MelanieJS Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 We flew our two dogs from the UK to Melbourne, then on to Brisbane after the 10 quarantine period. We were so excited to see them at Brisbane airport but that soon changed. One of our pets was in a pretty good condition, albeit a bit under weight which is to be expected. Our other dog was in an horrendous state. The smell from the crate was terrible. The fur around her bum area (and tail) was caked in what we thought was faeces (even thought it didn't smell like it). We took her home and gave her a bath to clean her up and then she just started to bleed from her bum. Basically she was caked in dried blood and faeces!! We rushed her to the vet and they told us she had Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis, which apparently can be caused by stress. She has been in the emergency vets for 3 nights now and at one point it was touch and go as to whether she would survive! It is also costing us over£1000 (which isn't the issue as I would pay anything for her to be well again). What I don't understand is that I was told that they would be checked over by a vet at the Quarantine centre and also they have staff going into their kennels to feed them etc. Also, her behind looked like it had been wiped down and also it was caked in so it obviously wasn't new. We also called the quarantine centre in Melbourne and they emailed to say they were fine and that "no news is good news"!!!! Obviously not in this case. I just don't understand why she wasn't looked after and seen to by the vet if she was bleeding from behind. Surely they have a duty of care and they must know that stress/anxiety in dogs can cause this. We are absolutely devastated by all this and it has definitely put a dampener on our arrival here. We also feel really guilty for having put her through such an ordeal. However, we are absolutely fuming with the Australian Quarantine Centre for not looking after our pet's wellbeing, especially when we pay so much for their stay. I am disgusted by their lack of care and we are considering making a formal complaint. I hope this doesn't happen to any of your pets on their journey over here. I would just say for you all to call the quarantine centre to get updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
srh82 Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Our cat really struggled due to stress of flight and quarantine as well. We nearly lost him twice due to stress related illness as a result and we incurred over $4k in vet bills in the first year. But, he's thriving now. It took a while but we've got there. Smother your dog with good food and lots of attention and hopefully you'll see an improvement. Hopefully she's improving and you'll be able to take her home soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamilyHughes Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Oh no that is dreadful! Please let us know what has happened, and I do hope your dog recovers quickly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I wonder if there's a mechanism to report all this? Did you take photos at the time? Perhaps you could get a report from the vet detailing exactly the problem and submit it to the Quarantine people - it may not make any difference but then again, it might, so it's worth a try. If the problem is a couple of lax employees rather than a bad system, then there's a chance those people will be caught and that would avoid other pets going through the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelanieJS Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 After 3 nights in the emergency vets and a bill over $2000, Mabel is now back with us. She is back to her normal self thanks to the intervention of the vets that she went to. We were told that if it had been left any longer, she would have likely died (we took her straight from picking her up from the airport after quarantine). The vet thinks it was more than likely a bug that she caught from quarantine rather than stress (this is considering our other dog is more likely to stress than Mabel and our other dog was perfectly fine). We will be getting a report from the vets to give to quarantine. We pay a lot of money to take our pets so they should be given the care that we paid for, otherwise what is the point of putting them through it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bound4Tassie Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 That sounds like a horrible ordeal for you all and Mabel. Still wondering whether to take our dog who will be 12 if she is still with us by the time we go ( she would stay with family if we did leave her) . This story isn't encouraging as she's already stressy with loud noises and has a very sensitive stomach to any new foods / bugs going around. Glad to hear Mabel is on the mend. $1000 eek. Not what you need on arrival or the stress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobPetairUK Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 I am super happy the Mable is better now, but this is a very rare circumstance and you definitely need to let quarantine know. The pets are checked by a vet when they leave UK, when they land and when they leave i am sure and monitored while they are there. No-one really knows why pets get Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, the commonest cause is parvo virus in puppies, but it is a very distressing disease for the pets and owners alike. The quarantine station will have notes about Mabel while she was with them, so it is worth seeing if you can get a copy of them, but you definitely need to let quarantine know. If this kind of thing happened regularly, then there is a problem with the system, but it is not common. Please do let us know how you get on with quarantine and make sure you give Mabel a good tickle from us all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamilyHughes Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 So pleased all is now well ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairview70 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 