Lifestyle diseases on the rise among pet dogs in Mumbai

In every session, the bulky dog lays down on a metal stretcher for five hours while several tubes are sprung into his body. One tube carries his blood into the filter which removes waste while another injects purified blood back into his body.

Brownie’s brother Snowy, also 2, made a lucky escape though. Diagnosed with a creatinine level of 14 after the Goa visit, Snowy made a quick recovery without dialysis and is presently a patient of acute kidney failure, which can, however, be handled with medication.

Robbie, a nine-year-old Labrador, was not as lucky as the other two. He was admitted to Bombay Veterinary Hospital in mid-February but breathed his last within four months of dialysis.

Robbie’s was diagnosed with kidney ailment last year in December with his creatinine level at 3. “Despite a renal diet, his condition did not improve. He always had problems eating his food,” said Bandra-based Manishi Dutt. From February until June this year, Robbie underwent 47 dialysis sessions before succumbing to the disease. According to Dutt, a daily walk with dog-walkers did not help improve his condition.

It is not an unknown fact that a sedentary lifestyle ends up causing health problems. Interestingly, this problem is not only limited to humans. Pets in the city are also falling prey to lifestyle diseases.

Veterinarians have concluded that the rise in the number of pet dogs afflicted with kidney ailment occurs due to a high protein diet and a sedentary lifestyle, and kills more dogs in the city than cancer does.

Data gathered from Mumbai’s two dialysis centres for dogs indicate that over 650 dogs have been treated for kidney ailments in the last five years. Of them, 252 were put on dialysis support.

“Every year, we are seeing a 20 per cent rise in renal ailments amongst dogs,” said Kaustubh Garud, a nephrologist attached with the Bombay Veterinary College and Hospital in Parel. In 2014-15, the hospital had admitted 180 dogs who were suffering from kidney failure. In 2015-16, the number has risen to 220.

Lt Col J C Khanna, the hospital superintendent, said that of the total number of dogs admitted in the hospital, 25 per cent have renal problems.

According to RD Velankar, assistant professor at the hospital’s college, most pet dogs are fed a lot but not been made to do the equal amount of exercise so that they could digest the food properly. “High-protein diet and no exercise is a major reason why pet dogs are developing kidney ailments,” he explained.

Though there is no option of kidney transplant, the city has two dialysis centres — one in Parel’s veterinary college and another is Ghatkopar’s Pet Clinic Kidney Care and Dialysis Care Center — to put critical dogs on dialysis support.

Garud, who handles the dialysis unit at Bombay Veterinary hospital, said, “Even drug abuse amongst dogs is a common reason for kidney problems. Dogs are administered antibiotics frequently for fever,” he said.

Since 2010, when state’s first animal dialysis centre opened up in Bombay Veterinary College, more than 600 dogs have been treated for renal failure. At Pet Clinic, which opened three months ago, 30 dogs have been brought with renal problems.

According to Dr. Ekta Thakkar, in 50 per cent of the cases, dogs with renal failure die. “A lot of pet dogs I see have urinary infection. Negligence by owners can lead to kidney ailments which advances and leaves fewer options for treatment,” said Thakkar.

A single dialysis session can cost Rs 4000, more than what it cost humans for one session, due to imported tubes, filter and lack of abundant facility. Dogs require dialysis twice or thrice a week depending on how critical their kidney function is.

“Only in acute cases, we can reverse the progression. In chronic failure, there is little hope. Very few people know this but raisins and grapes can cause toxicity in dogs leading to kidney failure,” added Garud.