Lynne Bevilacqua
Phebe's Legacy for IMHA research
Fundraising for The Royal Veterinary College Animal Care Trust
Story
Phoebe was an 11 year old Cocker Spaniel. Phoebe a retired show dog and mum. She had always been a very healthy and happy dog and has had all the necessary DNA tests for her breed. That was until July 2018 when her owners Alexis Aitken, Jennifer Aitken and Joe Mooney got up one morning to find a very dark brown puddle on the kitchen floor. She had been off her food the night before. Very unusual for Phoebe. Alexis immediately took her to the vet. Her gums were quite pale and she was kept at the vets on IV fluids to have bloods done.
The vet said in older cockers they can develop a condition that effects their red blood cells that’s what she wanted to check. She was transferred to the Vet School in Glasgow the same day as she needed 24 hour care.
Phoebe was given a blood transfusion at 2am the following morning as her bloods were dangerously low. The vet did say that her body would probably reject the transfusion but hopefully the steroid treatment would have kicked in by then. She was taken back to her own vet for the day for monitoring and then back to the vet school for nigh time monitoring. She was allowed home on 6th July as there was some improvement but was readmitted on the 8th for another transfusion. She was transfused on 9th and have x rays and scans to check her organs as this disease can cause organ failure. Phoebe is home now and doing well, she still has to go back every few days to have her bloods checked but our fingers are crossed that she has beaten this terrible disease as the recovery rate is only 50%.
This disease can affect any dog.
It is not possible to predict which dogs may develop the disease or pass it on to their offspring: no test is available. Those with affected close relatives (parents, siblings, grandparents and the siblings of parents and grandparents) may be more likely to develop or carry the disease than those from lineages in which the disease has not been detected or has been rare.
UNFORTUATELY PHEBE LOST HER FIGHT ON 26TH JUNE 2021. OUR FUNDRAISING CARRIES ON. IT WILL BE HER LEGACY.