The ACT Christmas Appeal

Ruby's story

A week before Christmas 2019, Denise collected her family’s new dog Ruby when she was 8 weeks old. She was a gorgeous Irish Red and White setter and was to be companionship for Evie, their other dog, who had become subdued since the family lost their dog Digby to cancer.

Ruby seemed fit and healthy. She came from a good heritage, her mum was Kennel Club registered, and her dad was a show champion. Both parents had all the relevant health checks. The family enjoyed a happy (and slightly chaotic!) Christmas together. Denise’s son and daughter were home and all the animals (including their cat Chloe) were getting along.

It was when Ruby was getting her booster vaccines, that health concerns began to surface. The vet noticed her gums and stomach were pale. Ruby should have had pink skin under her fur, but instead it was white. They decided to test her blood and discovered that Ruby was anaemic. They ran more tests. The results were so concerning that she was rushed to the RVC.

At the RVC Ruby was scanned and tested for parasites, but nothing showed up. Ruby was carefully monitored, but overnight her condition deteriorated. At just 10 weeks old, Ruby needed an urgent blood transfusion. She improved and after a few days in hospital returned home.

Ruby was now to be monitored by Denise’s local vet. Regular tests showed that Ruby’s blood had stabilised but, having had Irish Red and White Setter’s for 25 years, Denise was still concerned. She knew their temperament and something just wasn’t right.

Denise tells us “Ruby would often appear to be drunk in the evenings, she’d become aggressive at times and would stagger and bump into things. She was constantly hungry, but she wasn’t growing or putting on weight”. Then one morning Denise’s daughter found Ruby with her head on the ground dribbling. Their vet referred them to the RVC.

In March 2020, on the Saturday before the UK went into lockdown, Denise handed Ruby over to the RVC. The vet took new CT scans. Now Ruby was bigger, it was possible for the team to see a congenital shunt on her liver. Denise had been feeding her high protein puppy food because Ruby wasn’t growing. But her liver couldn’t process this properly and had become toxic. This explained why Ruby appeared drunk in the evenings.

Vicky Lipscombe, Clinical Director QMHA and Professor of Small Animal Surgery at the RVC, explains that "when puppies are born with a large abnormal vessel, a ‘shunt’, that bypasses the liver, all the breakdown products (toxins) from eating food end up in the general circulation instead of being neutralised by the liver before going to the rest of the body. Puppies with a congenital shunt can suffer severe neurological signs as well as vomiting, diarrhoea and failure to grow properly.”

After a change of diet Ruby improved. So much so that she put on 7kg in 3 months. Ruby returned to the QMHA for more scans and the team decided that Ruby needed surgery to close her shunt as much as possible. At the first surgery her shunt was partially closed by 60%. Then later in October, Ruby had further surgery to complete the closure. Vicky Lipscombe explains, ‘Changing the diet to reduce some of the toxins can help but ultimately the liver continues to be small and insufficient unless the shunt is surgically tied off to stop the abnormal blood flow. Surgery to tie off the shunt has a high success rate and we know surgery is likely to achieve a much better long-term quality of life for a puppy than medical management.’

Ruby is now 2 years old and has made a remarkable recovery “she’s blossomed into a very affectionate, sweet girl who loves cuddles and loves her sister Evie”. Denise told us that “having a very poorly puppy during lockdown was really hard, my husband, Alan, was a huge support, it was definitely a team effort!". Their dogs now love life, look after each other and have even looked after Denise when she was recovering from a hip replacement. “They had to be very good around me and not run into me!’ explains Denise. Denise is now back to walking the dogs and they are all enjoying their time together. “We are eternally grateful to the RVC and the dog who donated blood. The vet said it was rare for such a young puppy to need a blood transfusion. It was an essential part of saving our puppy’s life and I would very much like to thank the donor’s owners."

Meet Ruby's Blood Donor Superhero

Ruby’s donor was Tetley, a beautiful black Labrador. During his service on the RVC’s blood donor programme, he gave 11 donations. His owner, Tessa, told us “Tetley absolutely loved seeing the donation team, who are all just lovely. The dogs are treated so well, fussed over, given treats and the best bit, as far as Tetley was concerned, was the meal at the end. He was always waiting at the door for the food to arrive!” Charlotte Russo, Head of Transfusion Medicine at the RVC, speaks highly of Tetley too, “he is such a wonderful character, so lively and happy but he was so still and calm for his donations!”

Tessa first took Tetley to donate blood when a friend’s dog needed open heart surgery at the RVC. Tessa tells us “the operation was a huge success. Tetley absolutely loved the whole experience and so I saw no reason for him not to continue to donate. The dogs suffer no ill effects and you would never know they have donated, except for the small shaved patch on their neck”.

Tetley has now retired from the donor programme. Sadly, he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in his feet. The cancer spread to several toes and subsequently he had three toes removed. He is now doing brilliantly and loves visiting the team with his housemates who are still donating blood at the RVC.

Smokey's story

Susan only had Smokey for 2 1/2 months before he needed a life-saving blood transfusion at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals. He joined the family after they lost their beloved bengal cross, Benji. While Smokey would never replace Benji, the family instantly fell in love.

One day the family noticed that he was very lethargic. Smokey was sleeping more often than usual and was very clingy. Susan called the vets who advised that Smokey be seen straight away so they could take some blood tests. Susan reveals that 'little did we know at that time how our lives would change'.

Smokey was very anaemic and his condition was critical. Suddenly the thought that they could lose him so shortly after getting him, was a real possibility. Their vet arranged for Smokey to go to the RVC for an urgent blood transfusion.

Smokey spent 12 days in hospital having intensive tests, scans, and a biopsy to determine the cause of his anaemia. He was very toxic and the only thing that could explain it was sour cream and onion crisps. There are many foods that, whilst fine for humans, can be toxic for animals, for example, raisins, chocolate and sugar free chewing gum. The problem for Smokey was that there was onion powder in the flavouring on the crisps. Onions can cause a Heinz body anaemia in cats and dogs. This is when damaged red blood cells (ones with 'Heinz bodies') are broken down or removed by an animal's spleen quicker than the body can replace them. The 'Heinz bodies' are denatured haemoglobin (the part of red blood cells that carry oxygen). 

After Smokey returned home his blood was regularly checked by Susan's vet and although his blood count has risen very slowly they are now happy with his progress.

Meet Smokey's Blood Donor Superhero

Theo is a 3 year old maine coon, who is incredibly laid back. Kat, Theo's owner, signed Theo up to the blood donor programme during the pancytopenia outbreak when blood was in particularly high demand.

Kat, told us "Theo doesn't get fazed by anything! He's a big boy at just over 8kg but a complete softie. He even fell asleep during his heart scan when he was being assessed for the programme!"

Charlotte Russo, Head of Transfusion Medicine at the RVC, remembers his donation well "he was FABULOUS! Purred throughout and started kneading the bedding ‘making dough’ during his donation!"

Kat found the donation team to be really informative and reassuring throughout the process. For Kat, it was great to hear exactly where Theo's blood had gone and why it was needed.