”Our greatest
reward is
to watch
Garth's
recovery and
see him
return home”

Elizabeth Geurts, DVM
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Garth

Meet "Garth" a 10-year-old male Yellow Labrador owned by Glenn Little of Fall River. Garth went to visit a farm around March 1st and during his adventures that day came upon the carcass remains of an animal. Garth helped himself to chewing on the remains that day which caused him to become VERY sick several days later!  Glenn called the vet clinic very concerned  that Garth had become very sick to his stomach and vomited up materials from the carcass.  Garth refused to eat or drink for a day, and was very uncomfortable in his stomach area.
On physical exam, Garth had a fever, was very depressed and dehydrated.  His abdomen was very tender to the touch. Garth was immediately hospitalized for diagnostic workup that included blood work and x-rays. Immediate treatment with IV fluids was begun along with medications to control vomiting, and pain.  Antibiotics were started to treat suspected infection from pancreatitis.  Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas--a small organ that lies near the stomach and normally produces digestive enzymes that enter into the intestine and digest food. The pancreas can become "over stimulated" to produce these digestive enzymes after a fatty meal is eaten. This excessive production of enzymes leads to destruction of the pancreas itself and also damages the surrounding organs including the liver.

Testing results indicated that Garth was likely suffering from acute pancreatitis. His condition was very severe, and after 48 hours of supportive care, Garth was transferred to the Fox Valley Animal Referral Center and placed in ICU over the weekend for continued treatment and diagnostic ultrasound of his pancreas and liver. Ultrasound confirmed that Garth had a severe case of "Acute Necrotizing Pancreatitis."  He remained hospitalized in ICU for several days during which time he gradually improved and was discharged to go home. 

After 3-4 days, Garth returned to the Randolph Vet Clinic for follow-up evaluation and blood testing. Unfortunately, he still showed symptoms of concern including mild abdominal discomfort, and persistent fever. Blood testing revealed that Garth had a tremendously elevated white blood cell count--over 40,000! A normal dog's WBC count is around 10,000. Dr. Geurts was very concerned that Garth was developing a pancreatic abscess--a life threatening complication to pancreatitis where a pocket of infection (pus) forms inside the abdomen. Left untreated, this abscess can rupture internally and cause sudden death. Garth was immediately sent back to the ICU and ultrasound was repeated. A large pancreatic abscess was found which meant that Garth needed immediate surgery to remove it from his abdomen. Surgery went well, and Garth returned home on March 21, 2010. Blood work on March 26 showed that Garth's white blood cell count is dropping and all other lab values look normal.

We are happy to report that he is home and doing much better after his long difficult battle with this disease. Glenn spent many days camped out in ICU to be with his dog. His love and devotion for his dog is truly admirable! Our greatest reward is to watch Garth's recovery and see him return home. Glenn says no more trips to the farm!--we think Garth would agree!
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