Help Sister Recover from Salmon Poisoning

Hey guys this is Emily, Sister's mom and guardian. I am reaching out to all of my friends and family because of some really bad luck that Sister ran into these last two weeks on one of our adventures.

It all started on Friday evening of May 2nd when the diarrhea first appeared and Sis's energy started to wane. She had gotten into the trash the night prior so I thought that was all it could be! But her symptoms worsened with the diarrhea non-stop and her lethargy progressing rapidly throughout Saturday. Her appetite then changed Saturday morning and by Sunday morning she completely stopped eating. If you know Sis at all you would know that she is a voracious eater so this anorexia was frightening. I brought her into Dove Lewis Emergency Hospital where I work and she laid down on the floor not willing to move and became very dull. It scared me considerably and I started to cry with my co-workers comforting me. Sis was the sickest, most lethargic and dull I had ever seen her. She was found to be in compensatory hypovolemic shock, tachycardic, clinically dehydrated and became a literal pancake on the floor of the ER.

From then on my team at Dove Lewis sprang into action, placing an IVC, giving a fluid bolus, running bloodwork and promptly admitting her to the intensive care unit (where I work). She perked up some with fluids but was still no where near my normal bouncy Sis who carries her leash and steals table scraps. She has been hospitalized at Dove Lewis ever since that day and luckily we found out what ailed her after a full abdominal ultrasound, chemistry, cbc and lastly the all important fecal were performed. She continued however to be dull and have blow-out diarrhea in the ICU while she was being fervently hydrated with IV fluids and persistently anorexic. I've never seen my sweet Sis refuse to get up off the floor but often she would need to be pushed to walk and just leak diarrhea the whole way through the hospital. You could tell she felt like trash and could never seem to be comfortable with the constant liquid leaking through her.

Finally we got answers with the fecal test after two days of intense nursing care and medicine, she has Salmon Poisoning Disease! I was flabbergasted as this disease common to the PNW generally is contracted when dogs eat raw fish which Sis to my knowledge never had! Yet we often visit local Lakes/Rivers where I suspect she may have eaten something off the shore I just didn't see. This infection can occur when dogs eat raw or undercooked salmon, trout, steelhead, or Pacific giant salamanders infected with a fluke (parasitic flatworm) called Nanophyetus salmincola.

This flatworm is generally harmless to dogs, unless it is infected with a bacteria called Neorickettsia helminthoeca. After a dog eats raw fish/salamander, infected flukes embed in the dog’s intestines, allowing the bacteria to enter the blood stream. The bacteria spreads to various organs, resulting in the signs of salmon poisoning.

With this definitive diagnosis we were able to start the all important Doxycycline which is a curative antibiotic for the condition. However while the medication does it's job, she still loses fluid and is at risk of dehydration constantly. This means that Sister has been in hospital for almost a week and with a long hospital stay comes significant financial burden upon myself.

I am lucky to work at a hospital that allows me to pay back this funds over time but unfortunately the total cost of her hospitalization is so extreme that the payments are going to financially cripple me. So friends and family, I am asking for your help small or large to contribute to Sis's nearly 10k hospital bill so that we can continue to pay rent, go to work and quite frankly pay our bills. I have never had a bill this large at any hospital I have ever worked at and in conjunction with Sis's last hospitalization I am under a severe debt I can't shake. If you have ever found joy watching our videos or liking our photos of our many adventures please consider donating and helping my sweet girl out.