RICHY’S
STORY
We bought little Richy, a male miniature
pinscher, from a very reputable breeder when he was 9 weeks old. He was a
loving, energetic pup full of mischief. He settled really well into our
home and was a fast learner.
Right after we took Richy home, we took him to
the vet for a check up and his first vaccination. Two weeks later he had
his second shots and a week later we took him out to the park for the
first time. He loved meeting other dogs, chasing birdies, playing fetch!!
When Richy
was about 6 months old, we decided that we would never feel comfortable if
we had to leave Richy in a kennel, so we decided to get him a pet passport
so that he could travel with us.
We got Richy
micro chipped and we also booked him in for a rabies vaccination.
The day of the rabies vaccination he was his usual self, lively and
playful, full of energy. I asked the vet if there would be any
side-effects from the vaccine, and the vet replied none at all.
After he had his vaccination we took Richy home and gave him his evening
meal which he ate.
The very next morning Richy stayed in bed later
than usual and seemed very tired. During the course of the day he was
becoming sleepier and wanted to rest more. The next day he refused to eat
his meal. We got concerned and took him to the vet who examined him and
said it is possible that he’s lost his appetite because he was teething.
The vet advised us pups can sometimes go funny when they’re teething,
completely going off food, having less energy etc. We took Richy home and
hoped he would be better in a day or so. But his condition worsened;
he was not eating at all, he would not get out of his bed, he didn’t
want to play and he started collapsing.
A couple of times during these collapsing
episodes he’d wet himself and we noticed his urine was a very dark
yellow colour and somewhat thicker than normal urine.
We took Richy back to the vet and they kept him
all day running tests on him. The vet later told us that Richy was very
dangerously anaemic; his PVC was 14 and asked us to take Richy to the
Royal Vetinary College in Potters Bar straight away as an emergency and
that he might need to have a blood transfusion. At this time Richy
had no energy in him whatsoever, his weight had plummeted and he was very
weak.
We took Richy to the RVC and they kept him there
for 2 weeks, running one test after another after another. After two weeks
of testing they diagnosed Richy with Auto Immune Haemolytic Anaemia,
meaning his own immune system was killing him.
Richy's physician at the RVC explained to us that his immune system
wasn’t recognising the red blood cells in his blood as its own and was
attacking and destroying them ‘thinking’ they were anti bodies.
We asked Richy’s physician if the trigger for
this could have been the rabies jab and he said very possibly and that it
was very coincidental that it started to happed within 24-48 hours after
the vaccination but there was no way of finding our for sure what would
have caused his immune system to turn against himself.
As soon as they diagnosed Richy, they put him on
a therapy of Prednisolone and Immuran drugs. Within a week Richy’s
condition was stabilising and he was released home. Also his blood count
was improving.
He was having bi-weekly blood tests and check ups
and in total he was on the drugs for 7 months. The cost in veterinary fees
came to approximately £5000 but luckily we had him insured.
Richy is now off the tablets and he’s a happy,
playful and lively dog.
We’ve been told that the first year after the treatment is crucial and
the chances are high that he might relapse. But we’re keeping our
fingers crossed.
He can never have a rabies vaccination ever again
and it is also a high risk to give him his yearly booster vaccinations so
we decided not to vaccinate Richy again.
Mimi & Graham Rogers
Maxy’s
story
Chocky's
& Kizzy's stories
