Rescue dog struck down by rare disease after being saved from streets

26 October 2023 , 15:07

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Flynn was saved from the streets of Bucharest by Ciara McCormack and her partner Connor McGovern (Image: Vets Now)

Dog owners have been warned after a rescue pooch from Romania was struck down by a rare and deadly disease.

Mixed-breed Flynn was saved from the streets of Bucharest by kindhearted Ciara McCormack and her partner Connor McGovern after they spotted him on a dog rescue website.

The stray was whisked 1500 miles to his new home in Glasgow where he began the challenging task of settling in to his domesticated life. But just weeks later, he suddenly became desperately ill - uncontrollably drooling and shaking - prompting his new owners to rush him to the Vets Now emergency hospital in Charing Cross.

Medics discovered he was on the verge of cardiac arrest and he was admitted to intensive care for further tests. The plucky three-year-old was soon diagnosed with a life-threatening condition called Addison's Disease, which is caused by a lack of hormones in the body.

Flynn was diagnosed with Addison's Disease, which is due to a lack of hormones in the body (Vets Now)

When he was taken to the vets, he was on the verge of a cardiac arrest (Vets Now)

The team worked around the clock to stabilise the pooch before he was eventually well enough to go home with his owners. Ciara said: "It was really distressing to see Flynn so ill especially when you think of everything he must have been through as a stray in Romania, where street dogs end up put down because there is no home for them, and then starting a new life here in Scotland."

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"We adopted him in March last year and it took a while obviously for him to adjust given the totally different surroundings. Then this happened in August just when it felt like he had really settled.

"We could see it was very serious and if we hadn't got him help straight away like we did then we would have lost him which is just an unbearable thought. Since he came into our lives he's been a part of our family and has brought us so much joy."

"We just couldn't imagine life without him. We can't thank Vets Now enough for looking after Flynn we were so anxious, but they did a really good job of keeping us updated with multiple phone calls each day.

"When it was finally time to collect him, he was so relaxed and returning to his normal smiley self you could just tell he'd been really well looked after."

Deputy lead emergency vet at Vets Now Glasgow, Nicole Laws, who led Flynn's care, said: "With Addison's Disease the adrenal glands which sit on top of the kidneys don't produce enough of two hormones: cortisol, which is a stress hormone, and aldosterone, which controls electrolyte levels."

"These hormones are crucial for many life-supporting processes and lack of these means the body can't regulate its water balance properly."

"It can be very challenging to spot because the clinical signs begin quite vague but can progress quickly - but we caught it early and swiftly started the necessary treatment. Flynn really was very poorly indeed when he came in."

"His sodium level was the lowest I've ever seen in 20 years of practice. But the really pressing and most immediate issue was his very high potassium level which was putting him at severe risk of cardiac arrest."

"We put him on an ECG (electrocardiogram) straightaway to monitor his heart and gave him medications to protect this until the potassium levels came down. We then started fluids to rehydrate him and to rebalance his electrolyte levels."

"We had to do that very cautiously and very gradually because sudden increases in sodium can lead to irreversible brain damage. So every step of his treatment had to be calculated, then re-calculated and then triple checked."

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"Flynn was a lovely patient and very affectionate and quickly became a favourite with all the team. Seeing him bounce back and ready to go home brought great joy to all of us, especially given his background as a rescue dog."

"Ciara and Connor did completely the right thing seeking help so promptly every minute matters in an emergency situation like this and if they'd delayed by even a few hours then we may well have been looking at a very different outcome indeed."

Flynn is now back to his normal high-spirits giving not one but two paws every time he's asked and chasing after squirrels in the park. He needs a blood test and injection once a month to keep his condition under control but other than that he is completely recovered.

Ciara said: "He's just full of energy and brilliant fun to be around to look at him now you'd think that nothing had ever happened!"

Ryan Fahey