Five year old Jess, a female Beagle, was presented at Vetwest Beaumaris for lethargy and decreased appetite. Her owners had put rat baits around the house and a couple of days later they found a partially eaten rat. They had also commented on some blue materials found in Jess' faeces, the same colour as the rat baits.

Rat baits are composed of anti-coagulant chemicals. These chemicals cause depletion of vitamin K, which is an important component of several clotting factors within the blood stream. Without adequate clotting factors, animals are pre-disposed to excessive bleeding, which in extreme cases can be fatal.

If the animal is seen to ingest a rat bait and veterinary attention is sought immediately, vomiting can be induced and activated charcoal given to absorb any remaining poison. If the time of ingestion is questionable, patients are often started on vitamin K medication and clotting times are checked at the end of treatment.

In the case of Jess, she had blood tests performed upon presentation. A large 'haematoma' formed at the site of blood collection. A haematoma is a collection of blood outside of the blood vessel, in this case, due to Jess' inability to clot her blood. A pressure bandage was applied to Jess' leg and vitamin K therapy instigated straight away.

At this point it was decided that Jess would require a blood transfusion. She was at great risk of a fatal bleed. Fresh blood is very high in clotting factors and this would help protect Jess while the vitamin K therapy started to work.

Our vet's dog Bronson donates his blood to save Jess' lifeUnfortunately in the veterinary industry, we do not have ready access to donated blood. A lot of the time we depend on our own pets to play the role of blood donors. These animals are ideally over 25kg, in good health and up-to-date with their preventative health treatments. Luckily a donor was found in our veterinarian's own dog and we began collecting his blood to transfuse into Jess.

Jess was transferred to Perth Veterinary Emergency Hospital for overnight monitoring and rechecked at Vetwest Beaumaris the next day. On repeat blood tests, Jess was still mildly anaemic but now did not form a haematoma at the venepuncture site, which was a positive sign.

Over the next few days Jess returned for further check ups and was making a speedy recovery. Until her clotting times returned to normal, Jess must be confined and well rested. Any injury during her recovery could result in abnormal bleeding and rapid deterioration. She will continue her vitamin K therapy for six weeks and then have her clotting times checked one last time. After this, if all is normal, she should be fine to resume regular exercise and play.