A West Lothian pooch lost 500ml of blood after ingesting deadly rat poison out on a walk. The beloved family pet was then rushed to a specialist vets in Livingston where they managed to save her life.
Bramble, the two-year-old cocker spaniel was out on a walk when she managed to eat some bait left to catch rats without her owners knowing but after becoming unwell they realised something was wrong.
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The pups chest had filled with blood and she had to have 500ml removed which is a third of the little dog's total blood volume.
When she was taken to the vets she was weak and unresponsive when she was seen by VSS internal medicine specialist Nicki Reed, who quickly made an inspired call based on extremely limited information.
Nicki explained: “Bramble was referred as an emergency after her local vets had identified blood within her chest cavity.
“In total, 500ml of blood had been drained, around a third of her total blood volume, so it was not surprising she was very weak and anaemic.
“Bramble received a transfusion of red blood cells and then a plasma transfusion, as I suspected the bleeding was due to ingestion of rat bait, even though her owners were not aware of any incident.
“Rat baits of the Warfarin and Coumarin family cause bleeding by depleting the blood of Vitamin K, so the plasma transfusion was to help the blood clot while Vitamin K was given by injection to replace the depleted levels."
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She continued: “Bramble became much livelier and happier over the next 48 hours and was allowed home on a course of Vitamin K tablets and has now made a full recovery.”
Nicki’s expert analysis was confirmed days later when laboratory tests confirmed Bramble had indeed ingested rat poison.
For more information about VSS and the services it offers, visit www.vetscotland.co.uk or search for Veterinary Specialists Scotland on social media.
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