Animal Referral Hospital Brisbane

23/06/2025

Bruising on the belly was the warning sign for Somi's owners.

Our internal medicine specialist, Dr Elizabeth, ran blood tests and diagnosed her with immune mediated thrombocytopenia (IMTP).

IMTP is a disease where the body's immune system attacks and destroys the platelets, which are cells that help in clotting blood. IMTP is most commonly seen in middle-aged female patients but any dog can be affected. It can occur secondary to other illnesses such as infection or cancer but most commonly occurs spontaneously with no identifiable cause. IMTP can be a serious condition if left untreated.

Common signs of bleeding disorders to watch for include blood in the faeces, nose bleeds and spontaneous bruising, which is easiest to spot in hairless areas, such as the belly.

If your pet is showing any of these signs, please take them to your regular vet for further diagnostic workup.

21/06/2025

Multiple medical issues but Drax comes out on top!

We first saw Drax in emergency - he had started vomiting after his evening walk.

X-rays showed a colonic torsion and volvulus, a rare disease where the large intestine twists around itself and restricts blood flow to the area. Drax was promptly taken to surgery, where 40cm of his large intestine had to be removed!

Drax was transferred to our internal medicine team for ongoing management of his chronic gastrointestinal disease. We suspect that his history of vomiting and diarrhoea may have resulted in his colonic torsions – how unlucky!

We started Drax on treatment for a condition called inflammatory bowel disease (where the immune system identifies food proteins and bacteria as foreign and mounts an inflammatory response against them). He was placed on a hydrolysed diet, probiotics and vitamin B12 supplementation to help improve his diarrhoea.

To add further complexity to Drax’s case he was also diagnosed with a disease called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, where there is reduced production of pancreatic enzymes and subsequent maldigestion of food.

Drax started a supplement called Creon, which is a pancreatic enzyme. After a few hiccups along the way, and a lot of time and dedication from his owners, we are happy to report that Drax is doing well.

18/06/2025

Why do we see so many puppies with fractures?

Growth plate fractures commonly occur in young dogs as the cartilage of the immature bone in the area has not mineralised (hardened and turned to bone) yet. This means these areas are more prone to fracture with simple excessive forces such as jumping or landing awkwardly when playing.

For Teddy Bear, radiographs showed a right tibial tuberosity avulsion fracture (TTAF). Our surgical registrar, Dr Libby, was able to repair this with internal pins and a tension band, reducing the fracture and stabilising the bone fragments into the correct position.

Teddy Bear had to have some quiet time at home for six weeks while his bone was healing. His final radiographs showed complete healing of his fracture and Teddy Bear is now able to go back to running around and playing like all puppies love too!

16/06/2025

Goodbye to Joseph, and welcome to Xu!

We really are so lucky to work with such fine vets through our intern and residency programs. The different personalities, approaches to work and skills enrich our days and make for a thriving and high functioning workplace.

Last week we said good-bye to Dr Joesph, who we have been privileged to have with us for 18 months as a neurology intern. He will now take the next step in his career - as a neurology resident at the University of California, Davis. This is a huge achievement and we are so happy for you Joseph!

It does mean that we also get to welcome Xu Wei, who has enthusiastically joined us as our next neurology intern. Xu Wei will work with our specialist neurologist, Dr Christine and our neurology resident, Dr Perri.

Please help us in welcoming Xu Wei to ARH!

14/06/2025

Ray reminded us why we do what we do. His courage, sweetness and progress have been nothing short of inspiring!

He came to us after being struck by a car, suffering painful antebrachial fractures in both his forearms. It was a serious injury, but from the very beginning, Ray showed us just how strong and resilient he is.

After successful surgery with surgical specialist, Dr Lance, and weeks of recovery (plus a few extra treats from our team), we're thrilled to share that Ray has made a full recovery!

He's back walking, playing and charming everyone he meets - and seeing him leave with that happy tail wagging was the best kind of goodbye.

11/06/2025

These brilliant vets have hit the ground running this year, as they participate in our rotating internship program.

