06/09/2025
It all starts with a phone call. A very important initial step of any presentation to an emergency clinic. Often, people call because they are not sure if their pet is experiencing an emergency. Wanting the best for their fur babies, they seek advice and guidance from our team. That’s how we got to meet Winnie and her family recently.
While enjoying a lovely family day on Lake Ginninderra, Winnie, an adorable 4-month-old Dalmatian, started developing very strange symptoms. Her eyes began moving in an odd pattern and she kept rubbing her face. While not alarming straight away, just concerning, her mum called us. Following the concept of “better to be safe than sorry”, we encouraged them to come in for a quick assessment. But what was supposed to be a short drive to CVES for peace of mind quickly turned into a nightmare.
Upon arrival at the clinic, Winnie was in a critical condition. Just in 15 minutes she had lost the ability to walk, her muscles tremored uncontrollably, and she had no control over her body. We rushed her straight into treatment, where she began vomiting uncontrollably, lost control of her bowels, and then attempted to seizure. Again - all in a matter of minutes. Our team had no idea what could have caused such aggressive and rapid deterioration, but we were ready to fight for her! Working quickly and effectively, we tried stabilising her with all the knowledge and equipment we had. However, Winnie was in very bad shape. She stopped breathing and went into full respiratory arrest despite all our attempts... We had to intubate her and started manually ventilating her lungs to buy us time to get to the bottom of this.
Thanks to Winnie’s family’s detailed recollection of events and our investigation of her vomit and faeces, we found traces of plant matter. Exactly what we were afraid of the most. Combined with the symptoms and time spent around the water, blue-green algae poisoning was very likely. And the worst thing - there is no antidote for this awful toxin.
Blue-green algae (or cyanobacteria) is a type of toxic bacteria that thrives in water. During periods of rapid growth (called an algal bloom), toxin levels in the water can become life-threatening not only to wildlife and pets, but also to humans. After coming into contact with contaminated water (whether drinking or swimming in it) the toxin enters the body, affecting the liver and nervous system. These interactions are typically fatal. Starting with vomiting and diarrhoea, symptoms quickly and aggressively progress to tremors, seizures, difficulty breathing and, ultimately, death. The fact that Winnie made it to our clinic and was still fighting was a miracle. But we still did not have good chances of victory. Alongside Winnie’s devoted family we poured all our energy into saving her.
After detailed consultation with the Animal Poisons Hotline, we determined the following plan: mechanical ventilation to breathe for her, combined with continuous infusion of sedatives and tailored fluid therapy. On top of that, gastric lavage and enemas were performed for decontamination followed by oxygen support therapy. Concerned about long-term organ damage, we closely monitored her liver and kidney parameters – the organs responsible for filtering toxins and the ones most at risk. Even with all this on board we were nowhere near the finish line.
Due to severe vomiting and lack of muscle control, Winnie possibly developed another serious complication – aspiration pneumonia. This occurs when material (such as water, digested food or bile) enters the lungs instead of the oesophagus due to loss of muscle control, causing inflammation that can be life-threatening. Once Winnie was stable enough, we performed radiographs to assess her lungs to help us understand if her lungs are endangered alongside her liver, kidneys and nervous system. And then – another shock! Winnie had a foreign body in her stomach! A cluster of sharp metal objects was clearly visible on the X-ray. Everyone’s emotions were mixed: while we were lucky to have discovered it before it caused another emergency, it still wasn’t good news. Winnie would need surgery, but only after she had improved enough to withstand it.
So, the wait began. We needed to give Winnie time to recover and become strong enough for surgery with her GP practice. With lots of love, supportive medication, oxygen therapy and intensive care, we were able to discharge Winnie after a couple of days into the hands of Brudine Veterinary Clinic, who did a marvelous job performing an exploratory laparotomy and removing the foreign body. This meant Winnie came back to us yet again, but this time only for overnight monitoring after another major procedure. Thankfully, she had a calm night with no complications, just lots of care, attention and love.
Reflecting on this complex journey, we know one thing clearly: Winnie’s parents’ phone call saved her life. Their ability to pay attention and advocate for her needs allowed us to support Winnie in her miraculous recovery. Because that’s exactly what it was – a true miracle. Now, this magical dog is back at home, recovering extremely well under the close and careful watch of her loving family.
