Allie, DCM, and the Twig

In late May of this year (2024) we received the devastating news that Allie, our 15 month old English Cocker Spaniel had Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM). How we found out was a total fluke!

It began in February when I noticed she was throwing up and had diarrhea. We ended up spending most of that week at the veterinary clinic, taking x-rays, bloodwork and waiting for a suspected blockage to either pass or disperse. During that time she lost three pounds (1.3 kg). She was already thin, so this weight loss was a shock to us. Her x-rays showed an enlarged heart so an echocardiogram was scheduled for later that week. The morning of the scheduled echo, we all realized something was terribly wrong. She was clearly in pain. My veterinarian asked to have an abdominal ultrasound added to her echo. That’s when we discovered she had swallowed a 5 inch twig from a Fir tree, and it had punctured her intestines in two places! The twig wasn’t visible on the X-ray.

She was rushed into emergency surgery where my veterinarian removed the twig and sutured the small holes. Her quick thinking and fast action saved Allie’s life, and for that I am forever grateful.

At the time, it was thought Allie’s enlarged heart was due to the stress of having the twig impaled in her intestines. It was recommended to do a recheck in 3 months, just to be sure. I almost didn’t bother doing it. I had pet insurance so I went ahead and scheduled her for an echocardiogram the end of May.

Sitting in the waiting room that day, I fully expected to be told she was fine and I would go home and get on with my day. It was a busy day at the clinic. When they brought Allie out and told me it looked like she had DCM, it didn’t sink in right away. The radiologist had to write up my report which would be sent to me later that day, and I spoke briefly to my veterinarian. I even stayed awhile to chat with some friends. It wasn’t until I was on my way home with Allie that the realization of what this meant really hit me. I’d read enough about DCM to know it meant she was at risk of developing congestive heart failure.

We were prepared to take Allie across the border to Washington State University for a formal diagnosis, but the next day my veterinarian called me to come to the clinic to pick up Vetmedin (heart medication) and Taurine supplements. She had consulted with a cardiologist, and it was confirmed that Allie had DCM.

The cardiology report suggested it could be diet related which came as a surprise since she had been on a raw diet which is high in Taurine. I kept my fingers crossed that her DCM would be reversed. I’d read so many stories of dogs having a complete reversal. My hopes were up! 

A few weeks later, my heart sank when I got the news that one of her littermates was also diagnosed with DCM. My vet informed me that the chance of this being diet related was not likely. Her littermate’s disease progression was similar to Allie’s. This was clearly hereditary.

To date, Allie shows no symptoms at all for DCM, so if it hadn’t been for that twig, we would have never known. Her heart, untreated, would have slowly deteriorated until her symptoms became apparent. 

I’ve since spent all my spare time reading everything I can find about this disease. I’ll continue to publish Allie’s story and the results of that research in future posts.