Rom had been getting a faint rash on his stomach that would come and go. It looked to me like he had just been laying in something that he was slightly allergic to, and I was treating it with hydrocortisone cream. He pulled back Rom's lips and saw what he was afraid to see - there were tiny purple sores all over the insides of his cheeks and gums. He immediately ordered some tests, then disappeared for a while. From what I've learned over the past eight months, ITP is a relatively rare condition where the body does not produce enough platelets in the blood.
Platelets are what make blood clot.
The platelet count in a normal dog should be between 200,000 - 300,000. Rom's count that night was 3,500. The biggest immediate concern was that Rom would start bleeding internally and his body wouldn't be able to stop because his blood couldn't clot. Dr. Schawel kept him overnight and promised to call if there were any changes. Bryan and I went home in complete shock.