Septal myocardial abscess in a male great Anglo-French hound

We report the diagnosis and follow-up of a septal myocardial abscess in a seven-year-old Anglo-French hound suffering from both renal failure and urinary infection. Serial echocardiography showed the abscess enlarging and progressing into a fistula between the left ventricular outflow tract and the right ventricle. The dog died despite early wide-spectrum intravenous antibiotic therapy. Post-mortem examination confirmed the diagnosis. Bacterial and fungal myocardial abscesses have been described in immunodeficient human beings. To our knowledge, fistulae have rarely been described in dog hearts and only as a consequence of previous valvular endocarditis. In our case, the sigmoid cusps were not involved, so this is the first description of a septal myocardial abscess in a dog.