prevalence of cushings disease in beagles

Question
QUESTION: hello, i just had my 13 y.o. beagle put to sleep due to complications related to cushings. is this disease aysymptomatic and relatively unchecked for in early stages? None of my other dogs got this, none of my beagle books talk about it. the vets never advised me of it when grumbles went in for a surgery last year(he ate carpeting), i realize hindsight is 20/20 and theres no point in speculating what i could have done differently had i known, but dont the vets who see these physical symptoms everyday ask the questions to the parents in order to mitigate a crisis later? i mean these are the professionals, they should be able to catch the problem early enough if they know what they're looking at/for. until last week i didnt know what cushings was, and now that ive read a good deal on the subject i realize all the symptoms indicated would point to my dog having the disease. but if youre not looking for it how can you find it. its like a blind man trying to find his hat in a dark room. theres just no way to orient yourself if you dont know what youre looking for. grumbles just seemed like a chubby lazy older beagle. nothing out of the ordinary. he liked to run in the park. ate his dinner, always held his water overnight(most of the time). its somewhat frustrating. if somebody in the vet community had told me: 'hey, your dogs belly is kinda plump, you should have him checked for cushings', i would have taken him in that very minute. but thats not what happened. dog owners everywhere need to be aware of this silent killer. if more folks knew about it, less dogs would die needlessly from it. my poor grumbles was never diagnosed with it the 3 times he saw the doctor in the 2 years i had him. im sad and frustrated because noone told me this may have been going on. and i had no way to know, im not an expert in these kinds of things. pray for grumbles, he deserved better than what happened to him.

ANSWER:
Hi Daniel,

I'm sorry to hear about the recent loss of your dog, Grumbles.

Symptoms of Cushing's disease can be vague and varied and tend to appear gradually and progressively. Because of this, it's easy to mistake Cushing's disease for signs of normal aging. Some dogs with Cushings don't take on the outward "cushingoid appearance" of hair or coat problems, or develop the large distended belly, so unless other symptoms are reported to the vet the blood chemistry panel, and urinalysis tests would not be run.

It's a terrible thing to lose a dog, especially if you feel as though a trusted vet should have noticed the symptoms of a serious problem. I agree. Perhaps your vet isn't as experienced as he or she should be, I can't say. If this were me, I wouldn't be using the services of this vet in the future.

A good rule of thumb to report everything, no matter how trivial it may seem, to your vet.

I know how much Grumbles meant to you, and how hard this must be for you now. The Iams Company maintains a special toll-free number for grieving pet owners. It's staffed by volunteer veterinary students, veterinarians and veterinary technicians. The Iams Pet Loss Support Center & Hotline can be reached at: 1-888-332-7738 Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.

I hope I've been a help.
Kind regards,

Patti



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks for the kind words of comfort, but let me ask you this: Grumbles was at 2 different vet clinics in the 5 years i knew him and both times he got his shots and was sent some, apparantly undiagnosed; and the hospital that did his surgery was at U Penn. Are they in any way liable for thier malfeasance? I mean, these people had him wide open on the operating table, they could see his kidneys, noticed his protruding tummy, but yet said nothing to me. These are the vanguards of this proffesion and they chose to ignore the simple tests that could have saved his life. its like going for a cut on your eyelid and the doctor ignores the skincancer on your earlobe because you didnt specify thats what was bothering you. Dont these people have ANY ACCOUNTABILITY TO ANYONE?!? We trust them to give us informed detailed answers and often times are lied to in the name of expediency and profit, and who suffers the most? our poor defenseless friends who entrusted us with thier care, only to be made a mockery of while the administrators of these facilities make huge tidy sums ignoring real preventable problems but still charge for routine visits that are mere window dressing to the macabre disinterest that usually comes along with the local vet offices. How many dogs do i need to sacrifice until i find a competent vet who takes an active role in pre-diagnosis? thats thier job isnt it? i dont have all the answers, and when the vet says 'anything out of the ordinary?' what exactly is out of the ordinary for a dog? getting in the trash? peeing in the house after waiting for me for 7 hours? throwing up after eating a whole loaf of bread? i mean, what? who can quantify that question? im not talking about a 1998 chrysler le-baron that needs ball joints here, ok if one mechanic screws up, go to another shop; if the VET screws up, your dog might die. and thats what happened to grumbles. noone informed me, and my dog is gone because of it. How am i to ever put my trust in medical experts if they are so willing to skirt thier responsibilities in the name of the revolving door of patients/$/clients/$/patients/$/etc?

Answer

Hi Daniel,

Thanks for clarifying who was your dog's vet. I was afraid it was a vet from one of those pet store chains (such as Bansfield), I'm kinda surprised this happened at UPenn. Any possibility that your vet was a grad student?

Traditionally it's hard to sue for malpractice on an animal. Years ago I lost a dog due to a similar situation, and spoke to a lawyer after my dog's death. At that time, I was told there was very little in the way of legal options to take against a vet. But there have been a series of recent court decisions that essentially have treated animals as human under the law. In a reflection of the special place that pets have come to hold in American hearts, U.S. courts are bucking centuries of legal decisions that have defined animals as property. I've read that since 1997, courts in Kentucky and California have awarded damages to pet owners for loss of companionship, emotional distress and other factors that go beyond the way courts have long assessed animals, which was by worth by their market value. So, talking to an attorney is something you may want to do, it certainly couldn't hurt. They could tell you whether or not you have a case much better than I could. Try calling your state's Bar Association and asking for a referral to counsel specializing in animal rights. It is becoming a more common area of specialization.

These web sites might be helpful:

http://www.bestforpet.com/pet-laws/1590-veterinary-malpractice-lawsuits-how-avoi

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/170691/can_you_sue_your_veterinarian_fo

http://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/veterinary-malpractice-lawyers.htm

As I said, I've gone through what you're going through. At the moment I have three wonderful dogs that I couldn't imagine living without. I hope one day you'll open your heart and home to another dog. They bring so much love and joy into our lives. Most veterinarians do a very good job of treating their clients, just as most doctors that treat humans don't end up killing their patients.

Best of luck to you. I hope you find some peace (or at least satisfaction). Let me know if there's anything more I can do.

Patti