This case was presented in the clinic in mid-May with a complaint of troubled breathing. The animal is a 5 year old Labrador Retriever with no history of illness. The owner said the animal started loosing weight about 1 month ago, and started having breathing problems 2 weeks ago. On exam, The Veterinarian found the lungs were rough and the heart was hard to hear, the body temperature was normal (101.6), no other symptoms other then difficulty breathing. The doctor then decided to take a chest x-ray (see film). After reading the chest x-ray, a suspicion of fungal lung infection was suspected, so a lungs aspirate was done. On exam of the lung aspirate, we found Blastomycosis spores. This animal was treated for systemic blastomycosis and should recover since no other issues were noted on exam.
Chest X-Ray
This case illustrates why it is so important to watch for any change in your animals breathing patterns. If you notice any changes in your animal weight and/or breathing please contact a veterinarian and have your animal checked out.