Friends dog real sick

[DMikeM]

So a coworker comes to me yesterday and says her sons pittbull is sick and has not eaten for 5 days. I tell her take him to the vet and she says she has and will go back later that day again because he is getting worse and throws everything he tries to eat up. Then she tells me he had black tarry stools a few days ago, horrified I tell her he has internal bleeding in the stomach or intestine and show her on the internet with a 5 second google search. I ask if she told the vet about stool and she says yes and that he wasn't concerned about it. WTF!!! I tell her she needs to press him and have him look into that right now. I explain the dog could have a puncture or could have been kicked or hit by a car or something like that. If he does not start to eat he will just shut down and die. She went back after work today and I don't know what the outcome is yet. It has been 7 days now since he stopped eating. I am feeling that if they don't endoscope him he will perish.

 

[ruthcatrin]

I hope you're not seeing the same vet....

 

[DMikeM]

It is the same VCA vet. Not thrilled about the situation. There are 2 vets up here one takes care credit the other does not. I may have to suck it up and start using the other if she knows mastiffs. I need to ask her about it first. I should ask the VCA clinic if they have a different doctor too.

 

[LauraR]

She is very fortunate to have had your advice, and such a shame that the vet didn't see any issue with tarry stools. I'm glad you were there to help her out and I really hope that they can save the dog.

 

[DMikeM]

I mean seriously if anyone here had a dog not eating with black stool what would you think? Only a couple of us are trained in veterinary medicine but most adults knows what this means.

@ LauraR, thanks. I am just pissed righ tnow.

 

[ruthcatrin]

If she's got kids I'd hope she knows what that means!

 

[DMikeM]

they are grown up kids.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Still, thats something they tell parents to watch for, espcially in infants. And I don't even have kids!

 

[tb44]

I would be high tailing to the vet or emergency animal hospital. Don't care if I had to drive two hours I would do it

 

[KristinandCianna]

Omg... That is absolutely terrifying. My dog wouldn't have gone a day acting that way, and with tarry stools. She'd be at the vet, then at a different vet if my vet said he wasn't worried about it. Wow. I really hope this dog ends up okay!! Good for you for helping her out

 

[DMikeM]

Thanks all. She knows I am a dog person I just wish she would have said something the day he had the black stools, I would have sent her runnig to the vets.

 

[Amanda F.]

Wow that's scary! I hope she can get in touch with another vet. I am shocked that the vet didn't do further testing. I have never been a fan of VCA. We worked with them for a bit as our shelter vet. It seemed to me that they were all about money. There was one doctor (out of about 10) that I liked. The rest just seemed to be in it for the wrong reasons. Keep us posted on the pup.

 

[musicdeb]

I'm not a vet tech and knew black tarry stools mean internal bleeding. Have you heard how the pup is doing?

 

[DMikeM]

Well last night I told her to feed him cottage cheese by sticking it on his mouth or under his lips and give him some honey too and he managed to eat a little that way, well enough to actually poop which he has not done in days. So this morning they will start a Barium trace on his digestive tract to see if they can find the problem. They should have done that 5 days ago. I may not hear back until Monday but I got my toes crossed.

 

[tb44]

That poor dog. It's so Damn frustrating that anyone would not find tar stools alarming. Thank God she talked to you about it .

 

[musicdeb]

Thanks for update mike. Keep us posted. *crossing toes too*

 

[DMikeM]

Well now they decided to skip the barium trace, hydrate more and do more tests on the pancreas. They X-rayed and did not find any blockages so Lisa mentioned my dog Dozer had a similar episode in 2009 that we think was bad dog food that led to sudden acute pancreatitis. He almost died of dehydration. So they decided to have a look as pancreatic problems can also lead to blood in the stool and then diabetic coma.

 

[LauraR]

I'm glad he was able to eat enough to produce a b.m. Good call on the honey. I am a huge advocate for the benefits of honey, especially raw unprocessed honey. It works incredibly well on upset stomachs and ulcers. Has similar benefits to dogs. Hopefully they caught this in time and can quickly discover what is causing all of these issues. I'm so glad you were there to step in and point her in the right direction. I would hate to think what would have happened if you weren't there to offer your guidance.

 

[kbuchanan66]

Thank goodness for people like you DMikeM! Nothing drives me bonkers like people who hold their Tongues when they hear or see something that is obviously not right. People say Vets know all but it is if they care enough about animals to use all that knowledge in their heads!

I hope this puppy gets the diagnosis and care it needs.

 

[musicdeb]

Bravo to you, Mike. I agree with kbuchanan66, way too many hold their tongues.