Case Highlights

Rusty vs. Bladders Stones

Rusty, a spunky 10 year old Shetland Sheepdog, came to see us for a regular wellness exam. During the exam, his owner mentioned seeing some blood in Rusty’s urine and some accidents in the house. While it might be tempting to ignore these signs in a dog like Rusty who was otherwise acting happy and healthy, blood in the urine should always be investigated. It can indicate the presence of bladder stones, a urinary tract infection, or even a bladder tumor.

We used our ultrasound machine to examine Rusty’s bladder and kidneys in a painless, noninvasive way. To Rusty, the procedure probably seemed like an extended belly rub. The images of Rusty’s bladder showed multiple stones and a very thickened, inflamed bladder wall. Rusty’s urine was bloody because the sharp edges of the bladder stones were making tiny cuts in his bladder wall as they moved around! His urinary accidents were likely due to a feeling of urgency in his inflamed bladder. Without treatment, the stones would have continued to damage his bladder and could have caused a life-threatening urinary obstruction. 

We attempted to dissolve the stones by switching Rusty to a prescription diet called S/D, which contains restricted amounts of the mineral precursors to certain bladder stones and promotes acidic urine.  This dietary treatment works best to dissolve struvite stones, which are composed of magnesium, ammonium, and phosphate, but does not dissolve calcium-based bladder stones. After several weeks on S/D food, xrays of his bladder showed that the stubborn stones were still present.     

Dr. Vincent performed surgery to remove calcium-based stones from Rusty’s bladder at AMC.  He stayed in the hospital for several days with a catheter in place to drain the urine from his fragile bladder and allow it to heal.  Once he recovered from surgery, Rusty went home comfortable and stone-free.  In order to prevent future stone formation, he takes a medication that changes the pH of his urine. Rusty, with help from his dedicated family, has triumphed over bladder stones.