Pyrometra is a serious infection of the uterus. If not treated quickly and aggressively the dog will die. Sometimes the dog still dies after surgery. And the surgery (plus hospital time) can cost in the thousands of dollars. This can happen to dogs who have never had puppies. The only way to prevent this horrible disease is spaying.
A dog who developes pyrometra must be spayed to fix the problem. But this type of spaying is much more dangerous for several reasons -
- the doctor has to perform emergency surgery on a sick, unstable dog
- the doctor must remove a puss filled uterous that is many many times it's normal size.
- the surgery is much more dangerous and complicated
From Veterinary Partner.com http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=584
"..spaying, is one of the most significant aspects of female dog care an owner can provide. The benefits to the dog FAR outweigh simply not having puppies, though as pet over-populations looms as a societal problem it is important to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem....
[Pyrometra] is an extremely common disease of unspayed female dogs.
Without treatment the dog will die.
Treatment is expensive"
This site includes a non graphic drawing depicting a regular uterus vs a uterus with prometra.
Warning. Extremely Graphic Photos of Pyrometra in the following website
This site shows typical discharge and a picture of an infected uterus
http://www.vetsurgerycentral.com/pyometra.htmNext to the last picture on this site shows a picture of an extremly large infected uterus
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