Banks turn for a surprise vet visit :-(

[2BullyMama]

Ok.. so i guess I jinxed us by saying earlier this week that we've been very lucky with her as far as bulldog health goes.

Around 8:30 she signals she has to go potty, I take her out and she posts-up for her . She appears to finish and moves away.. I go to pick up noticing it has some mucus, strangeso I take a closer look (YUK, the things we do for our babies)... there is blood. as I turn to walk away she is posted up again, but it is ALL blood and running down her butt. At this point, I'm thinking, great she has giardia or some other parasite, since we are having all this rain nothing is drain or drying up and it is a Parasite Paradise here - telling ya, I can she the conga line and the electric slide happening in our grass. anyway, I'm lucky that our vet is open on Saturday, I call and they say to bring her in as soon as I can.

We get there, I take her out of the van, blood all over her bum and very little on the mat. Now i am beginning to panic, what is going on, what did she get into?? Our normal vet is off this weekend, but I luck out that Dr. Hatfield is on today and Banks LOVES her, which will make the visit easier as Banks really cooperates with Dana. Dr. Hatfiled does the full run down and states as far as bulldogs go - she is extremely healthy, she looks great, her weight is good and her breathing is not that noisy.

An hour later, all the in house testing came back clean - no parasites - great right, nope, she thinks it is colitis, which is like a UTI for the colon. So, we wait till Monday to see if the outside lab results come back with anything. Dana did not want to do any unnecessary xray because Banks was not showing any signs of intestinal discomfort and there was no vomiting. We need to keep her calm and a close eye on her this weekend... anything out of the ordinary for Banks we should call their service and take her to the emergency vet.

.. do not let your babies lick or eat the grass if you are in the rain drenched areas of the US.

BTW - I asked her about the licking/eating grass... she said it means nothing but, OCD! Imagine that, a bulldog with OCD.

 

[Sarah]

ugh, how terrible. i would have been freaking out beyond belief. what did the vet say about possible causes of the colitis? hope Banks feels better soon!

 

[2BullyMama]

It is usually nervousness or stress... but Banks has been neither. so, if it is that - I am at a loss as to why.

 

[cowsmom]

oh my i know the feeling of blood from the booty. scary but im glad you could take her in so you would feel better. let us know how things turn out with the outside lab. lots of hugs from sarah and me

 

[cali baker]

Oh my, there's always something isn't there?

Good thing the vet was able to rule out some things though. Did the doc say if Banks needs to be on a special diet right now? does Banks even have an appetite? I'm sending positive healthy vibes her way!

 

[Davidh]

Glad she is home and doing better, hope for a speedy recovery.

 

[Jack Daniels]

Hope she recovers soon......

¿ What's OCD ... obsessive compulsive disorder.?

 

[2BullyMama]

[MENTION=1904]cali baker[/MENTION] --No special diet and she is 100% herself .. so strange.

@JackDaniels yes, OCD is obsessive compulsive disorder

Thanks to all for the positive thoughts and well wishes.

 

[LariP]

Could she have eaten something in the house that caused some temporary upset? Hope whatever it is goes as quickly as it showed up.

 

[RescueMe]

Please let us know what else you hear from the lab. So scary. Positive thoughts headed your way.

 

[Vicaroo1000]

*Sending good thoughts*

 

[Lucy-licious]

how is Banks [MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION]? I had a dog with Colitis he had to have regular Steroid injections and infusions during flareups.
He had to eat a very low protein diet which was totally meat free...but it kept his bowels healthy for the most part. Sunflower oil was good too, not sure exactly what it did but it seemed to help.

No one knows what actually causes colitis but it is something to do with raised inflamatory markers and the bodys own defence system attacking the lining of the bowels., hence the bleeding.

 

[2BullyMama]

[MENTION=1648]Lucy-licious![/MENTION] Thanks so much for that information....I've been reading whatever i could find on it and all I got was 'stress/nervousness' was a possible cause.

Banks is doing great, nothing about her is out of wack with the exception of some serious sour gas, which is NOT normal for her, the bleeding has stopped and her poo is soft but formed. Still going to keep a real close eye on everything for awhile.

 

[2BullyMama]

UPDATE... back to the vet tonight. Banks was fine until this morning.. the bleeding was back and she had her ears pinned all day yesterday.
We got the appointment with our vet Dr. Rossi (LOVE him) and he was fully informed of the visit from Saturday even so, he did a full exam on her, poor baby... twice in a week for a rectal and he expressed her anal glands just to make sure that wasn't part of the problem. He confirmed all her lab results came back clean and she has coliatis.

Two meds for the next week with limited activity till she goes at least a week AFTER meds are done with no blood in stool. then we slowly add activities back in to her day. sorry Bankies... no chasing the flashlight for awhile. This is NOT going to be easy for the parents ;-( But, at least it is not too serious.

 

[cali baker]

Oh, Banks! you poor thing...you're such a trooper tho. It's good you have a clear diagnosis and a treatment plan to follow. Sounds like you are on the right path and Banks is on the road to recovery.