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Beach banquet
sicko
September 15, 2005
By
Michelle Gerhard Jasny, VMD
Koufax, a six-month-old golden retriever puppy, was having a wonderful time on Martha's Vineyard until, returning one afternoon to his summer vacation house from a day of swimming and rambunctious play at the beach, his owners noticed he was breathing oddly, panting and making a funny little grunt as he exhaled. He arrived at my office around 5 pm, just as we were closing for the evening. Although he still had the demeanor of a wiggly, happy pup, his respiration was definitely worrisome.
On physical examination, I found that Koufax had a low-grade fever. He was breathing rapidly and periodically making an odd clicking noise. I opened his mouth and looked down his throat. No foreign bodies noted. I palpated his neck. He didn't cough or seem uncomfortable. I listened to his heart and lungs. Nothing really unusual, although between the panting, grunting, and squirming, he was difficult to auscult. I palpated his abdomen and felt a gritty texture in his stomach. Koufax had clearly swallowed some sand at the beach. Could his respiratory abnormalities somehow relate to a tender tummy from sand ingestion? He didn't seem particularly painful while I was squeezing him. "I think we'd better take some X-rays" I told his owners. Koufax waggled in agreement.
Picnic hazards
Sure enough, radiographs showed sand in his stomach, but not enough to worry me. It is a common occurrence — the dog who wolfs down the sandwich someone has dropped, along with a mouthful of actual sand, or eats a sandy dead fish on the shore, or gulps down sand-laden seaweed. Sand ingestion can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and general malaise, but is rarely a major problem. I like to feed these dogs soft, squishy bread followed by big dollops of petroleum-based lubricants like Laxatone (typically used for kitty hairballs. The idea is to wad up that gritty sand into a nice soft bread ball, then grease it up and slide it on down the tubes. I usually have owners repeat the bread and Laxatone every three to four hours for a few treatments, and observe appetite and bowel movements.
Many years ago I saw an adult golden retriever late one afternoon with a history of repeated vomiting. Radiographs revealed a large, somewhat irregular, round, solid density in his stomach, almost the size of a baseball. "It appears your dog has swallowed a rock," I said. His owners were not surprised. He had eaten rocks before, but had always managed to either vomit them up or pass them in his stool. "This one is too big to pass," I assured them. We scheduled him for surgery the following morning, and sent him home overnight. When he arrived the next day, the dog seemed a little brighter. He had not vomited again, but of course he had not been given any food or water in preparation for his surgery. "Are you sure we need to do this?" his owners queried. "He seems so much better." "Well, I doubt that big rock has disappeared." I replied patiently, "but if you really want, we can snap another film to show you that rock hasn't moved." Ten minutes later, I stood sheepishly staring at her films. Boy, were we lucky the owners had requested that final X-ray. What had appeared to be a solid rock was really a dense accumulation of sand in her stomach, which, overnight, had broken up and passed into her intestines. There was still a lot of irritating foreign material in her gut we would have to deal with, but there was no need for surgery.
Koufax's abdominal X-rays showed that he had ingested only a small amount of sand that I was sure would pass uneventfully. His chest films, however, indicated another problem. There was fluid in his lungs. Koufax must have inhaled a little sea water while swimming. Aspiration of salt water can cause collapse of lung tissue (atelectasis), changes in permeability of the capillaries, washout of surfactants that normally protect the lungs, and fluid shifts. Koufax was developing pulmonary edema, atelectasis, and possibly aspiration pneumonia. We started antibiotics in case of secondary bacterial pneumonia, bronchodilators to try to open up his airways, and Laxatone to lube that sand out of his gut. I told his owners that if his breathing didn't improve rapidly, he should be rechecked ASAP.
A few days later I got a call about another golden retriever who had been too long at the beach. Plum was an adult dog who had run off and spent several hours gallivanting unattended seaside. Now she was drinking excessively and vomiting, not an uncommon sequella when dogs swallow too much ocean. I advised an exam but her owner opted for symptomatic treatment at home. Several hours late she called back. I sighed. Another 5 pm emergency. Plum was now panting heavily, leaking urine, feverish, and twitching all over. Plum needed more than a little Pepto Bismol. She had gone beyond a little salt-induced thirst and stomach upset.
Please don't drink the water
This was salt toxicity. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center says that average ocean water has 3.5 percent dissolved salts, 90 percent of which is sodium chloride. For a smallish golden like Plum, drinking half a liter of sea water can cause toxicity manifested by vomiting, excessive drinking and urination, fever, tremors, and seizures. (The same syndrome is seen in dogs who ingest homemade kids' play dough, which is made with salt.) The magnesium in the sea water also acts as a laxative, (remember milk of magnesia?) which is why so many pups get the runs after running the beach.
We admitted Plum and gave her medication to stop the muscle tremors, and low-sodium intravenous fluids. Over the night we were able to drop her blood sodium levels down to normal and her symptoms subsided. She went home with strict instructions not to let her go beach-combing by herself. Koufax's owners found me at the Ag Fair dog show a week later. He, too, had made a complete recovery.
Over the rest of August, several dog owners told me tales of beach-induced problems related to sand and saltwater ingestion. Oddly, they were all golden retrievers, or golden retriever crosses. Now that Labor Day has passed, and Islanders and their dogs once again roam the beaches (more) freely, keep these thoughts in mind. Bring along fresh water and a bowl if you're taking Koufax to play in the surf for any length of time. Keep a close eye on Plum and minimize the amount of flotsam and jetsam she eats. I know that can be challenging. If your pup likes to gorge on dead crab legs and wash them down with a saltwater chaser, use a retractable leash to control him. And if your beach bum does get sea, salt, or sand sick, try to call your vet before 5 pm.
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