Congenital Short-Bowel Syndrome in an Adult Dog

A 3.5-year-old, neutered male pit bull dog was euthanized following an approximately 1-year history of intractable diarrhea and weight loss of undetermined cause. At necropsy, the dog was emaciated. The ratio of total intestinal length (duodenum to rectum) to crown-to-rump length was 2.5, in contrast to an average of 5.3 (range, 3.7-6.1) in 10 control dogs examined at necropsy. There was diffuse dilation of the intestinal lumen, consistent with congenital intestinal hypoplasia resulting in short-bowel syndrome. Histologically, the intestinal mucosal was hyperplastic, further supporting the diagnosis of short-bowel syndrome. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case of this condition in the veterinary literature.