I’d hoped a two-week family holiday in Brittany would be the perfect chance for a break from stressing about poorly pets. Then, just after our morning boulangerie trip, the phone rang; it was my wife’s parents who were looking after our dog: “Mori is at the vets, his temperature is over 40 degrees”. He had to be carried in to the practice and (even more alarming for a 5-year-old Labrador) wouldn’t eat his breakfast.

Initial blood and urine tests showed his main organ systems were working OK. He was kept

supported day and night at our Ivybridge clinic with a fluid drip and medication in case of infection, but the next day he was only a little better, spiking high temperatures and needing persuasion to eat.

After a sleepless night in France and during a rather distracted trip to Mont-St-Michel we spoke to our friends and colleagues back home and decided we needed more information to find a cause for Mori’s illness. When the body temperature increases it can be due to infection (such as from bacteria or viruses), inflammation, immune-mediated disease (where the body’s own immune system gets confused and attacks normal cells) or cancer.

That afternoon Mori had a general anaesthetic for a CT-scan in our Ivybridge clinic, which gave us 3D x-ray images of his chest and abdomen to search for any source of infection or cancer. Samples were taken from his joints to look for inflammation as he had been reluctant to move around. The CT results were in by bed time; it all looked normal. In France we got some sleep while the nurses looked after him through the night awaiting his joint tap results. By 11am French time we got the news - Mori had immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA). His body had got confused and was attacking the lining of his joints. This unusual-sounding disease causes a high temperature and pain in young to middle-aged dogs. Thankfully there are a range of medicines available to suppress his immune system and relieve the symptoms.

Mori started on a high dose of steroids and went back to his ‘grandparents’ later that day with a normal temperature and a growing appetite. We relaxed and chased our children around the battlements of Fougeres castle.

Two months on and Mori is doing well. The steroids make him want to drink and eat more

(including two whole packs of butter he stole!) but he quickly got back to trail running and river swimming. In order to get him off his steroids more quickly he has started on a human immunosuppressive medication which he will continue for the next 3-4 months. Around one third of dogs will have a relapse and need more treatment once coming off their medication, but even if that does occur, Mori should hopefully make a full recovery and not need medication forever.

A huge ‘Merci’ to my parents-in-law and everyone at our Ivybridge clinic for looking after him so well and keeping us in the loop from across the Channel.