The Dog That is No Longer Stoned...

Meet Waffles.

Waffles is a 3 year old female Pekingese.  She was already spayed when she was admitted into rescue.  She was surrendered by her owner because she was urinating in the house. 

She is just as sweet as pie, well behaved, and well trained otherwise, but when you tell a potential adopter that she was urinating in the house, that always makes people think twice about adopting...unless you can figure out why they are doing so.

We performed a urinalysis and discovered that she had a severe urinary tract infection.  We placed her on antibiotics and changed her diet to a special prescription diet to control the pH of her urine.  Controlling the pH of an animal's urine helps make the bladder's "environment" less appealing to bacteria so they do not thrive and as such the bladder becomes more resistent to infection.  Appropriate pH control helps to prevent crystal formation within the bladder.  Urine pH is predominantly controlled by proper diet and genetics.  When pH is not controlled well, animals may end up with recurrent urinary tract infections, microscopic crystalline formation within the bladder, and if left alone long enough, stone formation will occur within the urinary bladder.

This little girl responded fairly well to the initial medical treatment, but the blood within the urine never went completely away.  Once off the antibiotics, the blood in the urine resumed in full course.  It was time to take an x-ray.

In this x-ray, Waffles is laying on her back.  The pelvis bones and spine are evident.  Between the large bones of the pelvis are two large oval masses.

In this x-ray, Waffles is laying on her side.  The spine is on the top of the x-ray.  The two large oval masses are again easily seen within her belly.

There were two large oval masses in her belly.  These masses consist of two large bladder stones that are irritating her bladder walls and creating discomfort and infection.  Waffles needed surgery.  We opened this tiny 12 lb dog who was harboring these two giant stones in her bladder. 

Bladder stones from Waffles the Pekingese.  The coins are there for size comparison.

Her bladder, when visualized during surgery, was as thick as double layer corrugated cardboard due to severe and chronic inflamation.  A healthy bladder is almost paper thin when extended.  Even minor bladder inflamation will create a feeling of urgency.  If you have ever had a urinary tract infection, you are familiar with the sudden need to go to the bathroom because your bladder is screaming to your brain that it is full, yet, when you go, only a small amount comes out.  This urgency is the result of inflammation and the trigger it sets off to your brain.  Imagine months or possibly years of experiencing this urgent feeling.  I cannot imagine the discomfort created by the severity of Waffle's bladder inflamation, nor can i imagine the feeling of harboring these lovely pieces of anatomic artwork.  When you place the two stones back together into the position they held within the bladder, they form a mold of the interior of her bladder wall which was trying to shrink or expel them.



These stones consumed most of the interior of the bladder, leaving little room for urine to collect.   These stones started as microscopic, and grew slowly as a pearl grows within an oyster, one layer at a time.  As a result of that, Waffles urinated extremely often.  This urgency and frequency would cause her to have accidents in the house.

Now that the stones have been physically removed, if Waffles is kept on her special prescription diet, her bladder should settle down to almost normal size.  The diet should regulate the pH of her urine so that recurring infections, crystals, or stones are minimal or non-existent.  Without these problems, accidents in the house should be a non-issue since she appears housebroken in every other way.  Hopefully, Waffles will find herself a wonderful family to love and care for her.  If you are interested, go to http://www.jewellvetonline.com/ to apply for her adoption.  She will fit into your family like two peas in a pod, or two stones in a bladder!

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