a huge bag of blood.  The vet said it was some of the best blood she'd ever seen.  The transfusion began with Charlotte laying on the concrete floor and our vet sitting next to her.  The vet sent us home and we began the waiting game.

The next couple days were spent crying and wondering if Charlotte would ever come home.  This all started on Monday and on Thursday afternoon we brought Charlotte home.  The vet's office couldn't believe how much better she was, however, her numbers were still only 11.

For the past 2 weeks, Charlotte has been slowly recovering.  Last Friday we all rejoiced because her numbers are up to 18.  Today we have another blood test and we are hoping her numbers are up even higher.  She is on twice/day prednisone, a med for auto-immune, and an iron supplement for anemia.  She has become a celebrity at the vet's office because she literally went from dying to being the office sweetheart.  Because she has responded so well to the treatment, the assumption is that Charlotte has an Auto-Immune disease, probably hemolytic anemia. (My vet's office isn't equipped for specialized diagnostic testing but I wouldn't trade them for anything.  The image of our vet (not a tech) sitting on the floor with Charlotte, and then cleaning up her pen so we could sit and visit, is burned into my memory.)

Since we've been home, Webster hovers over Charlotte.  He follows her around when they go outside and looks like he is standing guard as she goes potty.  When my sister's dog, Charlie, came to visit, Webster wouldn't let Charlie get too close.  Webster waits patiently for Charlotte to eat her food, then finishes it when she leaves (her food gets doctored up so it's yummier than Webster's).  He is our "Hero Dog" and she is our "sweet girl".

Here's the scary thing - we don't know what triggered this disease.  Apparently it can be dormant for years and triggered by a vaccine, heartworm meds, tick bites, a virus, just about anything.  It is common in poodles, and especially females.  We hope that Charlotte's numbers will come up and stabilize and we will wean her off her medications.  However, our vet said that she should NEVER receive vaccinations again and she is regarded as "fragile", but will hopefully live a regular healthy life.

I wanted to let everyone know of this potential danger.  As our vet said "she could pass for a poodle", so people with more poodle doodles should know of this poodle predisposition.  Apparently vaccines are a common trigger, and ticks seem to be really bad this year.  If you see signs of loss of appetite, lethargy, vomiting, jaundice - make sure your vet tests for auto-immune disease.  It can come on quickly and might be an issue of life an death.

Update ----  Yesterday afternoon (5/24) we had another vet visit to test Charlotte's blood.  When we first took her in, it was 9.5, spent over 2 weeks at under 12, last Friday she was up to 18 (we did a happy dance), and yesterday it was 28!!!!  I think normal is around 40 so we are more that halfway there - woohoo!  We are slightly decreasing her meds, encouraging more activity (of course, not pushing her), and get to go 2 weeks before the next check-up.

 

I don't know if anyone on DK remembers, but almost 3 years ago we actually lost Charlotte.  She was 9 weeks old and ran off with Webster - who came back.  We found the next day because a friend had received an email from a HOA president who had received an email from an outlying homeowner with a picture of a found puppy.  It was truly a miracle and now we feel as though God has twice saved our Charlotte. 

Thank you for all the kind words.  I'm not as active on DK as I used to be, but I still consider DK part of our doodle family :-)

[Sheila & Finnley]

I'm happy to hear that Charlotte is doing better. It must have been so scary for all of you !

Thank the great doodle for Webster ! ♥

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Sending prayers and hugs.  What a scary ordeal.  Webster, you are a Hero for sure.  Watching out for your little sister like that--precious.  Wishing all of you many happy years together.

[Star and Goldie]

What an intense story. I felt my heart racing as I read every word. I'm so glad to hear that she is recovering. That is so scary. Thank you for sharing this.  It's the first time I've heard of anything of it's kind. Knowledge is power so thank you for empowering us with this information and signs to watch for!

[a.k.a. Rodney]

Bittersweet about Charlotte...glad she was at the right place,with the right humans, & a wonderful big bro.
Really scary story and thoughtful of you to want to share it so we can be more knowledgeable about our doodles!
Best of luck to your entire family! And especially to Charlotte...a super champion!

[Kyoko]

Thank you so much for sharing. I read the post with so much fear, and am so glad that she responded well to the treatment and is recovering...!! My Charlie is f1b, and she is much more like a poodle... S, this post was really helpful.... so scary... I will be sending my prayer for quick and steady recovery for Charlotte.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Jennifer, I am so sorry for you and Charlotte.  I am so glad that she is responding to treatment.  I will keep her in my prayers.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I am so sorry Charlotte went through all of this, but glad she is doing better now. Sweet Webster looking out for his sister!  Thank you for all of this information, because our Fudge is definitely more Poodle than Doodle.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Wow That is a scary story.  Hope Charlotte has a long, long life. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Once again, however much your doodle looks/like a poodle has nothing to do with this I think.

[Jennifer Tramell]

I would tend to agree, however, our vet seemed to believe that a doodle who looks more like a poodle is genetically more poodle and more predisposed to poodle diseases.  She said that we have less worry about typical retriever diseases because Charlotte is more poodle than retriever.  I'm not a genetic specialist so I'm just passing on what my vet said :-) 

[Jennifer and Jack]

I am so sorry..I pray for a quick and full recovery! May I ask how long ago were the last vaccines given? Please kep us updatedZ,

[Jennifer Tramell]

Charlotte was actually due for her next annual vaccines, so we know that it wasn't a vaccine reaction.  It has been a particularly bad year for ticks so we wonder if it was triggered by a tick bite. 

Our vet says that since Charlotte had her puppy vaccines and 2 years of annual vaccines, she's probably covered for life.  The vet says that there are rabies vaccination studies being done which show that the vaccine is good for at least 7 years and likely give a lifetime protection.  She has confronted the county and they have agreed to every 3 year rabies (what the vaccination is actually labeled for) as long as there are yearly check-ups and fees paid for yearly tags (government wants their $$$).