We really don't know what to do with our dog she is only 5 but doubt we will be able to get her rehomed. She has no eyes, can only eat minced rabbit (everything else goes straight through her and she loses weight to the point of death), she ends up losing great patches of hair whenever she gets stressed. She would have to go to Melborne then fly on but I don't know that anyone would take her anyway with all her problems.:sad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 We really don't know what to do with our dog she is only 5 but doubt we will be able to get her rehomed. She has no eyes, can only eat minced rabbit (everything else goes straight through her and she loses weight to the point of death), she ends up losing great patches of hair whenever she gets stressed. She would have to go to Melborne then fly on but I don't know that anyone would take her anyway with all her problems.:sad: Is she the shar-pei in the pic? Have you contacted the shar-pei rescue or breeders club to enquire about the possibility of rehoming? Lots of people support specific breed rescues and often dogs are rehomed through them with health issues and other things. Its not like an all breeds rescue or pound or charity rescue like the RSPCA. I'd see if there are knowledgeable people in the shar-pei world who could point you in the right direction. From what you've said the shipping and quarantine may be really bad for her. Dogs that stress so badly and who can only eat a very specific food may really struggle with it all. If you don't want to try to rehome her or can't then you may need to wait till she is no longer with you. I had a dog who was very badly treated before he arrived to me. He was 14 when he died and I'd never have tried to move while he was still alive as he'd have never coped. Nor would I have given him up for the world. So he lived out his days and the move to Aus happened a couple of years ago, a few years after he died. Luckily for me timing wasn't a big thing and we were happy in the UK for a while longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoalaPom Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 We really don't know what to do with our dog she is only 5 but doubt we will be able to get her rehomed. She has no eyes, can only eat minced rabbit (everything else goes straight through her and she loses weight to the point of death), she ends up losing great patches of hair whenever she gets stressed. She would have to go to Melborne then fly on but I don't know that anyone would take her anyway with all her problems.:sad: I'm no vet but our cat was suffering a similar condition, and it was down to a pancreas condition where food is eaten but not broken down by enzymes so he never puts on any weight, we now have him on pancrex v which we add to his food and he is slowly getting better, albeit still a bit thin. This affects the hair and he's not getting enough nutrients to give him a nice coat. Not sure if this helps but thought I would mention it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoalaPom Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 @MelanieJS really sorry to hear about your Mabel, that is terrible... we will use Melbourne for our cats when we emigrate, appreciate the heads up on your issues with quarantine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairview70 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Thanks Snifter thats a great idea, yes she is the shar-pei in the picture but sadly looks nothing like that now-a-days. Put off moving for years as it is, while kids from previous marriage grew up, not getting any younger and were going to take her but as she's had so many problems, we took her to get her spayed before taking her to Aussie and that is when the vet said he needed to take her eyes out. Still will look into your idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 So glad Mabel is ok. Like Bob said vets do have to check animals as soon as they arrive in to quarantine. When the vet first did the health checkMabel may have been absolutely fine. Unfortunately it sounds like it's down to your kennel maid. I can't talk for Australian Quarantines as I've never worked with them, but in the UK Vets are there every day, although they don't always check on your pet unless the kennel maid alerts them of issues. I've been in Australia a while now so things probably changed but there use to be a health check form that was completed each day by the kennel maid, if there was an issue we would be left a message to check them over. The problem you also have is that when a dog or cat is stressed their immune system is compromised so they do tend to pick things up easier. HGE is one of those where we don't know the exact cause, it seems more prevalent in small breeds. It can be caused by stress, food allergies, bacteria. It can also appear suddenly so Mabel may have been fine throughout her stay but gone downhill in the last 24 hours. Although she should have had a final vet check before she left and I would be questioning that. Another thing that can happen, again down to the kennel maid is that they may be cleaning out a kennel from a dog which has a bug/virus and then step in to another without dipping shoes (putting on fresh booties, like little blue bags that go over your shoe) wearing gowns, or another way you get problems is when they use the same mop bucket. I have never been in to Quarantine in Australia but they should treat each kennel as an isolation unit. They didn't in the UK and this was a huge bug bear to me, I've seen a full quarantine station go down with ringworm. I know it won't help you now but there was a company set up which provided insurance cover for shipping pets over. I'd have to go back through my notes to find out the name. I remember importing an Asian Leopard Cat from Malaysia in to the UK and Petplan did a specialised policy for me at the time. However, I'm not sure if Petplan Australia would consider this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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