Bandit and I are home after an exhausting night.
As many of you know, both dogs have been dealing with diarrhea for two months now, mostly from a bout of roundworm that took a while to diagnose. It wasn't tragic, but it was definitely annoying for me and uncomfortable for them.
For the past two weeks, they've both been back on track and we've breathed a sigh of relief.
Until Wednesday, that is. That's when Bandit got very sick. This time, his diarrhea was worse (and different) than anything he's had to date. I won't go into details, but this was one sick puppy.
The vet prescribed some medicine to help, but it was taking it's old sweet time working, and the plan was to see how he was today and take him in if he wasn't any better. The only change to that would be if Bandit started barfing or not eating, which might indicate a blockage in his intestines.
Friday morning it looked like things might be getting better. Then last night - or this morning, more accurately - at about 1:30, Bandit has a huge accident in the foyer. I didn't even hear him get up, but David did. He said the poop had pieces of what looked like pink plastic in it; Bandit had chewed part of a squeaky ball on Tuesday.
And then he started throwing up.
I know that sometimes stuff blocked in the dog's intestine can cause serious problems, and now Bandit was acting really weird, shying way from me, ears plastered back on his head, and when I took him out he just grabbed at grass, then stretched his back legs out like he was trying to get comfortable.
Long story short, I took him into the emergency vet's office.
Bandit can be a handful even on a bad day, and the doctor was comfortable assessing him and saying that since he had been eating and was acting pretty spunky (he chewed through one of their leashes; I warned him) that he didn't think there was a blockage. So he gave Bandit a shot of nausea medicine.
As I was checking out, though, Bandit started acting really strange, panting and rolling around on the floor. The doctor came out and was watching, and then Bandit barfed again. That's when he decided to do some xrays.
They need to sedate a dog to do xrays, and Bandit didn't go down without a fight. After two doses, and a long time, they were able to get some xrays and determine that it was unlikely that there was an intestinal blockage.
So my groggy puppy and I, minus about $300 and any sleep, headed home at 6:30 this morning to try and sleep off some of the sedatives. He still hasn't peed, but at least now he can stand up without falling over and the glassy look in his eyes is starting to fade.
I'm waiting to hear back from Dr. B (Dr. Hawkins is on her honeymoon. Thank goodness for two vets we love at this office) to see what we can do next. They tested his stool yesterday for worms or parasites, so there's a chance that we're dealing with another round of cooties.
For now, though, we wait. I have a ton of work to do - I'm behind on a feature I need to have done Monday - and I really need some sleep.
As many of you know, both dogs have been dealing with diarrhea for two months now, mostly from a bout of roundworm that took a while to diagnose. It wasn't tragic, but it was definitely annoying for me and uncomfortable for them.
For the past two weeks, they've both been back on track and we've breathed a sigh of relief.
Until Wednesday, that is. That's when Bandit got very sick. This time, his diarrhea was worse (and different) than anything he's had to date. I won't go into details, but this was one sick puppy.
The vet prescribed some medicine to help, but it was taking it's old sweet time working, and the plan was to see how he was today and take him in if he wasn't any better. The only change to that would be if Bandit started barfing or not eating, which might indicate a blockage in his intestines.
Friday morning it looked like things might be getting better. Then last night - or this morning, more accurately - at about 1:30, Bandit has a huge accident in the foyer. I didn't even hear him get up, but David did. He said the poop had pieces of what looked like pink plastic in it; Bandit had chewed part of a squeaky ball on Tuesday.
And then he started throwing up.
I know that sometimes stuff blocked in the dog's intestine can cause serious problems, and now Bandit was acting really weird, shying way from me, ears plastered back on his head, and when I took him out he just grabbed at grass, then stretched his back legs out like he was trying to get comfortable.
Long story short, I took him into the emergency vet's office.
Bandit can be a handful even on a bad day, and the doctor was comfortable assessing him and saying that since he had been eating and was acting pretty spunky (he chewed through one of their leashes; I warned him) that he didn't think there was a blockage. So he gave Bandit a shot of nausea medicine.
As I was checking out, though, Bandit started acting really strange, panting and rolling around on the floor. The doctor came out and was watching, and then Bandit barfed again. That's when he decided to do some xrays.They need to sedate a dog to do xrays, and Bandit didn't go down without a fight. After two doses, and a long time, they were able to get some xrays and determine that it was unlikely that there was an intestinal blockage.
So my groggy puppy and I, minus about $300 and any sleep, headed home at 6:30 this morning to try and sleep off some of the sedatives. He still hasn't peed, but at least now he can stand up without falling over and the glassy look in his eyes is starting to fade.
I'm waiting to hear back from Dr. B (Dr. Hawkins is on her honeymoon. Thank goodness for two vets we love at this office) to see what we can do next. They tested his stool yesterday for worms or parasites, so there's a chance that we're dealing with another round of cooties.For now, though, we wait. I have a ton of work to do - I'm behind on a feature I need to have done Monday - and I really need some sleep.
What happened next? http://dogvotional.blogspot.com/2009/10/update-on-bandit.html
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