A WOMAN from Camelford is warning dog owners to spay their female dogs urgently, after losing her eight-year-old labrador to a vicious womb infection.

Camelford lady Lisa Hickenbottom was devastated when her eight-year-old lab, Willow, died suddenly after an unexpected infection was found in her womb, known as ‘pyometra’. Now, Lisa is encouraging all owners of female dogs who do not intend to breed from them to have their lovable animals spayed as a matter of urgency.

Pyometra is an infection of the womb, and is one of the most well-known and serious life-threatening conditions for any bitch, according to Marc Abraham, who originally wrote an article on the condition for Crufts Magazine and the Kennel Club’s website. Unfortunately the condition can present itself in two ways — obvious, or with no symptoms at all, the latter being what Lisa experienced in Willow.

The infection sees the bitch’s womb fill up with a thick pus. With a ‘classic open pyo scenario’, dogs experiencing this condition could be seen regularly licking an abnormal discharge from their private parts, possibly with a swollen abdomen that can be painful to touch, along with tiredness, depression and avoiding food. She may also experience a fever, have greyish gums and will have been in season between one and three months ago. Some bitches could also experience diarrhoea and vomiting.

However, in Willow’s case, and like many other cases, the infection can be less obvious to diagnose. This occurs when the cervix remains tightly closed, presenting a ‘closed pyo situation’, according to the Kennel Club. This means the pus is concealed within the cervix, and does not give the owner any immediate signs of something being wrong. However, diagnosis can be achieved through a thorough investigation, including blood tests, an ultrasound, X-rays and even the decisive exploratory laparotomy.

Pyometra can occur due to a number of factors — from hormonal imbalances, to the infection entering the reproductive tract from the outside world or even coming through the blood stream from another infected area of the body. Treatment of the infection normally involves the removal of the infected uterus when the vet believes it is safe to do so.

Unfortunately Willow, Lisa’s beloved labrador, did not show any immediate signs of being ill.

“It all happened around three weeks ago,” Lisa told the Post. “She seemed absolutely fine. She was in season at the time, and this infection normally happens with dogs after they’ve been in season. On January 28 (a Monday), she went for a walk. She was in season, so she did seem like she was feeling a bit sorry for herself, but on the Monday night she seemed absolutely fine. The Tuesday morning, she was sick, but she’s a lab — we thought that wasn’t unusual at all. She was constantly picking bits up off the floor and making herself sick by eating something she shouldn’t, so we just thought, ‘the dog’s gone and eaten something’.”

Willow was taken out by Lisa’s partner and came home as usual. At around 4.30pm that afternoon, Lisa let Willow out in the garden. “It had been a little while, and then my daughter said, Willow still hasn’t come back. I went out and found she had collapsed at the bottom of the garden.”

Lisa rang Penbode Vets in Camelford, managed to get Willow into the car, and had her seen to. “The vet basically said, ‘we’ve got a very sick dog here’. I couldn’t believe it — she just didn’t show any signs at all, until she collapsed.

“They just didn’t know what was wrong with her. They started ruling out rat poisoning and things like that, and then that was when they took her down to Stratton to have blood tests. When they found out it was pyometra, they said they couldn’t tell if the womb was ruptured or not. They basically told me, if it is ruptured, we’re in trouble.”

That night, Willow was taken in for surgery. She pulled through the surgery, but at 11pm passed away due to the aggressive nature of the infection, to Lisa’s devastation.

“It just happened so quickly,” she continued. “We got to the vets at about 5pm, so it took just six hours.”

Now Lisa is trying to make other dog owners aware of the serious nature of the condition, in order to prevent further tragedies. “There’s so many people that have dogs but just don’t know about this condition. We took Willow to the vets for all her checkups and appointments, this was just so sudden. I really want to get it out there and get people to be aware of it — some people have had dogs for years but just don’t know about this. Willow was showing no symptoms — she showed nothing. It happened so quickly.”

Although the circumstances are tragic, with Willow being lost far too young, Lisa is glad to have some precious memories to hold close to her heart. Particular memories involve training sessions at Clease Hall in Camelford with Natasha Thomas, where Willow picked up a range of different trophies and rosettes to bring home.

“Willow didn’t like other dogs very much,” Lisa said. “She wasn’t well socialised as a puppy, and she was actually attacked by another dog. We went to the training classes every Wednesday and she did so well. She won a trophy for outstanding achiever for 2017 — we both always looked forward to training, she would get all excited at the door when it was time to go.”

Lisa’s message to dog owners is to have female dogs spayed, to avoid the same heartache Lisa and her family have had to go through. She added: “Female dogs are more likely to get this infection if they haven’t had their operation. So if you no longer want to breed from them, or have never bred from them, please get them spayed so you don’t have to go through what we went through, and for health reasons for the dog too.”

To read more on the signs, symptoms and treatment of pyometra, visit www.thekennelclub.org.uk/health/for-owners/pyometra/ or speak to your local vet.