Polly's Story
by Dr Richard Lawrence

Polly's story appeared in the Herald Sun newspaper on 6 March 2004. She is a Labrador Retriever who was diagnosed with Puppy Strangles.

Polly's Story

Polly was one sick puppy.

The little retriever pup had only been with her new ownersfor a few weeks whenshe became acutely depressed, displayed a reluctance to get out of her basket and showing no desire to eat. And as anyone with a Labrador would know, this is not normal behaviour.

Being concerned owners, the Taylors brought her into the clinic the next day, the animal becoming more miserable by the hour. The most noticeable thing about Polly was that she appeared to have a head about twice the size it should have been. The lymph nodes under her chin and on her face and ears were swollen, hot and painful to the touch, as were both knee joints. Her body shivered in the throes of fever and she had two discharging sinuses on the left side of her face.

The initial impressin was that she had some kind of generalised infection supported by the purulent nature of the sinus discharge, but that might not have been the case.In cases where lumps and bumps are present, a fine needle aspirate is a simple, quick, cheap and painless diagnostic tool.

A small bore hypodermic needle attached to a syringe is inserted into the mass in question and suction is applied via the syringe. Although more often then not there is no fluid, a small core of tissue is drawn into the needle. This can be squirted onto a microscope slide and examined.

In this case, the sample revealed evidence of a sterile inflammatory lesion with many dead white cells but no sign of bacteria or other infectious organisms.

Given the age of the patient, the breed and the laboratory results, the most likely diagnosis was a disease known as Puppy Strangles. This is thought to be the result of an unusual immune system dysfunction resulting in sterile inflammation,predominantly in the skin but also involving joints, glands and ears.

The cause is unknown, though there is some evidence the disease is inherited. It is most common in Golden Retrievers, Dacshunds and Gordon Setters.

Once diagnosed, treatment must be swift and aggressive. Treatment comprises immune-suppressant doses of corticosteroids and anitbiotics to cover any secondary infection. Occasionally, stronger immune-suppressant drugs are necessary. But whatever the choice, treatment must last at least two weeks.

If treated early, the recovery rate is good and recurrence is unlikely. The main long term problem can be scarring, particularly around the eyes.

Within four days Polly's face was looking better and her joints were obviously more comfortable. She had gone from her tragic elephant man appearance to a much more attractive and cute puppy look. By the end of the second week, everything had returned to normal.

She still has a few scabs where the sinuses had been draining, but these were not a major problem. Fortunately any scara that might develop were going to be well away from anything vital and wouldn't present a long term problem.

Once again she was ready face all the joys of a growing dog. And, oh yes, her appetite had returned with a vengeance.

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