Dead puppy - question for the professionals

[Long Con]

Hi, I help to run a kennel, and we sold a puppy to someone, and that puppy died a little while later. They are trying to claim it was a genetic deficiency, though the puppy's parents and siblings have never had any similar issues.

The people say that their vet diagnosed the puppy with "Liver Hepatocellular dissociation, renal tubular necrosis and acute pulmonary hemorrhage."

I know that you don't give medical advice through this forum, but the puppy is already gone, and I'd just like to ask about this as a knowledge exercise.

What could have caused these symptoms? Could the puppy have eaten something poisonous?

Oh yeah: they destroyed the body before even letting us know, which prevents us from further investigation.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Bill59]

Your best bet would be to talk to the attending veterinarian or your veterinarian. They are the persons most likely to be able to answer specific questions about a particular patient.

 

[critterfixer]

I am not a veterinarian, nor do I play one on TV, however the combination of lesions you described are all possible with a Leptospira infection. I don't have to stretch my imagination very far to think a toxin could cause massive hemorrhage and necrosis, too.

Unless the veterinarian is naming a specific genetic lesion I would think that the weight of evidence for a genetic disorder is theirs to present, and they haven't, so....

Maybe someone knowledgeable about congenital disorders can comment, but it sounds a lot like Lepto to me.

Again, I am not a professional, am not giving a professional opinion, and am not making any claims for the validity of my conjecture.

Here are some references:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=170684

Similar lesions in equine fetuses infected in utero (maybe someone can comment about a prenatal infection in puppies):
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2667201

 

[tealamutt]

Well, at least it sounds like a necropsy was done, and there should be a vaccine history so it's not as if there is no information left with the body having been disposed of. As Bill says, talk to the vet who diagnosed and treated the case (and hopefully performed necropsy), that's the only person with any real idea as to what happened.

 

[Caninerepro]

The only other thing I would add, and this from the breeder aspect: for most recognized breeders, it is indeed the buyers job to provide some documentation of the verified genetic basis for the condition, be it my chromosomal, histological or whatever lab wise. Also, they need to be able to produce the dog, or the body in order to get some kind of a replacement. If the buyer can't produce the body, or some records that could be taken back to an independent specialist, sorry.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Bad liver degeneration combined with pulmonary hemorrhage in a young puppy.......makes me think congenital portosystemic shunt, kills the liver due to improper blood flow/anoxia/ammonia buildup combined with the blood backup of systemic and pulmonary hypertension from the shunt, possibly eventually leading to blood leaking into the lungs.

what breed was this dog, and was it the appropriate size for a puppy of it's breed? A runt?

Sorry if I'm treading on the medical advice line, though the poor pup is dead...my mind is too curious...