02/14/2025
We had a big scare this week. Our sweet livestock guardian dog, Lucy Sky, experienced what is called an Addisonian Crisis. An Addisonian Crisis is an abrupt onset of particular symptoms like collapse, weakness, extreme lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, trembling, very low blood pressure, low body temperature, and shock. This condition is caused by a deficiency in steroid hormones, produced by the adrenal glands, and is considered a medical emergency when a dog is experiencing a sudden Addisonian Crisis.
Thanks to our nighttime animal care assistant, Zoe, and her stellar observational skills, she noticed that Lucy was lethargic, weak, and had collapsed in her doghouse. Zoe managed to lift Lucy (105 lbs!) into her car and rush her to the WSU veterinary emergency hospital, where I was working, for emergent treatment. Lucy presented with all of the symptoms listed above and it took many hours into the night to get her stable again. I work the overnight shift in the ER/ICU at the hospital, so I was fortunate to be Lucy’s nurse during this crisis and am so grateful to have the excellent and competent care of the veterinary team on her case.
Once Lucy was stable, we ran a series of different tests and she was officially diagnosed with Addison’s Disease. Until now, she had never experienced any of the symptoms of Addison’s Disease, so it came as a shock. Addison’s is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the adrenal glands that produce the hormones used to counteract stress and electrolyte balance; specifically cortisol and aldosterone.
While there is no cure for Addison’s Disease, it is treatable and with responsible management of the disease, dogs can still live a long, good quality of life. Lucy will require a monthly steroid injection as well as daily steroid medications for the rest of her life. She will need to have her bloodwork checked frequently to assure her hormone levels are under control and not becoming depleted. I plan on having her twin sister, Eleanor, tested as well, so we don’t find out the hard way, during an Addisonian Crisis, like we did with Lucy.
Lucy was hospitalized for a couple days but is out now and being kept indoors for the time being, until this extreme cold weather we’ve been having warms up a little. I’m nervous to have her outside in these single digit days and negative degree nights.
Please keep Miss Lucy Sky in your thoughts as she continues to recover. I plan to run a fundraiser for Lucy tomorrow to help with her $3000 + medical expenses she accrued over the week, so stay tuned if you would like to help with these costs.
