Lola, our 13-ish year old JRT (a rescue dog) started looking a little off about a week ago. Then she had a night where she seemed to be in pretty severe pain. It improved and she seemed back to almost normal but with a low energy level. Then she had a day (Tues) where she was very lethargic and seemed almost unable to stand on her own.

Took her to the local vet on Wed. Blood tests showed pretty severe anemia...platelet count was under 30k. Normal is over 300K. Unknown problem causing it. Vets started a steroid regime to knock down the immune system which she suspected was causing the issue.

Thurs: Lola's abdomen looked very bloated. Back to vet. Xrays showed nothing amiss with the exception of possibly an enlarged or slightly displaced spleen.

Fri: Back to vet for blood re-check. Platelets below 11k. Waiting for steroids to work on immune system.

Sat: Noticed small amount of blood in her stool. Called E-vet. He told us there was little he could really do due to lack of testing equip and other logistical issues. Discussed transfusion but he didn't have access to platelet enriched plasma which is what she needed. Recommended calling Wash State Univ Vet Hosp. We did.

Sat evening: Got Lola to the WSU vet around 5pm. Lots of tests and exams and poking and prodding. They did a quick scan of her abdomen...no fluid (ie: blood) in her abdomen. Suspect cancer in spleen but can't do test due to low platelet count possibly causing uncontrolled bleeding. Chest xrays showed no signs of any cancer having spread. Blood retested around 11pm. Platelet counts about 54K and anemia appears resolved for now. Taking her back to WSU on Mon for a test of her spleen (king of like a biopsy I guess) and an ultrasound of her abdomen.

So, fingers crossed. But the point of all this is to remind all you pet owners who give your pets better care than you give yourself (like we do) to consider the local university teaching hospital when your family vet is out of ideas or beyond their ability to provide care. I know there's a great one at CSU. Very reasonable cost for all the care she received and she had several people looking at her issue from different perspectives. Plus they generally have all the equipment and other things needed right on hand to handle anything.