August 14, 2008
-
Tuesday, around 9pm - Mr Dog vomits up his dinner and his bully stick
Tuesday, around 11pm - Mr Dog wakes me up from sleep to go out in the yard and retch. And retch and retch. And then try to eat some grass. I stop him, drag him back in the house and put him back to bed.
Tuesday, around 1130pm or 12 - Mr Dog wakes me up and I send Joshua out with him and Little Dog so he can retch some more. They are outdoors for a good long while.
Wednesday, around 1am (I think) - Mr Dog still has me awake so I take him and Little Dog into the office and let them both outside. Mr Dog tries to eat more grass and continues retching. And retching. He manages to get up some spit, some water and a little bit of grass. This is no help.
Wednesday, around 330am - Mr Dog and I are still awake. I put Little Dog back to bed after consulting with Joshua about the Emergency Vet. We decide to wait until around 7am.
Wednesday, around 700am - I call the emergency vet and schedule an appointment for 8am. Mr Dog and I have been up since 1am with occasional dozing. He keeps retching and trying to eat grass. I keep trying to stop him. (Not that this is always successful as I'm naked and glasses-less chasing him around the yard mostly in the dark.)
Wednesday, around 8am - We get to the vet and have the inital exam. After he drools a lot and farts a lot and has his tummy prodded, the vet decides to do X-rays. I call off work.
Wednesday, around 930am - The vet finally finishes X-rays and shows us that his esophagus is clear, his trachea is clear, his intestines are clear but he has a large clump of SOMETHING in his stomach. It might or might not be cloth. She goes to the other emergency vet to do a consult for us.
Wednesday, sometime around 10am - Post-consult we decide to go to the other vet and get an ultra sound to see if the foreign body - that might or might not be cloth - is still confined to the stomach. Joshua and I wait at the vet.
Wednesday, about noon, possibly later - Ultrasound was good, the mass is still in his stomach and not at all in his intestines. They prep Indiana for an endoscopy and we go home for a shower and a nap - he won't be able to get into the scope until about 2pm.
Wendesday, around 3pm - The vet calls with good news and bad news. Good news - Indiana is fine and the endoscopy has revealed what is in his tummy - GRASS! Bad news - it's a fairly solid mass that won't go forward or backward on it's own but can't be removed except ONE piece at a time. They prep Indiana for full on surgery.
Wednesday, around 530pm - The other vet calls with good news. Indiana is out of surgery and everything went well. They removed a solid mat of grass the size of three human fists from his stomach. Everything else looks good and he is in recovery.
Wednesday, around 9pm - We visit a very groggy Mr Dog in the clinic - he is shaved all underneath with a ten inch incision in his stomach and an IV port in his leg for the pain meds. He can't hardly walk or stand so we let him lay down. He promptly closes his eyes and enjoys being talked to and petted by us for a short period of time. We send him back to his kennel so they can put him back on his IV.
LONGEST DAY EVER!
Today they called at around 8am to tell me they started offering him water. If he keeps that down, he'll be offered food later today. If he eats and keeps it down he might be able to come home tonight. Keep your fingers crossed! I miss my Mr. Dog.
Also, further note.
With all the jazz we just had done to Mr. Dog, we racked up aroudn $4000 worth of bills. Those of you with dogs especially - GET PET INSURANCE. I'm researching it RIGHT NOW. Silly us, we didn't have it but we will from now on!
Comments (14)
$4000!?!?! Just to remove grass?!?! Oy vey... What an ordeal! Jeeeeeeeez. Indeed, I will get pet insurance when I get my dog and cat (I have to have one of each, of course).
OH! And I forgot so say that I'm very happy that Mr. Dog (I almost wrote Mr. Grass, hahahahaha) is feeling much, much better.
@KameraSutra - Only one of each? We've got two dogs and three cats. If I had my druthers, we'd have three dogs at least!
And thanks. I'll be much happier once he is home with me and Little Dog and Joshua and his kitties. But I'm beyond glad that he's okay.
@Kellybones - Well, in my county, you're technically only allowed three pets total. (NOT than anyone adheres to those rules...) But I definitely want a COUPLE of pets for sure. And one of them MUST be a wiener dog. Because they make me laugh, smile, and squeal, every time I see one. And that's gotta be a good thing, right? HAH. My b/f, however, wants a bigger dog (which I ALSO love). But I must have a kitty-cat. So, we might end up with three. But two for sure!
@KameraSutra - Our HOA has a pet limit of two. We have five total. I don't think unless you become the crazy cat lady anybody cares. I'm personally campaigning for a pug because I feel the same way about them that you feel about weiner dogs. I do like weiner dogs though...especially the long haired ones. What kind of dog does your BF want?
@Kellybones - He really wants a Swiss Mountain Dog - http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/greaterswissmountain.htm
@KameraSutra - Awwww! I looks a lot like the Bernese Mountain Dog. We get a couple of the Bernie's at the dog park and they are just sweethearts. But wow, BIG DOG! I like the 50lbs or so of ACDs.
Holy cow. That's terrible! Glad he's doing well though. Sounds like you have a good vet.
I am so sorry for Indiana. Poor baby... but he is fortunate to have such good parents. I hope he recovers quickly.
I wish you had mentioned pet insurance to me BEFORE our Golden had three hip surgeries and months of rehab!
But I'd do it all again - she's healthy & happy now.
Get some sleep while he's still at the ER vet.
Awwwww, poor Indiana! (Poor Kelly and Joshua, too!) I'm glad to hear that he's ok. I can only imagine how stodgy doggy is taking all of this! I hope you're holding up ok. I had to leave my cat at the vet for an afternoon and wanted to cry (ok, maybe I did cry a little), so I can only imagine how you feel. You know how to reach me if you need me!
Oh, Kelly, I can't imagine the distress that you and your dog went through! So glad he's recovering well. But, as for that bill, YOUCH!
Is your dog named Indiana? I had a dog named that too! I'm so sorry he had to go through this and for you guys too! For all the times I have rushed my dogs to the vet,I should have pet insurance!
@keensandmerrills - Yep - his name is Indiana. The night before we met him for the first time (when he was about 4 weeks old) we were watching Raiders of the Lost Ark...and it just stuck in our heads.
@irishgem - yeah, the bill sucks but *shrug* what are you going to do? We couldn't very well let him die or even let him suffer for longer than necessary. After all, it's really only money and compared to having my Mr Dog be okay...money is basically meaningless. If necessary, I'd rather get another job or two than lose my buddy!
Comments are closed.