My dog had a stroke, now better. Misdiagnosis or blood clot?

It’s difficult to say - some dogs will fully recover, and if she still has sensation in both legs her prognosis is fairly good. It also depends on what caused the clot - if it is from cancer or another problem that causes recurrent clots it could happen again. I’d recommend taking to your vet since Molli’s exam findings would help determine her prognosis.

Hello. I am so sorry about Storm's passing. Blood clots can take hours to days to form. When a clot breaks off, it is called an embolis & it can travel in a blood vessel until it lodges somewhere. If the clot shuts off blood flow to a vital area, the area will die possibly resulting in the death of the patient. Death can be fast, or protracted, depending on how long the tissues take to die & how widespread the damage is. Clots can form anywhere & for various reasons & depending on where that is, can result is an embolism in the lungs, heart or brain. It is hard to say if this is painful, but in people, blood clots in the heart ( heart attacks ) are very painful. Clots in the brain are not. It might take special techniques & staining to identify this damage in a body. Unless this was a massive clot, it is possible this would not be seen in a basic postmortem. I am sorry for your loss. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Yes, it is possible to have neurologic damage to only one leg. I would recommend that you have Shelby checked out by a vet as soon as possible. A stroke is not terribly common in dogs like it is in older humans. Other possible causes are nerve disorders in the leg or disc disease in the spine. After a thorough physical and neurologic exam, your vet may recommend bloodwork and/or x-rays to see what could be the cause. Shelby may need prescription pain medications if the problem is caused by a ruptured or protruding disc.

Clotting problems are relatively common following splenic surgery, but it is certainly unusual to see a stroke. Her prognosis really depends on her neurologic status now and what her brain looks like on an MRI (assuming the stroke occurred in her brain). You can ask about referral to a neurologist for an MRI. Otherwise only time can tell, and some brain injuries can take several months before improvement is seen.

A clot that causes limping is VERY painful. We do not expect cats that have thrown clots to recover without significant treatment. So, that certainly makes it less likely that Luna had a clot. However, I would strongly recommend having her examined to see what is going on. It certainly is not normal for a 6 year old cat to be limping. If Luna does not do well at the vet, maybe a house call vet would be a good option for her. I'm not sure if there is one in your area, but this might be a good place to look for one. http://www.homevets.org/Find_A_Mobile_Vet.html Good luck! I hope that was helpful and that Luna feels better soon. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Poor Luna ! I would recommend to have her checked over to understand what caused such a dramatic symptoms. Although she seems to be better, it is important to know the cause to understand if it can reoccurr or not. She might also need treatment in order to get completely better. The cause could be something affecting the central nervous system but might also be originating peripherally, an inner ear infection for example. Good luck to Luna, hopefully it is nothing too serious and she can get back to her old self soon.!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Wow! I am glad to hear that Bailey is alive still. Great job with resuscitation! There are many causes and the heart could be the problem. If Bailey has a congenital heart problem, this most certainly could have lead to this. Walking Bailey may have over-exerted him, especially if he has a heart problem. I would recommend having a veterinarian take a look at Bailey so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. The sooner he is seen the better! Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.