Readers Respond: Hemorrhagic GastroEnteris - Prompt veterinary care is critical

Have you experienced HGE with a pet? What were the first presenting signs? What was the main course of treatment? Read stories from other viewers. Share your stories here. HGE episodes with my pet

HGE and acidopholous

My lab mix became ill - vomiting, listless, loose stool. I gave her acidophillus (probiotics) right away, but she still seemed seriously "off". Her gums were ice cold and greyish. I rushed her to the vets, she threw up a frothy mess with a little blood and was listless. She was diagnosed with HGE, but is expected to make a full recovery. I strongly suspect the acidophillus played a role in preventing the progression of the illness, since it restores healthy intestinal and stomach "flora and fauna" which are needed to fight disease.

—Guest suzanne

Beagle with HGE

My Buddy is 2 years old and just out of the blue he got real sick vomitting and bleeding. Took him to the Vet and we had to rush him to an Emergency Care facility for pets. He was on IV for 2 days. He's my baby and it breaks my heart that he is still not feeling himself. They put him on 6 kinds of medicines so please pray for my Buddy.

—Guest Margie

They can recover!

Our five year old yorkie has just gotten home after four days in hospital. When admitted, white blood count was nearly zero and she was severely dehydrated. Although technically my dog, I was out of town and because Darcy is such a part of our family, my husband was aware she wasn't herself early in the morning and by afternoon when she had bloody stool, he took her to our vet. They began treatment ASAP while commending my husband on being so in tune with our dog. They said this disease kills a lot of pets and one of the main reasons is that owners "wait and see" if they get better and if left untreated HGE WILL be fatal. It is so important for pet owners to have a good vet and to be on the lookout for any changes albeit even minor, in our fur babies. Darcy is running around now with her "chihuahua" brother and things are back to normal. Thankful for a happy ending to what could've been a tragedy for our family!

—Guest Lisa

HGE or Parvo?

Reading all these posts reminds me of Parvo disease--which seems to be a "southern" illness. I live in Florida and 3 of my dogs came down with it--almost died! It's very contagious and lives in the ground for years. That's why it's so important to have doggies vaccinated against this disease (which is standard here). Is this just another name for the same illness? EDITOR'S NOTE: No, parvo is a different disease caused by a virus (parvovirus). More info here: http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/dognz/a/parvodog.htm

—Guest Peggy

HGE is not just for little dogs..

And it's that misconception that killed my baby. Perfectly fine one day, and dead the next because the vet didn't check him or treat him for HGE because he is a large breed. Please do not let your vet discount HGE just because your dog is large! This oversight caused the senseless death of my baby. He was an American Dingo, 8 years old and perfectly healthy. Now all I have is ashes and no explanations. I had to take his file from the emergency vet to his regular vet over a month after his death to get a diagnosis. He died in pain, and it didn't have to go that way. Bloody diarrhea, vomiting, all the usual symptoms. Also, if your vet sees large amounts of gas in your dogs intestines and stomach after an xray and fluid around their abdomen, ask if they are aware of HGE! These are also HUGE red flags!

—Guest Amber

HGE

My beloved Cinnamon, Chihuahua, Saturday started to bleed from the rectum, no vet available on the weekends here anywhere, so contacted online vet service, dx was HGE, gave pedialyte, prilosec and canned pumpkin, Monday morning called animal shelter and told them what was going on , they paid for me to go to vet, am waiting to hear this morning if she made it. No warning, I have special needs children and we are devastated, I pray she makes it, but she did not look good this morning and when I got her to the vet finally this evening, she was not good at all. have not slept much in past 3 days, and cant sleep tonight, Really devastated. What a horrible disease!

—Guest Benita51

Be pro-active!

Our 2 1/2 year old dachshund came down with HGE last week. She threw up in her bed the morning of the attack and was lethargic for most of the morning. She had some runny poop but no blood. We gave her some water but she threw up and it had specs of blood. This is when we got worried. We took her to the vet and 1/2 hour after getting there she "blew out" with extreme bloody diarrhea. The vet immediately put her on a IV. This saved her life! If we had waited any longer, we would have lost her. After 4 days, she is back to her old happy self again on a new diet and meds to prevent another attack. We feel blessed that we got her in quickly. By all means, do not wait! Get you your dog into the vet quickly at the first signs of blood.

—Guest Chris

HGE

My 12 year old 7 pound Chi mix is at the vet's recovering from HGE. I had never heard of this either. Last night at 5 he was healthy and eating his dinner. 7ish I knew something was wrong as he was shivering and didn't seem to be able to get comfortable. 5 minutes in one place...then he would jump down and stretch and stretch again. I had never seen him behave this way. His eyes were a little glassy. Bedtime came and he came to bed, but soon left to sleep somewhere else. This morning at 5 a.m. I found him curled up on the couch, cold and disoriented, not moving much, glazed eyes. I saw him try to vomit. He was walking stiff legged and wobbly. His condition deteriorated until I got him to the vet at 9. I thought he was dying. The vet quickly hooked up an IV and examined him. After many tests, his diagnosis is HGE. He is spending the night at the vet's and expected to come home tomorrow if he remains stable. Scary how fast it all happened.

