One Sick Puppy

I don't even know where to begin, LeeLoo has been in the hospital since Saturday morning and we're scared.

In case you can't tell by our posts, our pets aren't pets, they are family, they are my four legged children. They are an integral part of our lives and family and I'm just lost without my baby here.

A photo of LeeLoo taken Friday afternoon when she started feeling badly. I wasn't too worried at this point.

Friday

On Friday, I noticed that she seemed sleepy that morning. I got up around 7:30, she watched me get up but noticed that Chuckie was still in bed so she just went back to sleep. I didn't think too much of it. Chuckie got up about an hour later and she came down with him, went outside to potty, came back in and got a drink and laid back down. Again, she wasn't as bouncy and lively as normal but nothing that really worried me. She was begging Justice for food, just not really interested in playing. She slept a lot that day. I didn't begin to get worried until around 6 that evening when I noticed she had only gotten up to go outside, she wasn't eating or drinking. I made her some chicken and rice and she ate that and she drank some water when I held the bowl for her. Poor Sugar kept grabbing different toys trying to get her to play but she just didn't want to. By bedtime, I decided if she wasn't chipper by morning, we were going to the vets.

Saturday Morning

Saturday morning around 5:30 I woke her up (I couldn't sleep, I was worried), she was just as lethargic but she wouldn't take any food or water. The only thing I could get into her was an ice-cube. Luckily, we have used the same vet for years and years and have a good friend who is his right hand. I texted her at 6 a.m., describing her symptoms. She said Doctor Shepard would be at the office by 9:15 and not to worry about calling, just be there. So that's what we did, we were sitting in the parking lot at 9 a.m. Doc had us in the office by 9:15. He immediately noticed that her belly was really tender so he wanted to do x-rays, because he was worried that she did what puppies are known for and swallowed something.

After the x-rays, Doc showed them to us and pointed to a suspicious looking shadow in her belly. He thought it might be cloth of some kind, like a sock, rag, or stuffing from a toy. We leaned towards toy stuffing because Sugar rips her toys apart and likes to gut them. We make every attempt to pick it up as soon as it happens, but we're human and could have missed some. He decided that the first thing he would try was getting her to vomit it up. He gave her about 8 c.c.'s of Hydrogen Peroxide to induce vomiting. She did vomit, but just some food came up. He then did another x-ray, and it looked like the shadow had moved. We discussed our next move and he wanted to put her on I.V. fluids and prophylactic antibiotics for several hours, then try to induce her to eat some chicken or hamburger so maybe she would pass whatever was in there, then if that didn't pan out or she seemed to be in too much pain operate to get it out.

As I said we've been using Doctor Shepard for many years and I trust him completely, not to mention he is the absolute best veterinarian in the area, even people in Pittsburgh (a big city almost 60 miles away) have heard about him, so we told him do whatever he thought was best. I also asked if he did have to open her up, if he could spay her at the same time. I was considering breeding her, I would have loved to get one litter out of her, she's a beautiful girl, but since I would have had her spayed after that litter anyway and at a slightly higher risk because she would be full grown and giant breed dogs have very large hearts and anesthetic is risky for them, I figured I only wanted her to go under once if I could. He said as long as the stomach operation didn't take to long (he didn't want her under anesthetic too long) he could definitely do it.

So we went back to the kennel to tell my precious little girl good bye and not to worry she would be feeling better soon and we would be back to get her as soon as she was well. It was obvious how miserable she was, she was in a cage separated from me and not crying and this is the girl who cries if I simply go to the bathroom. I held back my tears, I had to be strong because I didn't want her to pick up on my worry. I signed all the paperwork for surgery and paid our bill and we had to go home without her, it felt so wrong. The waiting and worrying began.

Saturday Evening

That evening, we got an update. She was still in a lot of pain and hadn't eaten anything and didn't even want to go out to go potty. They added some pain medication and were planning on doing another x-ray in the morning and if no changes, doing the surgery. I couldn't stop the tears because I knew my poor baby was suffering and if she missed me half as much as I missed her, she was miserable. All day I felt lost, my little shadow wasn't there. I was dreading going to bed, because she wouldn't be there. I'm sure if she was anywhere but with the best veterinary team that I knew I probably would have got myself a cot and camped out beside her. It got me through, knowing that Doc would be checking in on her throughout the night and in the morning she was going to have surgery and be on the mend.

