This picture was taken during our visit to the emergency vet a few weeks after we got Lucy. I still don't like to look at this picture and I had not even downloaded it from my phone. This was very scary and not a trip that any dog lover wants to make. We still don't know for sure exactly what she got into but we think it may have been something she ate while in the yard.
We came home on a Friday afternoon after being out for a short time. She had been in her playpen during the time we were out so there was no way she could have gotten into anything during that time. One of the boys was over and we all walked outside and let her romp a little with the other boys. We supervise every time she goes outside and we did see her try and eat a clump of dirt but that was it. We came back inside and she was playing with her toys and acting normal when all of sudden she had a horrible upset stomach all over the floor. Up to this point she had not even had a loose stool. I was immediately concerned but things got worse quickly. She immediately started throwing up over and over. Within about 30 minutes she went from a happy puppy to one who was seriously ill. We put her in her playpen and offered her some water and cleaned up her face. She continued to throw up and she became very lethargic.
We had already grilled steaks for dinner and we just put it all away and didn't even eat. I called the emergency vet and they advised that we have her looked at because it could be Parvo. She had already begun her shots which included Parvo, but they advised that didn't mean she was completely vaccinated. She was a little over 10 weeks at this time. We put her in her crate and rushed to the emergency vet about 15 minutes away. During the drive she cried out (she never does that) and then stopped moving for a bit. I just knew she was gone and I believe she had a seizure. When we got to the vets office her face was covered in drool to the point is was dripping from her mouth and face. Her whole head was soaked and she was so very sick.
At this point I am thinking she won't make it through the night. I have never seen a puppy this sick, ever. They took us right back to isolate Lucy from the other dogs just in case she was contagious. That particular night the ER vet was extremely busy and we waited for over 2 hours to even get someone to come in and do triage. Well my Hubby is no nonsense and to him a dog is a dog and Lucy improved during that time and after they told us it would be impossible to say when she would be seen he made the decision that we should take her home and see our vet at Banfield in the morning.
I was heart sick but I knew he was probably right. She would either get better or she was too sick to help. We came home and put her in her play pen and she slept all night not moving around much at all. I was afraid to even look in the pen in the morning but she was her usual bouncing self ready to go out with the big dogs to potty. She saw her regular doctor the following week and was just fine.
We will probably never know what made her so sick but I learned an important lesson. I put away anything that could be ingested and I watch her or secure her in a safe place like our bedroom when I can't watch her. She will eat anything she can get in her little mouth and I have pulled all kinds of things out of there. They truly are like unruly toddlers and it is our job to protect them. Just like with human babies, you have to get on their level and look around, put away pesticides, cleaners, foods that could be poisonous to them. I sometimes wonder how puppies survive that are put outside to live. She is 7 months old now and doing just fine and she still will eat anything but it is getting easier to teach her and she listens better every day.
No comments:
Post a Comment