How To Save Your Dog

During the rainy season, the Department of Health fervently posts precautions against Leptospirosis.

Wikipedia defines Leptospirosis  as a disease known to cause heating up and causing redness of the hands. Caused by infection with bacteria of the genus Leptospira that affects humans  as well as other mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. 

The infection is commonly transmitted to humans by allowing water that has been contaminated by animal urine to come in contact with unhealed breaks in the skin, eyes, or with the mucuous membranes. Complications include meningitis,  extreme fatigue, hearing loss, respiratory distress, azotemia, and renal interstitial tubular necrosis, which results in renal failure and often liver failure.

In short, if you wade in dirty water, there is a possibility that YOU.WILL.DIE.

Last week our dear old Pug, Petunia, passed away from liver and kidney failure.  After the vet did a complete blood test, he said she had been suffering from leptospirosis for months. Unfortunately, the strain that Petunia caught was the type that did not show any symptoms and it was too late to do anything for her.

How can you tell if your dog has been infected?

• The first signs in dogs are often depression, loss of appetite, vomiting, weakness, and generalized pain.

• Affected dogs may also drink water and urinate excessively and have swollen, red, and painful eyes.

• Because these signs are common to other diseases and non-specific, owners may try to treat their pets at home for such problems as an upset stomach or arthritis.

• Pets can become infected by sniffing, swimming, or drinking contaminated urine. More often, the leptospira are washed by rain into standing water.  The bacteria can also enter through a bite wound or through eating infected food.

• Leptospira produces powerful toxins that can attack the liver and kidneys, leading to failure of these organs.  In other pets, blood fails to clot normally leading to bleeding.

To make sure the other dogs didn’t have it.  He did a blood test only to find out that one of the pugs, Petunia’s daughter named Maggie, also had it.

It didn’t really come as a surprise since Maggie was very close to her mother. So close that they always slept and even sunbathed side by side.

Last I spoke to the vet, Maggie was managing well and is under medication although she had to be isolated from the other dogs so that they won’t be infected. When I visited her area last Sunday, she was very weak, her eyes were yellow and her stomach had this pale beige tone but she still wagged her tail several times.

It’d suck if another dog of ours died so it’s best to keep in mind several things to avoid this every happening to your pets.

What to Do

• Regularly disinfect the area where your pet usually stays. Use a pet-friendly cleaning agent lest they decide to lick the spot you had just cleaned.

• If your dog is already infected, make it drink sugar water to replenish lost electrolytes (at least that’s what we’re doing now)

• Sure, we want our pet to be comfortable but avoid using a towel or newspaper as its bed. If your pet urinates, it might lick it and recovery might be slower than usual.

• Religiously give your pet the medicine as prescribed by the vet. If you pet refuses to eat, you can buy a tube of Nutrivet, a pasty food substitute that you can rub on its teeth.

• Wear gloves or wash your hands immediately after touching your pet. The virus can transfer to humans if proper precaution is not observed.

• Because urine is the most common spreader of leptospirosis, it is very important that you take hygienic steps not to expose yourself to your pet’s urine.

• Recovered pets can shed leptospirosis in their urine for months, you need to continue to observe strict hygiene even after your pet has recovered.