Sunday Morning

Morning update; you can see the pain and sorrow in her face.

I got an update and photo about 8 a.m. She was in even more pain than the night before, she didn't even want to stand up. As soon as Doc got there she was going to go into surgery, while they were waiting Kelly was giving her plenty of hugs and kisses. When I saw how sad and miserable her little face looked my heart just broke in two. She went into surgery about 8:45. I was relieved she was going to be out of pain soon, and would just have to deal with recovery, but I was a nervous wreck about surgery risks.

Sunday Post-Op

Doc gave me a call about 11 a.m. She was out of surgery, he spayed her while he was in there and she was resting comfortably. The news wasn't good though. She hadn't eaten anything; there was nothing in her stomach, but her right kidney was enlarged. My stomach just dropped. Why was her kidney enlarged? Doc explained that an enlarged kidney causes severe pain. Doc said he was a little concerned. That's never what you want to hear. He explained there were several reasons a kidney could be enlarged. He took some blood and urine samples to send out. He had even run a quick Parvo test, but that was negative. An infection could be the cause, so he added some more antibiotics to the mix. One infection he was testing for specifically was Leptospirosis in Dogs, it's a bacterial infection that affects the liver and kidneys and can be very dangerous although it is treatable with a course of antibiotics. Another possibility could be a congenital kidney disorder which would eventually lead to that kidney getting worse and worse as she ages until the kidney eventually stops functioning. A dog can live with one kidney, but... He promised to leave no stone un-turned and told me everything that was being done was the same as if it was his own dog, Jackie and I had no doubt that it was the absolute truth. LeeLoo was going to be in the hospital for several more days. I had so many things running through my head, so many questions, but mostly I was just drowning in sorrow. I did manage to ask if/when we could come visit her, and sadly he recommended we not come up because of separation anxiety. You see she was calm now, and seeing us but not leaving with us could really upset her and cause more problems. I felt bad, I just wanted to give her a hug, but I will do anything to make sure she gets better. He did say that if she seemed to be getting depressed he may need us to come, but for right now we needed to stay away. My baby could be really sick, I just couldn't think. I thanked him for everything and he told me he would keep my updated.

After about an hour, I was just beside myself and knew I had to ask Kelly what she thought LeeLoo's chances were. It was a question that I didn't want to ask but I had to.

Awake, alert, and resting comfortably following surgery.

She told me she thought she was going to be okay. Okay big sigh of relief. It wasn't a guarantee, but she knows what she's talking about and I trust her. She sent me a picture, and I could see that she was awake and resting comfortably. I didn't feel good, but I did feel better. Then she asked if it was possible that she had fallen or bumped her right side. I explained that her and Sugar play really rough and it's absolutely possible, that she bumped that side. I recounted that a few days earlier Sugar had tossed LeeLoo over her back and LeeLoo hit the step. She made a whoomph sound when she hit, but she jumped back up and went after Sugar again so it didn't worry me. Kelly explained that sometimes, trauma and bruising of the kidney can cause renomegaly (enlarged kidney) Okay great, another possibility that isn't congenital. Kelly also explained that her and Doc were leaning away from congenital because usually with a congenital condition, the kidneys are undersized, which LeeLoo's aren't. I've kept in touch with LeeLoo's breeder and she's been very concerned since LeeLoo went into the hospital and has kept in constant contact, so I was able to find out and share with Kelly; that LeeLoo's mom had three litters, two with LeeLoo's dad and there were never any kidney issues with the pups. I was also able to ask if any of her dogs had ever had or been tested for Leptospirosis, which they hadn't. I'm very grateful that she is a breeder who cares about her puppies so much.

