A 9-week-old male intact Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was presented for evaluation of acute onset dyspnea caused by left-sided pneumothorax. Thoracic computed tomography (CT) identified multiple pulmonary bullae and blebs in multiple lung lobes. Rupture of ≥1 pulmonary blebs or bullae, precipitated by low impact trauma, was the suspected cause of pneumothorax. A volume of 7.5 mL/kg of fresh whole blood was collected from a type-matched donor dog and administered into the left pleural space using a thoracostomy tube. The pneumothorax was successfully resolved and no adverse effects of blood patch pleurodesis were noted. The dog was clinically normal 12 months later.

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Reticulocyte indices are used to characterize anemia, including the identification of regeneration. In people, the immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF), percentage of hypochromic red blood cells (%HYPO‐RBC), and other reticulocyte indices have been used as earlier indicators of erythropoiesis and as valuable monitoring tools in the assessment of various therapies. The reference intervals (RI) of the IRF and %HYPO‐RBC have not been reported in dogs. The objective of this study was to establish RIs for novel variables (IRF, %HYPO‐RBC, and CH‐delta) and assess RIs for more commonly reported reticulocyte indices in healthy dogs. RIs were calculated from blood results retrospectively collected from 106 client‐owned healthy dogs at the time of induction into a blood donor program using the ADVIA 2120 hematology analyzer (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics). For the calculation of RIs, appropriate tests were applied for outlier detection and normality assessment. For variables normally distributed, RIs and their respective 90% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using parametric methods, while for variables not normally distributed, robust methods were used and bootstrapping for calculating the 90% CIs. The following RIs were established: reticulocyte hemoglobin content (CHr) 24.5‐28 pg, mean reticulocyte volume (MCVr) 85.9‐99.3 fL, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration of reticulocytes (CHCMr) 271.0‐306.3 g/L, IRF 10.4%‐43.5%, CH‐delta 0.5‐4.3 pg, and percentage of hypochromic red blood cells (%HYPO‐RBC) 0.10%‐0.80%. The results of this study provide RIs for novel reticulocyte variables. Further studies are required to determine the clinical utility of IRF, %HYPO‐RBC, and CH delta as early indicators of erythropoietic activity in canine patients.