Over the last 3 weeks, poor Ariel has been going to the vet, a total of 7 times, one of which was an emergency hospital visit on a public holiday.
Read her backstory
It all started with her being in heat few days before Labour Day, followed by inappetence and lethargy, where she did not eat or drink for 15 days. As mentioned previously, she was not sterilised due to her heart condition which made any GA high risk for her. During these 15 days, she was bleeding quite a bit and also had fever on and off. Coupled with her many other health conditions, the bleeding started taking a toll on her body. She was constantly lethargic and some days she would be in such deep sleep that we had trouble waking her. As this was not normal, she was rushed and scanned for pyometra (infection of the uterus, common in unsterilised female dogs).
Ariel had 3 scans in 3 weeks and we saw 3 different vet clinics because we wanted another opinion and ensure we didn’t miss out on something that was causing her to be so unwell. The vets all concluded that it was just her being lethargic although they agreed her bleeding was quite long and abnormal; it lasted 26 days! In most female dogs, it usually lasts for about 3 weeks. Poor Ariel, her body was sore and tired, her vulva and nipples were swollen. She has been relying on subcutaneous fluids and syringe feeding to keep her going. In fact, she’s lost so much weight, one could feel her ribs.
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| Ariel at the vet, waiting for her results |
A few days ago, Ariel was at her worst; she was so
lethargic, she could not even keep her one eye open. She had so much trouble
staying awake, she was rushed to the vet yet again for yet another ultrasound.
And this time – our biggest nightmare came true. Ariel had pyometra and it was
life threatening.
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| The black spot is pus in her uterus |
Fortunately Ariel has a very experienced foster who picked up the signs in the early stages. Any further delay and we would have lost Ariel.
The scan showed a 0.7 cm black spot in her stomach, which is the pus in her uterus. Pyometra is a serious uterus infection, affecting unsterilised female dogs. It develops when bacteria infects the uterus and if left untreated, can be fatal within days. It would have been very dire had it been a closed pyometra where the infection and pus is all trapped inside a closed cervix. In the case of a closed pyometra, the distended uterus can rupture and become fatal.
Thankfully, hers was an open pyometra whereby the open cervix allows for any pus to drain through. Since she cannot be under GA, she has been put on a course of very strong antibiotics to treat her infection. Her foster will need to diligently feed her oral meds, give her subcutaneous fluids and injections throughout the day and monitor her closely and update the clinic.
We pray that she pulls through because we are not ready to lose this sweetheart, whom we rescued in Oct 2025. Ariel loves her walks in the parks and we have told her that there are many more parks she has yet to explore.
To date, her vet bills have come up to $2,526 and
she is due for yet another review.
More updates on her condition will be provided progressively.
