Salep was a 6.5-year-old rescue Golden Retriever from Izmir, Turkey, who sadly passed away from leishmaniasis in the UK on 3 September 2024.
She was the light of every room she entered—loving, empathetic, and full of humour, with a strong sense of boundaries. She adored belly rubs and cheese but despised baths and dog clothes. She slept curled up like a croissant and occasionally barked, as if to remind us that she was, indeed, a dog. Living with a double-income family with no children, she was cherished as a life companion, a best friend, and sometimes even a therapist. As part of these roles, she accompanied her family to the UK in October 2023 for a temporary one-year study period, leaving behind her beloved house and garden in Urla, Izmir.
The first signs

Salep began itching in September 2023. Her vet in Izmir diagnosed her with Demodectic mange caused by the parasitic mite Demodex sp. and performed a PCR test for leishmaniasis, which came back negative. After all, she had worn a protective collar ever since she joined our family at age two. She also had arthritis and was taking glucosamine.
After moving to the UK, her itching worsened. Her new vet diagnosed her with allergies, it was her first time living in a house with built-in carpets. The vet asked us about leishmaniasis, and we mentioned the negative PCR test, foolishly trusting it. In addition to the Demodex treatment, Salep was prescribed allergy medication.
Over the cold, rainy winter, she struggled to climb the stairs and seemed to be in pain. Her vet increased her glucosamine dosage and started her on pain relief. She was also put on a diet to ease her arthritis.
The decline
Still, something wasn’t right. As summer went on, she began drinking more water and urinating more frequently. She lost weight, shed more hair, and her nails grew abnormally long. During our monthly vet visits, we explained these symptoms away—blaming the hot weather, her diet, allergies, and playing on grass instead of concrete. We told ourselves that her pain was due to arthritis, that she was simply unhappy because of the UK’s gloomy weather. We believed she would be fine once we returned to Urla, where she had always been happy.

Finally, in August 2024, the vet requested a urine sample, which showed high protein levels. A blood test revealed severe anaemia. Our nightmare began.
We were supposed to return to Urla in just a month. The vet told us she had one month to live. We were willing to do anything to save her—to give her a chance. She was transferred to a hospital 1.5 hours away. We knew very well how privileged we were to be able to afford giving her this chance.
When she was first admitted, the emergency vet asked whether they should perform CPR if her heart stopped. Horrified and unprepared for the question—we said yes. (Later, we said no.)
She received a blood transfusion. We suspected leishmaniasis, but blood tests would take days—complicated by the fact that it was a Friday, followed by a bank holiday on Monday.
We were lucky. Our vets were from Mediterranean countries and recognised the symptoms. They checked her spleen and confirmed it was leishmaniasis. The medication had to be ordered, and the earliest we could receive it was Wednesday. Again, luck was on our side—the hospital had a few vials. She started Glucantime injections and Allopurinol. She seemed to improve—she even ate a little. Our vet suggested we take her home.
A final goodbye

She was home for three nights. She went to her favourite park, took a long walk, and sniffed everything she could. She slept by our side.
On the fourth day, she couldn’t stand up. We rushed her back to the hospital. She received a plasma transfusion. By the next morning, the vets informed us that her kidneys had failed completely—she wasn’t going to make it.
We had to make the hardest decision of our lives. She died in our arms.
We brought her ashes back to Urla. Her gravestone reads:
“She was happy here.”
Looking back and lessons learned
All the signs were there. We just didn’t see them. We didn’t know enough about leishmaniasis or how serious it was. We made a million small decisions that, in hindsight, could have led to a different outcome. Thinking about them still keeps me up at night. Looking back, there are a few key lessons I wish I had known:
- Firstly, as someone living in an endemic country, I should have educated myself better about leishmaniasis—how it affects both animals and humans.
- Secondly, I should have taken her increased urination and water intake more seriously, considering them alongside her other symptoms rather than as isolated issues.
- Thirdly, The PCR test should not be used alone to diagnose leishmaniasis in dogs, especially when the animals have no clinical suspicion. This technique detects the parasite’s DNA but its sensitivity depends on the number of parasites present in the sample, so a negative result doesn’t rule out the possibility of the infection developing later.
Dog owners should request a quantitative blood-serology analysis, which is a reliable method for confirming the diagnosis in dogs with clinical and laboratory signs compatible with leishmaniasis and is also useful in many cases for assessing whether the treatment is working. Even if a test is negative, but clinical findings persist vets should request the same test or confirmation with a different test.
We hope Salep’s story can make a difference for other dog owners, helping them make better decisions for dogs affected by leishmaniasis.