Sunday Evening

Up and walking a little bit. Spending a little time on the porch with Kelly getting some fresh air

I got another photo and update from Kelly, who if I haven't mentioned is supposed to be off work because of a major surgery, but has been going up twice a day to check on LeeLoo for us. She even let LeeLoo know they were the same, both having there bellies cut and LeeLoo should be glad she didn't have staples like she did. This is just one of the things that set this veterinary practice apart, the absolute love they have for their patients. Anyway, LeeLoo was a little better, she walked out to the porch under her own steam. Then her and Kelly hung out on the porch together to get a little fresh air (more above and beyond care!) She was still in pain though. But another positive is that her appetite was coming back. LeeLoo is normally a food fanatic so her not wanting to eat is a really big deal. She was only getting water and a nutritional supplement though, don't want to overwhelm her system. I guess she was really enjoying the nutritional supplement. It really raised my spirits to see her standing, even though her eyes still look sad.

About 9:30 Doc called to give me an update and he said she's still in pain but some of that is surgery pain as well. We again discussed possible causes and he said that from best to worst scenarios, trauma/bruising is the best, with infection next, and congenital the least desirable. I told him about the dogs playing and he said it's quite possible Sugar whacked her a good one. He had another vet coming in in the morning and he was going to confer with him. He said he'd be keeping an eye on her tonight as well and give me an update in the morning. This man is truly a saint, how many vets are not only willing to do surgery over the weekend and watch over your puppy through the night, let alone ensure that you're getting frequent updates. My advice to you is find a vet who makes you feel like they love your pet as much as they do, because while hopefully you'll only ever need to see them for check ups and shots, if something like this happens, it really makes things a little easier.

Kelly then sent me a text, to let me know that she had just finished tucking LeeLoo in and had even gotten a little tail wag from her. I was still a bundle of nerves, but I could at least go to bed without crying.

Oh I almost forgot, my 88 year old uncle (who raised me) called to get an update on LeeLoo and let me know that if I needed any help with the bill to just let him know. You know it touched me so much, here he is almost 90 years old and he's still worrying about taking care of me. I have the best family and friends, so many are offering emotional support and worrying about my girl and when the chips are down, you really see how much people care for you. We tend to take for granted how important our friends and family are to our emotional well being. So another piece of advice, when a friend or family member's pet is ill, let them know you care, take a minute to send a text or make a phone call. It will mean the world to them and help make things easier.

Monday Morning

I'm still really missing my shadow and everyone else is too, well to be honest I think the cats are kind of relieved but everyone else is missing her and worried. I had to go to work this morning and just had a huge knot in my stomach. I hadn't heard anything by around 9, and I started to worry something awful had happened in the night, did I mention I normally have severe anxiety and times of stress just make them that much worse. I go from everything is okay to the apocalypse in 0-60 seconds. Some people are worriers, I'm a basket case. Finally Chuckie told me to just text Kelly or you're going to lose your mind, so I did. Turns out she had already typed out my update, she just forgot to hit send (I can't tell you how many times I've done the same thing!) So anyway, while she's still in pain, LeeLoo looks a little brighter this morning. She walked farther, although she did lay down and cry after a while. She ate really well (YAY appetite !) Doc did confer with the other vet, who is also leaning towards Leptospirosis. That's good and bad news, like I said it can be dangerous but it is treatable. The test results will be in tomorrow, so at least then they will be able to either have an accurate diagnosis or at least rule out some things.

Monday Afternoon

No new updates, but I needed to focus on something because I'm still missing my little girl something fierce, and I'm still worried sick. I'm trying to focus on the positives, like her looking brighter, walking farther, and having an appetite. It also helped that as I was writing this and putting things together, I realized just how blessed I am to have the best people taking care of my precious girl. She's getting love just as if she was with us, but also the best medical care possible and I can't ask for more than that. We've already talked about how we need to make sure we get the staff a gift that suitably expresses just how deeply grateful we are to them (I have plenty of ideas, but as I'm quite sure when all is said and done and LeeLoo is home, my bank account will be a lot lighter, I'm keeping my options open.)

If you're spiritual, say a prayer for LeeLoo and if you aren't send some positive thoughts her way, heck even cross your fingers for us. She can use all the goodwill she can get. I will try and keep updates coming. Especially tomorrow once we get the blood work results back.