20070406About Toa Payoh Vets Singapore Toa Payoh Veterinary Surgery, animal doctor, horse, dog, cat, rabbit, hamster, clinic info

Golden Retriever, Male, 7 years started panting. Treated by Vet 1, but panting came back again after 7 days of medication. Owner who had consulted me some years ago, did not want blood test again. I checked the Vet 1's report. Liver and spleen enlarged.

His blood test report which confused the owner, said:

"Unable to do CBC as the machine cannot read the blood."

So, was the machine out of order? However, he did a blood smear (RBC NAD (Nothing Abnormal Discovered), large reactive lymphocytes 3+) and rectal palpation (enlarged prostate both sides). He did blood biochemistry - NAD. Recorded panting could be due to anaemia
Diagnosis: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia? Prostatitis/BPH (Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy)
Treatment: Tardak inj. and usual medication.

MY BLOOD TEST was done without charging the owner as he was not wanting one done.

Glucose 3.4 (3.9-6)
Hb 10.5 (12-18)
RBC 5.0 (5.5-8.5)
Platelets 196 (200-500)
PCV 0.28 (0.37-0.55)

Total WCC 91 (6-17)
N, L, M, E, B = can't do differential count because the "total WCC test score is off the charts".

Analysis:
Marked luekocytosis with many abnormal cells seen. No platelet clumps seen.

RBC and Hb low --- anaemia
PCV 0.28, MCF low, MCHC low. Platelets low 196 (200-500)

What's the cause of this high WBC? Due to economic problems, the owner did not want any further testing. Could this be a case of tick fever? The owner did not want more tests. The female family members did not want euthanasia and took the dog home to spend some time with him.

Two blood tests showed abnormal leucocytes in the blood. As to the cause, it is hard to say. A possible cause could be due to a liver disorder as shown:
SGPT/ALT 122 (<59)
SGOT/AST 792 (<81)

There was no kidney disorder as shown:
Urea 7.6 (4.2 - 6.3)
Creatinine 132 (89-177)

After spending a few days with the dog, the family decided and the dog was euthanased on Jul 17, 2012 as he had deteriorated in health. In this case, the owner did not want another blood test. I did not charge him. Sometimes it is the right thing to do as Vet 1's first blood test report had stated: "Unable to do CBC as the machine cannot read the blood." The owner and his family knew what was happening to their dog and know the poor prognosis.