Our Dal, Basil, (hopefully will be 6 years old on 8/12) was hospitalised over the weekend.  We thought he had a tummy bug.  He was off his food (very unusual) and vomitting his water up.  Had already seen vet the previous week, only a raised temp was found, but he had lost 5kg since vaccinations in April.  He was given an antibiotic injection and vitamin injection.  On Friday evening he drank a large amount of water & vomitted.  The vomit contained fresh clots of blood.  He was hospitalised, put on Hartmanns solution via IV.  Unfortunately, not being our regular practice, all they seemed able to do was keep him stable.  They did check his bloods.  These showed a very high white count (usually indicative of infection) and a slightly raised BUN (which although possibly a sign of renal disease can also be due to dehydration).  He was lethargic & uninterested in his surroundings & continued to vomit his water, so they did not offer him any food.  On Monday I brought him back to our usual practice & he was put back on a drip, kept overnight, but showing no improvement I had to take him back to the first practice as they have facilities for endoscopy.  Once Basil was anaesthatised, the vet rang to say he could feel "a mass" in his abdomen.  He asked would I wish him to conduct an ultrasound scan to assess the mass & then operate to remove it, or ultrasound & biopsy.  I elected to operate as he said it would be 2 - 3 days before they could anaesthatise him again - I was concerned that he would go a whole week without any nutrition when he was already weakened.  Within 30 minutes I received a call to say that the ultrasound had identified "masses" on both kidneys & an enlarged liver.  The vet told me that they may or may not be cancerous, but that they were inoperable & both kidneys were "abnormal".  He said that the prognosis was "days".  After bringing Basil home with nothing more than Tagamet to line & protect his stomach & he has - so far - not vomitted, has been drinking a normal amount, urinating normally & passing small but normal motions.  Now, 2 days on he has regained an appetite & is more lively & alert than I ever hoped to see him again - as I thought I was bringing him home to die.  We saw my regular vet today who said she would not have believed it was the same dog who, 3 days ago, seemed to have given up.  He has even gained weight! (OK it's only 0.2kg, but she said it was amazing that he had maintained!)We looked back through his notes - he has always had a tendency to bouts of vomitting & lack of appetite - but there was nothing there to suggest kidney or liver problems.  She commented that although renal failure was a possibility, his BUN level was not that high & there was nothing else of note.  NOW FINALLY YOU GET TO MY QUESTION ... the vet said not to treat him as a kidney patient as his prognosis was the same regardless of whether the problem was cancer or renal failure.  Having read quite a lot about kidney disease in dogs - in the early hours whilst keeping an eye on him - I am not sure if I should follow this advice.  Could the sudden onset indicate acute & potentially "recoverable" failure (though still with an underlying chronic problem) - perhaps due to the "bug" both Dals had a couple of months ago?  Or an infection - this would explain the high white count?  If so, why did the vet say she would not prescribe an antibiotic?  I would appreciate advice from anyone who has nursed a dog with a similar diagnosis.  Also any details on feeding a diet suitable for a dog with renal insufficiency.  I WILL NOT give up on Basil without a damn good fight!

It does sound if your dally is in a spot of trouble, kidney problems are not uncommon in Dalmatians but unfortunately I am not an expert.

However, I do belong to a Dalmatian message board and there may be someone on there that can help you.

Could you e.mail me privately with your e.mail address and I will post your problem on there with your permission.

Regards
Sandra
sanmilo1@aol.com