dog leukemia

For the last 2 or 3 days, my year 1/2 old eskland has been bruising on his hind legs and under his belly in the pelvic region. he had a little blood in his eyes yesterday so my wife and i decided to take him to the vet today. at first we thought that he played too rough with our 7 month old sheltie. apparently his platlet count was very low so the doctor told us our options and gave us a 50/50 chance.

They were, however, very confused in that he only had that symptom and was acting very normal (playful and happy) when they thought he should be showing at least some of the other symptoms as well. he has healed from the bruising/bleeding very quickly since it's shown up and tonight we will start giving him the pills.

other than the 50/50 chance, is there anything that anyone can add to his likelyhood of remission and survival? realistically i understand that he may not live his full life, but optimistically i am encouraged at his initial recovery rate and the vet's confusion of not understanding why he was still in as good of condition as he was.

i think i am just asking for any feedback to confirm or deny my suspisions. i apologize, but i can't recall the name of the pill that we are to be giving him...for i am at work and they are at home.

Thanks for all your help,
ryan in ohio

[ginger899]

I sense that maybe what you are hoping is that this was a mis-diagnosis.?
Indeed, there are many causes for low platelet level in dogs. One thing is Thrombocytopenia, (which also presents with bruising) another cause can be certain infections. But  suffering from these things would not necessarily mean your dog would be in better condition.

I would presume your vet has done the necessary tests to come to the conclusion your dog has leukemia? Apart from low platelets, there would be a massive increase in leukocytes (white blood cells) But there are different forms of leukemia. Acute has rapid progress with obvious symptoms of illness, and chronic can develop more slowly.
I know a little about leukemia. My aunt died of it way back in the 60's. And my father had a lymphatic leukemia, which was treated successfully, and he lived years after that.

All I can say is if you are really unsure about this diagnosis, then by all means take your dog for a second opinion to another vet. Don't expect the diagnosis to be different, but at least you will be certain if you get the same result, and will be better able to face the treatment options.