A very sad story & input needed

[Stephanie & Reggie]

Hi,

I apologize in advance for the very sad and somewhat lengthy tale I'm about to tell. The reason I'm sharing it is to hopefully protect my & my family's remaining dogs :( 

About 2 weeks ago, my sister's friend's dog became very ill and suddenly died. The dog suddenly began vomiting and being very lethargic- she took her dog (about 5 years) to the vet and while there overnight, Lucky died in his sleep :( My sister was of course concerned about the safety of her schnoodle Odie, who had recently played with Lucky, and also my doodle (Reggie), my mom's dog, and my other sister's 2 doodles, Bentley and Oliver. She told us all what happened - that the vet was not able to determine what killed Lucky, but that we should all keep a close watch on our dogs, since they had all played with Odie recently. We were all so sad for Lucky and our friend. :(

About 3 days later (last Saturday), my sister's standard goldendoodle Bentley, 4 years old, vomited twice in the night. He was still acting playful and energetic, so she didn't get too worked up - our dogs all throw up at lease once every couple of weeks, eating grass, too much rawhide, etc. About 2 days after that, he began vomiting more, and acting lethargic, (though no fever or diarrhea) so she took him in. The vet performed a bunch of tests and xrays and couldn't figure out what was wrong, though his white blood cell count was really high and it showed a lot of gas in his GI system- they hooked him up to an IV and gave him an antibiotic, no improvement in 24 hours, so decided to do a surgery to see if there was something stuck in the intestines that could be causing the gas/infection. The results of the surgery were that nothing was IN the intestines, but the intestines and bowels were not moving/working. 24 hours more of IV and antibiotics... Bentley briefly got a little better, walked around and pooped outside, seemed very happy to see my sister, then a couple of hours later suddenly took a turn for the worst and passed away :( He really was the most wonderful dog and companion, and as I'm sure you all can imagine, our family is just devastated by his death.

While our hearts are broken over the loss of Bentley, we are also very concerned for the well-being of the other dogs :( Though most of the info above is what I was told by my sister, at one point she was too upset to call the vet so I called for her (the vet happens to be our very sweet uncle) and talked to him about what was happening. I asked about Parvo (the other dogs are all puppies and have recently been vaccinated) and he said no, Parvo symptom is low white blood cell and Bentley's was high. I asked what he thought was happening, and he said his best guess was that maybe Bentley ate something that was toxic to his system. He said that he thought if it was some kind of contagious disease, the other dogs would have fallen ill by now. My family and I have wracked our brains - we are all SO careful about what our dogs are around, so we cannot figure out what he could have ingested that would have poisoned him. The clinic is doing additional tests to try to figure out what happened, but my fear is that we'll never know.

I guess my reason for posting is this - has anyone experienced or heard about an illness like this? We are all stunned at how quick and serious it was - Bentley was SUCH an active and healthy young dog, and this appeared and killed within a span of a week. What could have poisoned him to affect his GI like that? Could it have been some kind of tick? (He has had lyme disease, though they are vigilant with the flea/tick treatment). Or was it some kind of virus/bacteria? Could he have gotten it from Lucky? (He didn't play with Lucky, but Odie did, and Bentley played with Odie... could Odie have carried the illness without getting sick?) Are all of our dogs at risk? They are all behaving as usual, although Bentley's brother Ollie has been crying a lot :( but they DO all, all of a sudden, have very runny noses and are sneezing/sniffing A LOT. Could that be allergies? Or indicate something more serious? My sister said Bentley wasn't sneezing/runny nose before he got sick. We are all trying not to panic, but are worried about our beloved dogs :(

Any advice or input would be very appreciated.

Best,
Stephanie

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I'm wondering if any of the dogs had a necropsy or have one planned. That may be the only way to determine the cause.

[Michelle and Chloe]

I am so sorry to hear about these sudden deaths.  How sad and frightening.  I am also in Madison and am now very nervous about sending my dog to daycare if this could potentially be a serious viral infection.  Please keep us posted with what you find out from UW vet school.

[charlotte bednarsh]

Hi, Just wondering how you are doing and if you have learned anything new?  Am hoping and praying all is well....just such an awful story that truly "hits home" to anyone who loves a pet, no matter what breed or type.  It's an animal lovers worst nightmare, so just hoping everyone is okay.

[Anita - Thunder, Noodle, Sparky]

I almost lost my Bichon and one Doodle from treats I bought at Costco. It was terrible!! Same symptoms. The treats were sweet potato and duck. I was devistated that I didn't know to stay away from treats made in China. They both survived, thank God! I'm so sorry for your heartache!

[Kathy]

Oh No so sorry to read all this sadness,how could this all be and yet no answers!! I dont know what to even say,except Im sorry!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Stephanie, I'm so sorry for your loss.  This is a horribly sad and scary situation. I'm wondering if there's any update or additional information? And I'm hoping that all of the other dogs here are ok.

@ Joanne Thank you for the information about blastomycosis.  I had no idea. This makes me rethink some of Finn's (and my) favorite places for fun.  So scary.