By Bliss Foster
Have you ever known exactly what your dog wanted or needed by simply looking into his or her sweet brown eyes? Most of us have experienced this with our dogs. An ownerโs insight regarding whether a dog would rather play tug or eat an early dinner may seem relatively unimportant in the greater scheme of things. But for many of us who have a close relationship with our dogs, we may have experienced that intuition on a much deeper level. We can tell, for instance, when our pooch is having an off-day or isnโt feeling well, even if the outward signs might not be visible to anyone else.
Intuition is defined as โquick and ready insight,โ and โthe power or faculty of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational thought and inference.โ In other words, you just know. And one of the most important times an owner can utilize intuition on behalf of a pet is at the veterinarianโs office.
According to New Hampshire veterinarian Myrna Milani, an expert in animal ethology who has authored books on the human-animal bond, we are the most important advocates our dogs have when it comes to health. Dr. Milani believes if an owner has intuitive feelings about a petโs condition and trusts those feelings, it is crucial to act upon them. โItโs coming from a different place,โ she says.
Acting on those feelings may simply be a matter of solid communication skills between an owner and a veterinarian. You should count your lucky stars if you have found a veterinarian who truly listens and considers your observations concerning your dogโs physical symptoms, as well as any suspicions or insight about whatโs going on. If a pet is ill, there is no greater gift.
Sometimes, though, unanticipated action on an ownerโs part may be necessary โ like knowing when to ask about other options if a course of treatment does not seem effective. An owner may also be placed in the position of having to ask the right questions or to expound on the background information that has led up to a petโs health problem.
If communication between an owner and veterinarian breaks down in part or whole, then being true to intuitive feelings may mean seeking a second or even third opinion. โPeople need to think more about what they feel is best for their animals,โ says Dr. Milani.
Act while you can
Itโs important to take action when you get a feeling that you should; no one benefits from learning too late that they should have followed their instincts, whether it was to get another opinion or demand a certain test or diagnostic procedure.
This was the sad lesson learned last spring by Martha Turner of North Richland Hills, Texas. Turner decided to spay Blaze, her five-year-old, AKC conformation champion Rottweiler, after Blaze had produced a litter of beautiful puppies in 2003. Turner felt that one litter was enough, and wanted to eliminate the possibility of certain cancer risks in Blazeโs future.
Blazeโs pre-op blood work was fine. Her spay surgery was performed on a Friday by a vet Turner had known for more than 10 years. Turner picked Blaze up from the vet after work, and settled the dog in for a quiet recovery at home.
Late Sunday morning, Turner contacted the vetโs office asking about getting pain medication; Blaze was trembling and seemed very uncomfortable. Per the vetโs instructions, she gave Blaze aspirin and watched her for the remainder of the day. This seemed to help. By Sunday night, though, she was trembling again and Turner detected shortness in Blazeโs breathing.
On Monday, Turner took Blaze back to the clinic. More blood tests were run, which appeared to be normal. Blaze was prescribed an antibiotic and Turner took her back home. By Monday night, Turner heard โwhat sounded like fluidโ as Blaze breathed. She told the vet the next morning.
Over the course of that week, Turner took Blaze into the vetโs office a total of four times. Blaze had developed a fever, which would spike at night, and her appetite was decreasing. Turner says that Blazeโs blood work was also checked a second time that week, which showed that her liver enzymes were slightly elevated.
By Thursday night of that same week, Blazeโs fever was 105 degrees. โShe was stretching her neck out and holding her head up in a way I had never seen before. I didnโt realize it then, but looking back on it, I think she was trying to breathe more deeply,โ Turner says.
On both Tuesday and Thursday of that week, Turner says she asked the vet for a chest X-ray because she continued to hear a fluid-like noise as Blaze breathed. That Friday, the vet took one. On the X-ray, Turner says, it looked as though one of Blazeโs lungs had collapsed. The other lung appeared to contain fluid. It also looked as if Blazeโs heart may have been enlarged.
On Friday afternoon, Turner put Blaze in the car and drove her to a university hospital a couple of hours away. A cardiologist ran an echocardiogram. Blazeโs heart was not enlarged, but her blood oxygen level was 77 percent, well below the desirable range of 90-100 percent. The doctor there prescribed two different antibiotics for Blaze and placed her in the ICU respiratory unit. Despite these efforts, Blaze died at 3 pm on Sunday.
