Seven-year-old Benny, a Labrador Retriever, had been vomiting continuously for the last three days and could not even drink water without regurgitation. Benny’s pet-parent Ravikumar thought it could be a case of food poisoning. When he took it to a veterinary hospital in T. Nagar, the veterinarians suspected something else. A blood test proved Benny’s creatine level was through the roof at 6.3 and he was suffering from acute renal failure.
“Tick-borne fever has damaged the kidneys. So, we decided to do haemodialysis for the dog,” said a team of veterinarians, comprising of Afzal, Aravind, Subatra, Vijay and Vaishnavi, taking care of the dog.
Benny was subsequently shifted to The Ark Veterinary Clinic at Thiruvanmiyur, a place equipped with a haemodialysis machine. The first session dialysis proved effective and the creatine level came down to 3. Veterinarians said it would take five hours to complete the process.
“Acute renal failure responds well to haemodialysis. Early diagnosis is very important,” the team said. While the Veterinary College in Vepery has dialysis facilities, there are not many private clinics that offer the service to dogs as it is a costly procedure and requires technical skills.
“I never knew that dialysis is available for dogs. Benny is keeping well now. We expect the creatine level will become normal after the second dialysis,” said Mr. Ravikumar, who had raised multiple black Labrador Retrievers as pets and incidentally, all of them were named Benny.
The veterinarians said the dog would survive and hereafter he should be on a kidney-friendly diet. “Food containing high-quality restricted protein, restricted sodium, phosphorus and omega fatty acids can slow down the progression of renal disease. It can be either bought from pet shops or can be prepared,” the veterinarians explained.
