Anemia among dogs within Maiduguri, Northeastern Nigeria; A Retrospective Approach

Abstract

Anemia causes morbidity and mortality in dogs and it is one of the signs of disease in this species. Anemia can occur because of decrease or defective production of red blood cells, acute or chronic blood loss or due to intravascular hemolysis, extravascular hemolysis or both. The records of dogs presented for routine checkup at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Maiduguri was evaluated from 2015-2021 for diagnosed cases of anemia based on routine hematology. A total of 73 dog files were sorted out from the records. Fifty-three (53) dogs were found to be anemic (72.6%), while 20 (27.4%) were non-anemic. Puppies tend to have the microcytic hypochromic anemia possibly due to iron deficiency, while adult dogs had the macrocytic normochromic anemia. Anemia was more prevalent in male dogs than female dogs, probably due to movement of the males during mating season, thereby exposing them to risks of ecto and endo parasitism. In conclusion anemia is prevalent amongst dogs in Maiduguri metropolis, hence there is a need for further studies to identify and characterize the possible etiologies.