Is my dog seriously ill?

[Midnite]

I am always finding abandoned dogs that people discard. I take them in and find nice homes to adopt them to and keep the ones I can't find a home for...

My problem is that I found a lovely dog that I named midnite. She is a sweet dog and I am unsure of age -- at least 2 years old. She looks young but acts old. She limps and appears to have arthritis or something. She is very touch around the stomach and gut area. She will not let you pet her there. She prefers to sleep inside in the warmth of the house on a THICK cushion.

My problem is that I immediately noticed after bringing her home that she has a "strange smell" about her. If I close her in a room it smells kind of like humid rotting food or something. Her breath always has a thick rotting smell to it but her mouth and teeth look fine. In addition to this she seems to keep getting a sporadic nose bleed. It is a small nose bleed and the blood is bright red. Mainly she blows it out her nose in small pinpoint droplets. I have had her about 6 months and she has had multiple nose bleeds. I am getting very worried. Maybe this would spread to my other pets or even me? She was chewing on a sparerib right before the nosebleed tonight. Maybe her nose is just dry??? What do you do for dry dog nose membrains? She dosent like me messing with her face so I cant get any vaseline in it or anything. She seems to eat ok but she always looks just a little on the skinny side. She seems very alert and her hair looks healthy.

Do you think the smell and nose bleed are linked? Is the smell parvo? I heard it smells? Cancer?

Do you think this dog might be seriously ill? PLEASE help me I need to HELP my midnight.

[mona_b]

If you have had this girl for 6 months why on earth have you not taken her to a vet?This is a VERY serious matter.Vet ASAP.

Also,it's nice to hear that you take in adandon dogs.But do you take them to a vet to get checked,needled,spayed/neutered if they are not before you find homes for them?

[Luba]

You found a stray?

And you haven't taken it to a vet yet?

[Lucky Rescue]

My god - you've been letting this dog suffer like this for 6 months????

Taking animals in is NOT enough. You have to take care of them as well.

Get this poor dog to a vet. If you had these symptoms, would YOU wait 6 months to see a doctor?

Shaking head in amazement

[LavenderRott]

I am always amazed when people find forums like this one, post their pets illnesses and expect us to tell them what is wrong so that they don't have to take their pet to the vet. In the time it takes them to post the question, they could have called a vet.

Untreated Parvo usually kills within 72 hours of major symptoms.

Cancer, however, can take months to kill and can be very painful.

Take the dog to the vet.

For future reference, you should always take a stray dog that you have picked up off the street to the vet before allowing it to interact with your current pets. You have no idea what illnesses that animal has been exposed to and some of them can kill.

[Carina]

Frequent nose bleeds
Bad, rotting smell
tender stomach
possibly sore face
Limps/stiff

This certainly could be serious!!! She could have a massively infected tooth, a cancer...well who knows, we're just people on an internet forum...even a vet would not give you a diagnosis online.

I think it's great you take in strays, but am fairly amazed you have not taken her to a vet. Even a healthy seeming dog should be seen, like Sandi says to be checked for communicable illnesses...and do you know if she is spayed or not?

Yes, take her to a vet immediately, please. She may appear alert and eating, but many dogs are extremely stoic about pain and will silently endure something that would have a human writhing in agony. No kidding.