Sick Puppy

The census has been low at the hospital for the last couple of weeks, but I've been pretty fortunate in getting to work--until last night, when I was put on call. And even that was fortunate because... Tandi is sick again.

She started panting really heavily about 9:30 last night and couldn't get comfortable, not even in my lap, where she usually loves to be. Her poor little eyes showed how miserable she was. About 10:15 she started with loose stools again, and this morning she was bleeding again, and no appetite, though she didn't look as miserable as she did last night. I called my vet right away this morning, but he's in a continuing education class today and tomorrow, and won't be available until Monday. They offered an appointment for then, but I told them this couldn't wait all weekend, so his staff recommended I take her to the new animal hospital that was just completed about a month ago. It's actually closer to me than my vet's office.

Tandi, being a rescue dog, doesn't adapt to new situations well or easily, but I have to say, the people at the animal hospital were just wonderful with her. The assistants just cooed over her, and listened to me when I told them to hook the leash to her harness, not her collar, because she freaks out with anything pulling on her neck.

Before examining her, the vet took a few moments for her to sniff him, then leaned over and just drew her in with a big hug. He told me this was the "Hello, my name is Fred" introduction and he felt it was important to do this before doing less pleasant tasks.

Although I haven't changed her diet or her routine in any way, she has hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, which he says could have been brought on by something outside she might have sniffed or licked. Being as she loves to crack the acorns, I'm thinking she might have gotten something from a squirrel, though there are lots of critters around here: possums, racooons, chipmunks, rabbits, and my neighbor even found bear poop in her yard last week.

So I had to leave her there for IV fluids and IV antibiotics and they will give her something to control the loose stools. The vet assistant let me come back with Tandi to the back, and instead of putting her in a smaller crate, will be housing her in a larger pen, so she will have room to poop away from her bedding. I know that will help them as well, since they won't have to clean her, but it was nice all the same.

Now if I could just erase from my memory that sad little face watching her "mommy" leave...