As I write this, Scout is undergoing emergency surgery for a suspected intestinal obstruction. She is a very, very sick little dog.
She looked a little off colour when I came home from work on Tuesday. (It’s Thursday now.) David25 said that she wasn’t really herself. Every now and then she’d cry out, but she’s done that before and it’s always been fine. She didn’t eat her dinner though, which isn’t like her.
I went to work the next day after she got up and ate breakfast. I gave her dry food, not a chicken neck, as I was worried that maybe the chicken neck was the problem. Ryan24 was going to be home all day so I knew she’d be under observation, but just as a precaution I rang the vet and booked an appointment for later that day. I figured that if Scout was better when I got back, I’d take Jeff for his vaccinations. He was due for them anyway.
When I walked through the door, Scout came out and jumped on the couch, wagging her tail. She still seemed a little flat, but she was definitely chirpier than when I left that morning.
I decided to give here a test and threw her favourite ball down the hallway. She ran after it, and even though Poppy got to it first, which is rare, Scout looked so much better that I thought she was on the mend from whatever ailed her, so I took Jeff to the vet instead.
Wrong decision.
When I left for the vet with Poppy and Jeff, we could hear Scout barking indignantly from my bedroom where I’d locked her in. By the time we came back she was flatter. She didn’t eat dinner.
The dogs sleep in my room, which turned out to be a good thing when she threw up twice in the middle of the night. It was clear that her stomach hadn’t absorbed anything for at least a day and a half. She lay in her bed, moaning softly.
I was at the vet practically banging on the door at 8AM.
When the vet rang me at 2PM, he said that she wasn’t in a good way. They were so concerned about her that they’d rushed her bloodwork by courier to be tested. The results weren’t great. They’d given her a barium drink, and even after 2 hours the xrays showed only the barest trace had escaped from her stomach. There was clearly something in the way.
I okayed the surgery over the phone, but he insisted that I come in to discuss it. After I got over the phone I said to the boys, “I get the feeling he’s giving us the chance to say goodbye, just in case.” So all 3 of us went down.
I’ve never seen a dog look so sick, and I’ve owned a lot of dogs and been in quite a few vet surgeries in my time. She’s such a little scrap of a thing and dehydration hits little dogs (and humans) hard. She barely reacted to us being there, which we assumed was due to her being sedated, but the vet said that she had only had mild pain relief. This wasn’t sedation. This was how she was.
She looked as if she had retreated into herself.
The vet said it would be three hours until he could ring us. As luck would have it, yesterday was the only day I’ve ever left my phone at work, so he’s communicating with us through Ryan24’s phone. I can’t talk directly to my friends, only through Messenger, so I guess that’s why I’m writing this to you. I have to communicate somehow. Besides, she’s been in so many photos
It’s funny though, how even in the midst of intense worry, life has its own weird sense of humour.
About an hour after her operation started, I said to Ryan24, “I just don’t want your phone to ring until about 5:30. That’ll mean she’s made it through the operation.”
I then thought to myself, ‘I shouldn’t have said that. It’s tempting fate.’
Then, not one minute later, his phone rang.
We looked at each other and my eyes filled. Neither one of us wanted to pick up. Finally, I did.
It was a damned salesman trying to sell Ryan24 – a student without a house of his own – some subsidised solar panels. We had to smile, but it was from utter relief.
Never Tempt Fate. Fate doesn’t have a very good sense of comedic timing.
Anyway, I’ll press ‘publish’ on this. I should be hearing from the vet within this next hour. Please keep our little girl in your thoughts – she needs all the goodness she can get.
Thanks.
FRIDAY MORNING: I just talked with the vet. He went in to check on her at 10PM last night and said that she was lethargic but stable. This morning when I rang he sad that she’s turned the corner. She’s wagging her tal, they’ve taken the drip off her – I was so pleased about this one because it proves she’s feeling better – and they’ll be test-feeding her today to see if she can keep food down.
If she continues o do well, she might be coming home tonight.
If I wasn’t typing this in front of a class I’m subbing, I’d be dancing for joy.
Fingers and toes crossed for your little girl ❤️
She’s crossed the first hurdle. Now we wait and see if she can overcome the rest.
She’s only two and a half and she was fearsomely strong before this happened. I’m hoping that the odds are on her side.
I’m keeping a good thought for your Scout. I’m so sorry this happened! 🙁
She survived the surgery… she’s not out of the woods but this was a huge hurdle.
So hard 🙁 I’m thinking of you and Scout!
Thanks. I’m hoping I don’t get an early morning phone call this morning. The vet said to call around 9 to see how she is.
I missed this post yesterday. So sorry to hear about Scout….she’s such a sweetie. I hope the news is good news.
Just came here from FIRE blog. It’s lunchtime now. I guess you’re at school now. Keep us updated about Scout. Hope the news is good. I’ll check back here regularly.
OMG I was so relieved to hear your update!
I’ve got my fingers crossed that the weekend goes well and things are back on track ASAP.
It’s now Saturday afternoon. She’s still pretty sleepy, but when I went to take the recycling out, she trotted and grabbed her ball to take outside.
I think she’s going to be fine. 🙂
Sorry to hear about your pups! We lost our 12 year old dog last year and it was tough on everyone in the family.
Any news?
Fortunately, Scout survived. She’s very quiet and we’re letting her rest as much as she wants.
Old dogs are lovely. I know what you mean about it being tough when they go.