09/10/2026
Update - Dave didn't make it... We are so heartbroken... He died within hours of being admitted 😓😭
This is unbelievable!!!
Another emergency with a foster sanctuary dog needing immediate vets attention... Dave suddenly started vomiting blood!!! So we raced him to the vets hospital and he has been admitted. 😭😓😭😓😭😓
Here is the update... This is what we have so far to explain the situation with Our Dave 😥
Its his immune system
- If Dave was fine yesterday, how can his immune system just crash like that today?
It's not that it stops working. It's the opposite - it works _too_ hard and gets confused.
Think of it like this:
Normally his immune system is really good at telling the difference between "Dave" and "not Dave". It ignores his own platelets and attacks germs.
With ITP - what Dave has when tick tests are negative - the immune system suddenly makes a mistake. It makes little tags called antibodies that stick to his own platelets and says "this is an intruder, destroy it."
So his spleen removes those tagged platelets super fast. His bone marrow tries to make new ones, but the immune system destroys them as fast as they come out. So in 24-48 hours you go from 300,000 platelets to 4000. That's why it seems so sudden.
*Why does that mistake happen at 9 years old out of nowhere?*
In most dogs, about 60-70% of the time, vets never find one single cause. They call it primary or idiopathic - meaning the immune system just misfired.
When they _do_ find a trigger, it's usually something in the last 2-4 weeks that revved up the immune system and then it got confused, like:
The tick infection panel is negative, that rules out one big cause here in Spain. What is often left is what they call *primary or idiopathic ITP / IMTP*.
That means:
*His own immune system got confused and started destroying his own platelets.*
Think of platelets like little plugs that stop any small bleed. Normally you have hundreds of thousands. When the immune system makes antibodies against them, it removes them almost to zero - that's the 4 you heard. Then even a tiny bit of irritation in the stomach that would normally stop on its own, just keeps bleeding - first dark like coffee grounds, then fresh red blood like you saw waiting.
*Why does it suddenly happen at 7 years old with no infection?*
In most dogs, vets never find one clear trigger. It's called idiopathic - it just happens. But things that can trigger that confusion in the immune system include:
- A recent vaccine, new medication, or insect bite in the last few weeks - not because the vaccine is bad, but the immune system overreacts
- Something he ate that triggered an immune reaction
- Sometimes just a random misfire of the immune system - more common in middle-aged dogs, and some medium breeds are a bit more prone to it
- Stress or another inflammation elsewhere can tip it over
It's NOT anything you did, and it's not contagious. It doesn't mean he was sick before - many dogs are totally fine until the day the platelets drop.
That is why they are giving him steroids now - steroids tell the immune system "stop attacking" so the bone marrow can make new platelets. But it takes 24-48 hours for new platelets to come up.
The hardest part is right now, while platelets are still 4 and he is still bleeding. Once the steroids start working and platelets start climbing, the bleeding usually stops.
We are struggling to get our heads around this... We are not only really upset, but we are in total shock, please say a prayer for Dave... He needs all your positivity right now 🙏
