As a preface for this case of the month, this is a story of a great dog and its newly adoptive family. I will fill you in on disease details but this case is more about love and perseverance.
There are those days where as a vet you really wish the patients would carry a sign telling you what the problem truly is. Early in December, a new family came in with a young dog that they adopted from a shelter in South Florida.
Little "Emmett" won everyone's heart instantly. To be fair, at first he looked pitiful. His body score was low, his right rear leg is a peg leg unable to properly bend as a result from a previous run in with a vehicle, and the poor guy did not have an appetite and had diarrhea. Originally I thought I had this one nailed. Internal parasites were found and "Emmett" actually ate for me in the clinic. I thought all I needed to do was deworm, change his diet, and add on some probiotics. All of these things were done; it did not make a difference in his condition. "Emmett" actually worsened. Vomiting ensued and he became very lethargic. X-rays revealed a possible problem in the intestinal tract. Even though he was just adopted the owners said yes to an exploratory. An intestinal twist was found. Biopsies of internal organs were sampled. Again I thought the problem was fixed. "Emmett" only enjoyed temporary improvement. Vomiting, diarrhea and only brief intermittent spurts of energy were the symptoms. The lab work run did not give any significant clues. The biopsies were clean. More extensive testing was needed. On faith, the owners agreed. The GI testing done at Texas A&M was normal. The ACTH Stim to test the adrenals was not conclusive. A repeat test of the ACTH Stim was just slightly low. Hoping I had a diagnosis now, we started a low dose of prednisone.
"Emmett" has done well since with just a few "hiccups" along the way. His diagnosis is glucocorticoid dependent Addison's disease. This means his adrenal glands are low functioning but only the glucocorticoids are low, not the mineralocorticoids. The typical Addison's case is low in both properties. This is what made it more difficult to diagnose.
We had no history on "Emmett" since he came from a shelter. We could only work with what was happening in the present time, so that definitely hindered knowing what his trends were. It took approximately three weeks to sort through all of "Emmett's" problems.
A few of you might have met "Emmett" in the month of December as he was here quite a bit. Anyone that met him loved him. As a veterinarian, it became a mission to "figure" him out. The family had an amazing sense of understanding and patience to work with all the twists and turns this case took. They set out to save a life and they did so much more. "Emmett" still has the peg leg but otherwise he is full of life
It was a pleasure taking care of "Emmett" and work with his wonderful family. He was adopted by some loving, special people who have gone the extra mile to help him. He is truly a lucky dog. I also feel fortunate that he came into my life.
Dr. Robin Waters-Poderski
We currently have 2 students from South Fork High School,
Martin Downs Animal Hospital is a dessert sponsor for this 
At the end of February, the staff at Martin Downs Animal Hospital will go through OSHA training. Occupational Safety and Health Administration's objective is for businesses to comply with the laws regarding safety in the workplace. The training session will go over these guidelines and educate all staff members.
