November Pet of the Month

Congratulations to Malo, our November Pet of the Month! Mo came to us for the first time in September of this year. She is an adorable, 8 year old, female, Shih Tzu who unfortunately had not been feeling well for a few days. She had been vomiting, having diarrhea, wasn’t eating, and was not willing to drink on her own.
 
During her exam, we took her temperature, which was very low. A normal

temperature for a dog is usually in the range of 101.0 F and 102.5 F, and poor little Mo’s temperature was 97.6 F. Her gums were pale in color, cold to the touch, she was underweight, and very dehydrated. Dr. Forbes recommended blood work, a urinalysis, x-rays, a stool check , and a heartworm test to allow us to take a closer look as to what could be ailing Mo.
 
While we were waiting on the results of her labwork, we placed an intravenous (IV) catheter so we could administer fluids. This allowed us to start rehydrating Mo and give her IV medications that would help her feel better. We also checked her blood sugar, which was low, so we gave her Dextrose to bring her blood sugar back to a normal level.
 

When her lab test results came back we discovered she had severe kidney damage. We continued Mo on IV fluids to help flush her kidneys, encouraged her to eat a bland diet, and treated her nausea and diarrhea. Within 24 hours Mo’s vitals improved significantly, and within 48 hours she was feeling much better, eating, and her kidneys were showing a marked response to the IV fluids. We continued treating her with antibiotics, a bland diet, and started weaning her off of her IV fluids. On day 3 Mo was able to go home and finish her treatments.
 
A week later Mo trotted through our doors, happy to see all of us. We rechecked Mo’s lab work and her kidney values remained normal. We will continue to keep an eye on her, but we are all thrilled about her quick recovery! We may never know what damaged her kidneys, but we were able to get her through it.