Shocked and understandably upset, Turner asked for a necropsy. The reportโs interpretive diagnosis and summary revealed that Blaze had โsevere acute fibrinosuppurative pneumoniaโ in all sections of lung examined. The diffuse nature of the inflammation was suggestive of ARDS (Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which ultimately caused acute respiratory arrest.
Blazeโs vet at the university described ARDS as a disease that causes fluid to leak into the airways. It is often secondary to an underlying problem such as pneumonia.
It is Turnerโs opinion that if a chest X-ray had been taken earlier that week, as she had requested, it may have increased Blazeโs chances of survival. โIf there is anything I can say after going through this experience, itโs to take your pet somewhere else if you have any doubts,โ says Turner. โDonโt get in a comfort zone.โ
Becoming a health advocate for your dog
There are many ways to become better advocates for our dogsโ health, many of them communication-based. According to Dr. Milani, the ideal human-companion animal relationship is similar to that between a mature parent of the petsโ species and the offspring. โAnimal parents initiate interactions rather than react to their offspring, and good advocates for their pets initiate rather than react, too.โ
Working out a comprehensive approach to managing your petโs health is key to Dr. Milaniโs philosophy. She says there are several things an owner can do when visiting the vetโs office.
The first is to write out any questions you have for the veterinarian and leave space on your notepad so you can write down the answers. Or, better yet, explain to your vet your reasons for documenting your communication, and tape record the conversation. Your notes or tape will serve as a reminder later, when trying to recall what the vet suggested and why.
Another idea is to take a friend along on vet visits. This is like taking โa second pair of ears,โ says Dr. Milani, and it may instill confidence in owners who otherwise might be hesitant to ask questions about a veterinarianโs suggestions.
A third idea is to utilize visualization. Weโve all heard about instances in which athletes who visualize their game improve scores, sometimes as much as those who practice every day. Dr. Milani thinks visualization is especially helpful in a communication scenario where an owner is intimidated by an expert.
Dr. Milani says that people often take one of two approaches. โOne group takes an optimistic approach and repeatedly visualizes themselves and the expert having a meaningful exchange under the very best of circumstances. The second group takes a more pessimistic approach that involves visualizing getting the necessary information from the expert under the worst circumstances,โ she says. An example could be that your vet is using textbook terminology that is over your head, or discussing a procedure that youโve had a negative experience with in the past.
The owner utilizing the pessimistic approach, Dr. Milani believes, is likely to be prepared for both the worst and best case scenarios when visiting the vetโs office. In either case, though, by repeatedly visualizing a mental image of the exchange with the vet before the appointment, Dr. Milani thinks an owner is more likely to remain focused on the goal of acquiring the information necessary to make an informed decision.
For non-emergency health situations, Dr. Milani says the owner always has an option to delay commitment to any program if unsure whether it meets the needs of both the owner and the pet. โThe majority of medical and behavioral problems that befall our pets did not happen overnight and delaying treatment for a few hours wonโt make any difference,โ says Dr. Milani. She adds that sometimes professionals and owners want to commit to a treatment program quickly so that the problem can be resolved as soon as possible. โIf youโre not sure about a decision, donโt be rushed,โ she says. โTake your time and do it right.โ
Another opinion
If these suggestions fail, itโs probably time to get another opinion. In my case, I had to go the extra mile of visiting three different vets, before I found who I believed would best benefit my dog, Guinevere, when she had a health crisis (see sidebar).
Dr. Milani acknowledges that moving on is not easy when owners have long-standing relationships with their veterinarians. โYou may not want to alienate or offend them. Itโs hard. But the question we have to ask is โWho is the ultimate authority on my dog?โโ
Even when an additional veterinary opinion is sought and utilized, there are no guarantees regarding the outcome. Itโs possible that no matter what you do, the situation could turn out adversely, as it did with Blaze. Then again, everything could turn out perfectly or somewhere in between. In any event, even if things go badly, itโs easier to live with the notion that you did everything that could be done.
-Bliss Foster is a freelance writer, attorney, and animal welfare activist who lives near Houston. She is also a council member of the State Bar of Texas Animal Law Section.
