Shimmi, a lovely 14 year old Bearded Collie, came into Westmoor as an emergency patient collapsed, vomiting and with a severe head tilt.

She had to be carried into the consult room and had rapid eye movements from side to side called ‘nystagmus’.

This combination of signs made us suspicious that Shimmi was suffering from a neurological condition called vestibular syndrome.

This causes problems with the vestibular system which maintains an animal’s balance. Dysfunction of this system results in dizziness and nausea (imagine feeling very sea sick!).

Vestibular syndrome can be caused by several different things. Central vestibular disease relates to a problem inside the brain e.g. a tumour. Peripheral vestibular disease is associated with inner ear disease e.g. infection. The syndrome can also be caused by toxin ingestion. Sometimes we are unable to identify a cause, which was the case with Shimmi, and call this idiopathic vestibular syndrome.

We took blood from Shimmi to check for toxins and assess if she was dehydrated. We then started her on supportive care which included intravenous fluids, anti-nausea medication, and good nursing care (e.g. hand feeding and helping her to go to the toilet).

Depending on the underlying cause, the prognosis can range from guarded to good.

Thankfully, after a few days Shimmi started to improve and was discharged after one week in hospital. During this time we all became very fond of her sweet and gentle nature. Her dedicated owners visited her every day and are delighted to have her now back at home.