From the pace of surgery to the complexity of medicine, Tara, Mackenzie, Sasha and Xuan are getting an inside look at all of our specialty fields.

Not all of our rotating interns choose to specialise, with many choosing to further their knowledge to take back into general practice.

07/06/2025

Star's new bling a real lifesaver!

Check out Star's fancy new SUB device in this recent radiograph. SUB is short for Subcutaneous Ureteral Bypass and it has taken Star from being a very sick little lady to living a full and happy life.

When routine blood work showed elevated kidney markers, life for Star and her dedicated owners changed overnight. An ultrasound revealed a partial blockage in her right ureter—the tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder. Under the care of our medicine specialist, Dr Gemma, Star’s kidney values improved with medical management and she was back to her happy self.

Unfortunately, as with many of these cases, this didn't last and eight months later Star returned with similar signs and a full obstruction in her left ureter. When medical treatment didn’t help, Star's owners opted for surgery to place her SUB device. This clever little system allows urine to flow directly from the kidney to the bladder, bypassing the blocked ureter entirely.

While SUB devices can carry a higher risk of complications, Star’s young age and overall good health gave her the best possible chance. With the care of her loving owners and our internal medicine team, she recovered from surgery with no immediate complications. Nearly three years later, Star still comes in for her routine SUB flushes and monitoring of her kidney markers and we are thrilled to see her doing so well.

03/06/2025

You may remember Neville, our beloved oncology patient who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, at just one year of age.

🎉 Well, he has just celebrated his fourth birthday!

Neville underwent a left hindlimb amputation and a course of high dose chemotherapy in 2022. He currently visits our oncology team every four months for staging.

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone tumour in dogs. The majority occur in the bones of the limbs, with a smaller subset developing within the ribs, sternum, vertebrae, cranium, jaw and pelvis.

Surgical removal is the mainstay of treatment, followed by chemotherapy. Radiation can be used for those not surgically resectable.

Neville has exceeded all expectations and remains in remission to this day. We feel so privileged to have watched him grow into the much loved cheeky Groodle that he is!

31/05/2025

What cat doesn't like to play with string?

This fun pastime often brings our feline friends in for a visit as playing with string, or clothes/toys with strings attached, can result in a foreign body obstruction. String that is swallowed can be too large to pass through the intestines and the length can also be a problem, getting stuck at multiple points from the stomach through to the intestines.

Dear Bilith here came to see us with vomiting, inappetence and lethargy. An abdominal ultrasound showed an obstruction in his intestines. Our specialist surgeon, Dr Jarrod, performed an exploratory laparotomy on Bilith to remove the string.

Bilith recovered well from his surgery and was comfortable and eating within 24hours.

After a few weeks of rest, Bilith returned for his recheck and showed complete recovery. His was very smitten with all the team and looked very dapper in his little outfit.

29/05/2025

Little Rocky was recently in our hospital for surgical management of an inter-vertebral disc herniation.

Rocky was unable to walk on his own prior to surgery and is now back on his paws and recovering well.

His owners made the difficult decision not to visit while he was in our care as they knew he would stress when they left him.

Instead, they left this lovely card and soft toy for him. We are constantly blown away by the strength of the human animal bond.

26/05/2025

A huge thank you to Misaka who recently donated through our on call feline blood donation program.

Can your cat help us to save lives?

Suitable cats will be:
🐱 Fit and healthy
🐱 Between 1-8yrs of age
🐱 Weigh more than 4kg
🐱 Cool, calm and collected in behaviour
🐱 Up to date with vaccines and preventatives, including heartworm
🐱 Not on any medications
🐱 Not the recipient of a previous blood transfusion
🐱 Indoor only
🐱 Not entire females or have had litters previously
🐱 Ideally, not brachycephalic breeds such as Persians

As a thank you, you will receive $100 Petbarn Voucher, a free physical exam and a free yearly blood test.

If you are interested in joining our program, please complete this form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=thu0gUxs6U-E7XjWm97jqVUP40VDVjhOvaGKjvX5195UM0laV0NCWFlVV0U2SkFESEtZSzU0QTJPRy4u

26/05/2025