Hunter, a 5-year-old mixed-breed dog, is normally a happy-go-lucky guy. But a month ago, his owner noticed that he didn’t want to eat and kept throwing up. They knew something was wrong with their boy and that he needed help, so they brought Hunter to the ER at BluePearl Pet Hospital in Levittown, Pennsylvania.
"When I initially brought Hunter into BluePearl, I was unsure of his illness, but I knew that he was in very bad condition,” said his owner.
The emergency team made Hunter as comfortable as possible with intravenous fluids and gastrointestinal support and began looking for clues.
They ran tests including urinalysis and bloodwork, and when the results came back, they showed he had severely elevated kidney and liver values. After a few more tests, they knew what was wrong:
Hunter had a severe zoonotic bacterial infection called leptospirosis.
“He was able to be quickly diagnosed and moved into internal medicine, so they could jump into using the most effective treatment options for his needs and long-term well-being.”
Leptospirosis can affect both animals and humans. It’s typically spread through contact with water or soil contaminated by an infected animal's urine. If caught early enough, leptospirosis can be treated with antibiotics.
Unfortunately, despite aggressive antibiotic therapy, Hunter’s kidneys began shutting down and he went into kidney failure.
Hunter was transferred to the Levittown hospital’s extracorporeal therapies service where Dr. Nolan Chalifoux started him on hemodialysis, a life-saving measure to support kidney function.
Given Hunter's blood work, the fact that he wasn’t producing urine and the clear evidence that his body was retaining fluid, the team knew that hemodialysis was likely his best chance for success.
Hunter had a hemodialysis catheter and a feeding tube placed to make treatment easier for him. After his first hemodialysis treatment, the brave pup showed immediate improvement in his gastrointestinal signs and discomfort. Within two days, Hunter began producing small amounts of urine again.
After one week of treatment and intensive supportive care, Hunter’s family received good news:
Hunter’s condition had improved enough to be discharged from the hospital.
All in all, Hunter completed three hemodialysis treatments over the course of a week. Following his third treatment, he started to regain his puppy-level energy and started eating well on his own.
They continued to treat his condition on an outpatient basis and ensured that Hunter’s body was strong enough to continue fighting the infection and getting healthier every day.
“Throughout his treatment, Dr. Chalifoux was very informative and consistently offered very kind and compassionate care,” said his owner. “It was a stressful time, but it was made better knowing that the staff was taking good care of Hunter.”
Today, Hunter’s kidney values are completely back to normal, and he can live a healthy and happy life.
“Hunter is now back to his peppy self, so I couldn’t be any happier and thankful for the services received by the team at BluePearl Levittown,” said his owner.
