Yahoo News Stokie left with £12k vet bill after puppy dies three weeks after rare diagnosis
A ‘loving’ and ‘energetic’ puppy died under three weeks after receiving a rare diagnosis — leaving her owner with a £12,200 vet bill. Kelly Bartle, 43, revealed Skye was one of six pomchi puppies from the same litter to have died of the condition.
Skye, a Pomeranian-Chihuahua cross, was just seven months old when she passed away on Saturday (June 8). Kelly brought the puppy home just five days after Christmas, and described Skye as ‘my baby’. “She was beautiful,” said Kelly. “She was tiny, but she was so energetic.”
Kelly, from Burslem, says she noticed something was wrong with Skye on Sunday, May 19. She said: “It just looked like a bit of a limp — she had been running around the garden the day before — I made breakfast, and then I heard a thud.
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“She had collapsed on the floor. I didn’t know what was wrong. I picked her up and took her into the living room and I gave her some water.”
Kelly took Skye to the vet, where she was diagnosed with Hypokalaemia, a deficiency of potassium. The puppy underwent nine days of care, being placed on a potassium drip and being transferred to an emergency vet before being released.
“She got better, she came home, she engaged, and she was having a lovely time,” said Kelly. "On Wednesday, when I took her back to the vets, she was running around my mum’s garden. We went to the vets to say ‘Hello’ and ‘Yes we’ll make an appointment for Monday.’ She was on the mend, and then this Saturday she passed.
“Now they know that, even though her blood was showing the potassium, her muscles were that depleted that she couldn’t retain it.”
Five of Skye’s siblings have already died of the condition, Kelly says, adding that vets believe it is caused by a genetic disease in the litter. She said the puppy the breeder kept was first to die in March, with two from the litter of eight remaining.
“It’s a very rare condition,” said Kelly. “They don’t know what the genetic disorder was in Skye’s case. Nobody has done any case studies on it and it has not been researched. The vets were ringing specialists for advice, but no-one had heard of it happening. She was seen as a miracle.”
Now Kelly is facing a staggering vet bill of £12,200 for nine days of care at Kelly’s usual vet and an emergency vet. “They both did a fantastic job with her,” said Kelly, “but appointments at my vets cost £40, and it was costing £240 at the referral vets. It was crazy.”
Kelly’s family set up a Gofundme donation page during Skye’s illness to cover vet bills. Kelly says she now wants to use the money to both cover the bills and pay towards treatment for the remaining dogs.
She added: “I wish I could have had her for a few more days, but her body just wasn’t retaining the potassium. It was her time to go.”
