Posting this as many of you are dog owners and need to be aware of this condition. We have had dogs all of our lives and had never heard of it...until a few weeks ago. But it is actually quite common and effects all breeds and ages of dogs, although some than others.
One of our young dogs was recently diagnosed with Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia (IMT). You can read about the condition at the link below but the short jist is that for no known reason sometimes a dog's immune system goes haywire and starts attacking the body's own platelets which are needed to prevent bleeding. This condition can be triggered by other causes like tick bits and cancer although she wasn't diagnosed with any of that. If we had known the signs we could have taken action a few weeks earlier than we did. Thus my reason for this post to help educate. If there are dog doctors on here or those with experience please share.
https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cardiovascular/immune-mediated-thrombocytopenia-itp-dogsWe first noticed some pink splotches on our girls belly and didn't think much of it. We assumed it was some sort of rash from playing in the grass and brush. No other warning signs until about 3 weeks later when we noticed a slow seeping bleed from her mouth. Sort of strange. We called to make an appointment with our vet assuming she had a tooth issue. The bleed persistent over the weekend and she started to act a little lethargic at times but was otherwise normal...still running and playing right up until she collapsed. We took her to the emergency vet and they took one look at her and knew the problem.
The next few days were pretty touch and go. She went into the ICU, received a cocktail of medication and even needed a blood transfusion at one point. Thank the Lord she finally turned the corner and was released home to us after 4 days in the ICU. She's still on the medication and regaining her strength. Hopefully as they taper her medication down her immune system will hold together. So she's not entirely out of the woods.
The folks who work in emergency animal hospitals are amazing. Sitting in the waiting room a lot has opened a whole new world to my eyes about the situations they deal with, the animals they help and the tragedy they deal with every day. I couldn't do it.
