This is Molly. She is a 5 year old shih-tzu. She was surrendered to the animal shelter when her owner could no longer care for her. Molly was fostered by a new family and they brought her to New Ross Veterinary Services for having difficulty urinating. Physical examination and x-rays showed a large bladder that was almost completely full of stones. She was treated initially with antibiotics until surgery could be scheduled and quickly began to feel better. We removed several large and numerous small stones from her bladder, and also spayed her. Molly should be back to her self soon and will shortly be with her forever family.
Bladder stones are fairly common in smaller breed dogs such as shih tzus so there is probably a genetic component for the formation of bladder stones. Bladder infections that are not treated promptly can also lead to a dog developing bladder stones. There are also special diets for dogs like Molly to keep them from developing bladder stones. Some of these diets can also dissolve small bladder stones.
