Case of The Month: Brody B

Meet Brody B! He is a beautiful, energetic, 3.5 year old Springer Spaniel. Brody came to Carol Stream Animal Hospital on November 11, 2017 for a 2-3 day duration of vomiting, decreased appetite, increased thirst, increased urination and lethargy. Although he was still wagging his tail at the hospital, he had a mild fever and was slightly dehydrated prompting his doctor to recommend further diagnostics.

We began by performing bloodwork and x-rays in order to get more information than Brody's initial physical exam findings. Despite Brody still bouncing around and giving his doggy smile, his results showed that his left kidney was twice the size of his right, and he was in the initial stages of kidney failure. It was critical that we act immediately, so we started Brody on 3 different antibiotics and an anti-nausea medication, and he was hospitalized the next day on intravenous fluids. When Brody’s kidney values weren’t returning to normal we ordered an infectious disease panel and we strongly urged his owners to transfer him to VCA Aurora’s 24-hour hospital so that he could continue to receive uninterrupted IV fluids and continued IV antibiotics. Our infectious disease panel came back showing that Brody had leptospirosis, a very serious and potentially fatal bacterial infection that was threatening to shut down his kidneys.

However, after 3 days of hospitalization and treatment, Brody’s kidneys began to respond and he was able to fight off the infection!!! His most recent bloodwork showed that he will, in all likelihood, make a full recovery without any permanent kidney damage! We are so happy and relieved that Brody is doing so well!

We are sharing this story because of the serious implications of leptospirosis both financially and, more importantly, to the health of those we love. This disease is a threat to our family members both four-legged and two-legged alike (what we call “zoonotic”, meaning transferable across species) and can be preventable with routine vaccination. Leptospirosis is found in stagnant water sources and is spread by rodents and raccoons. With increasing population this disease has been found more frequently in urban areas and any dog that leaves the house, even just to their own backyard, may be at risk of contracting it. The vaccine is incredibly affordable (usually under $20) and requires an initial injection followed by 1 booster in 2-4 weeks, after that it is administered annually with regular vaccines.

Please share Brody's story with your friends and fellow pet owners to increase the awareness of leptospirosis and to help prevent our furry family members from such a scary experience.

Mondrian Contreras, DVM