Merry Christmas!
It’s been a week.
Teddy has not had a fabulous week. Last Saturday he woke me up at 5:30 AM. This is rare and usually means, “OMG daddy, I need to poop/pee.” I heard a thud next to the bed (he’d gone to sleep on the foot of the bed, as usual) and opened my eyes to see a doggie face staring at me. OK, OK, I got up, turned on the coffee pot, and opened the back door. Teddy ran out into the middle of yard, undulated and made a yacking noise, and puked. Nothing scary, just foamy stuff. Dogs do this sometimes.
He did not want to eat. When he was a puppy he’d get upset an upset tummy regularly; it happens a lot less now, since we’ve settled on a food that seems to work from him, and I’m very strict about what extras he gets. He is not one of those iron tummy dogs (like MWK’s). I had planned to take him to the dog park, and he was acting normal, so we went and he got to run around with the other dogs there.
Funny thing: he just loves little dogs. The park is split into two sections, one for the little dogs under 25 pounds, and the other for the big guys. Teddy would periodically run over to the fence between the two, and a whole crowd of tiny dogs would run up to see him, and he’d sniff hello through the fence and hold court from the little dogs. Wagging tails all around.
He got hungry in the afternoon and had a normal rest of the day.
Sunday he woke up with a loud, gurgling tummy and no interest in food, and once again, got hungry in the afternoon. Okay, I thought, something really upset his stomach. Sunday night we had a pre-Christmas dinner at MWK’s for some friends and he had a wonderful time, just watching the activity and hanging out with Bucky and Satchel.
Monday: normal happy waggy Teddy.
Tuesday we got up, and he ran into the living room and threw up. Then he went outside and threw up and had an unpleasant, straining time pooping. So, I called the vet when they opened. They had no appointments but you can drop your pet off and they fit them in between appointments. So we did that.
I have major anxiety about sick pets. So it was not a happy day for either of us; I was at work worrying about him, and he had to spend the day hanging out in a kennel there in between being poked and prodded. They examined him, did blood work to check his liver and pancreas (rule out poisoning), and basically found that there was nothing serious. Dr. Biker Lesbian, who we’ve seen before and I really like, thinks that he picked up some kind of bug that was upsetting his tummy. So they prescribed an anti-nausea drug and metranidozole to prevent or kill any non-viral infection, and gave him some subcutaneous fluids and advised me to monitor his drinking to make sure he didn’t dehydrate.
This took most of the day; I picked him up about three o’clock. He came out from the back at the vet just looking so sad and confused. The sub-cutaneous fluids cause some swelling as the fluid is absorbed, so he had a big wet spot on his back and when he stood in certain positions it almost looked like a hump.
I’m so bad with this stuff; when I saw him, he just looked so sad and it made me want to cry. Apart from worrying about his well-being, I just hate knowing that he spent a day feeling scared and confused.
We went home, he happily ate his dinner (first food all day), served in smaller portions over time.
Yesterday he was pretty normal, if a bit subdued; took his pills, ate his food, and we went for walks before and after work. Except: no pooping. Which given his lower food intake wasn’t totally distressing, but obviously, if he doesn’t go at some point, something was wrong. So I was just all stressed and worried.
I wrapped presents and he sat and watched, fascinated. And Teddy helped!
(He looked totally adorable carrying around the cardboard tube. Then, when I took the picture, he decided to eat it so it disappeared about five seconds after this photo was taken!)
Today: poop! Yay! I did give him some pumpkin last night (the magic dog cure for both constipation and loose stool). I guess the interruption in his eating patterns, stress, and maybe the pills just made him a bit plugged up.
But I worry, because that’s what I do.
All of this was more stressful because I am going to see my folks, and I hate leaving him when he’s not 100%. But this morning was wagging tails, healthy appetite, doing his business normally, so I feel OK about it. Also, he is staying with MWK, not boarding, so I know he’s in the best of care. He will have a fun Christmas hanging out with Bucky and Satchel.
But I will miss him.
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