—Guest Karen

10 yo min dachshund

About 6 mos after I rescued Romeo he started have bloody stool. I watched him for a day or so to see if it would subside but it only got worse. It came to a head in the middle of the night and I rushed him to a 24 hr vet aobut 20 miles away from where I live. When he got there, while we were in the examining room waiting to be seen he exploded blood all over the room and finally we got a vet to come in to see him. When he was examined he was dehydrated and his tempurature was about 91 degrees. He would not have made it through the night. They had to incubate him to warm up his system before they could treat him for his HGE. They kept him overnight and pumped him up with fluids and the following afternoon he was released to come back home. The overnight visit ran $600. His stool hardened back up within the next 2 days and you would have never known that there was something wrong with him. Resilient little guy is now 13 yo and runs around like a puppy.

—Guest Su Breskend

My Chihuahua Poodle Mix got HGE

Last night I came home and there were streaks on the floor of feces and blood, then my dog threw up and passed a lot of just blood, it was bright red. So of course I freaked out, he is my baby, it was 8:00 pm so I ran to take him to the Doggie ER which is about 7 or 8 miles away. The only thing that could cause it was my mom on Thanksgiving through turkey drippings in the yard, the Dr. said due to the high fat content it can cause pancreatitis and lacerate the intestines, which causes the blood. And, you need to seek treatment quick b/c it can be fatal. And they can dehydrate. They kept him overnight and gave him IV fluids,catheter,pain meds and had someone with him all night. It was 760.00 just for last night. Then this a.m I had to take him to his reg. vet, they are going to watch him all day, as long as diarrhea stops he may be able to come home. But, will need follow up visits definitely. I would suggest having Dog Ins. I didn't and wish I had. Just get your dog to the Dr. soon.

—Guest Nicole

Just brought dog in

Was at vet yesterday for annual, all was well. Went to dog park today, all was well - my shep/lab mix had had some runny stool for the last couple days and didn't eat much breakfast today, but he has a sensitive stomach and that happens. Suddenly after the dog park he was laying on his side with shaking limbs and wouldn't move much. I kept a watch on him - he soon threw-up and started having bloody diarrhea so we just took him in and he has HGE. I so hope he recovers fully and quickly ... this dog is my prized posession. Glad he had some different behavior/symptoms (shaking, lethargy, blood) or I would have just figured it was another day of a dog getting into something and having a temporarily upset stomach.

—kngb250

Making its way through all my dogs....

I think HGE is going through all my dogs. Vets in my town don't seem to be aware of HGE. Some were treated with an antibiotic, others with anti-fungal, all with fluids. All with same symptoms. With appropriate fluids and I/D canned food, most seem to be recovering. I'm worried about my little dachsie, she's so small compared to the others.

—Guest CorgiDachs

HGE - Harley Min Pin 9 months

My 9 month old Min Pin Harley, became ill with HGE 8 days ago. Harley has always been healthy, and has all shots. Harley begain panting heavily, within mins he had explosive diahhrea. I put him in his bed and he pooped all over himself and was unable to move. Harley was barely breathing. Harley was then rushed to a 24 hour animal hospital. When Harley arrived hit heartbeat was 25 beats per min, his body tep was way below normal, drooling lots, non responsive, and he was severly dehydrated. He was immediatly put on IV fluids, oxygen, a heart monitor and placed in a heating blanket. During Harleys 6 night stay he was transfused 12 times. I asked the vet how close he was to death and they said a matter of mins. This is the hardest thing I have ever experienced. I have no children, Harley is my son, and I have no idea what I would do without him. From the time Harleys symptoms started to the time we got to the vet was less then an hour. THERE IS NO TIME TO WAIT.

—Guest Heather

Jack Russell Lucy

Just diagnosed with HGE thank God she is doing better but she has not had a BM. I was wondering what kind of food we are feeding our pets. Maybe it is the cause of this HGE. We have been feeding Costco chicken which is made by Diamond food. Should we have our love ones on raw or no grain diet? Our hearts go out to all those who have lost their dogs from this. I don't know what i would do if i lost my soul mate too!!! I'll be praying.... Let me know if you have changed the diet and everything is fine. Please help with the menu.

—Guest Marty

HGE border terrier

This is my dogs 2nd bout (one episode 6 months ago) with it. Fine and eating one day and the next severe bloody stool and vomiting. Its freaking me out. she is not a nervous dog at all. She is still in the ER today.

—Guest Linda