Addison's Disease symptoms and what to do if your dog is ill

Crossbreed Flynn was destined to be put down after he was found roaming the streets in Bucharest, before he found a home with Ciara McCormack and Connor McGovern, who spotted his story on a dog charity’s website.

Flynn was adopted and brought home to Glasgow, but suffered a new setback upon arrival.

After falling seriously ill, Flynn stopped eating and seemed unsettled and lethargic, before shaking uncontrollably and drooling.

As Flynn’s condition visibly worsened, desperately worried Ciara and Connor rushed Flynn to their local vets, who said his condition was so serious he needed to be transferred to the Vets Now 24-hour pet emergency hospital in Charing Cross, Glasgow.

With Flynn on the verge of cardiac arrest, the hospital team rushed him into intensive care and carried out extensive tests.

They diagnosed three-year-old Flynn with life-threatening Addison’s Disease, a rare condition caused by a lack of steroids in the body.

Ciara said: “It was really distressing to see Flynn so ill – especially when you think of everything he must have been through as a stray in Romania, where street dogs end up put down because there is no home for them, and then starting a new life here in Scotland.

“We adopted him in March last year and it took a while obviously for him to adjust given the totally different surroundings. Then this happened in August – just when it felt like he had really settled.

“We could see it was very serious and if we hadn’t got him help straightaway like we did then we would have lost him – which is just an unbearable thought. Since he came into our lives he’s been a part of our family and has brought us so much joy. We just couldn’t imagine life without him.”

Deputy lead emergency vet at Vets Now Glasgow, Nicole Laws, who led Flynn’s care, said: “With Addison’s Disease the adrenal glands which sit on top of the kidneys don’t produce enough of two hormones: cortisol, which is a stress hormone, and aldosterone, which controls electrolyte levels.

“These hormones are crucial for many life-supporting processes and lack of these means the body can’t regulate its water balance properly.

“It can be very challenging to spot because the clinical signs begin quite vague but can progress quickly - but we caught it early and swiftly started the necessary treatment. Poor Flynn really was very poorly indeed when he came in. His sodium level was the lowest I’ve ever seen in 20 years of practice.

“Flynn was a lovely patient and very affectionate and quickly became a favourite with all the team. Seeing him bounce back and ready to go home brought great joy to all of us, especially given his background as a rescue dog.

“Ciara and Connor did completely the right thing seeking help so promptly – every minute matters in an emergency situation like this and if they’d delayed by even a few hours then we may well have been looking at a very different outcome indeed.”