Tired of the Vet

Well, last night found me at the vet yet again.  Of course, out of all the dogs in our house, it was Cody who was sick.  This time was fairly serious too, and I'm very happy we took him in.  If anything, it allowed me to rest better.

Yesterday morning I woke up early to go on my jog (week 5 now).  I was already in a crabby mood because the morning just seemed to start out wrong, but when I walked to my treadmill I noticed a bit of vomit on the floor.  Actually, there were two spots.  Cody has a fairly week stomach and will occassionally get sick, so I just sighed, cleaned it up and went back to the treadmill.  I turned the treadmill on, and Cody, who usually runs away at this point stood there for half a second before vomiting again...all the food he had eaten the night before.  He walked a few paces and got sick a 4th time for the day.  Well, I knew he wasn't feeling well, so I made sure Shadow gave him some space, loved on him a bit, and then went back to my jog.  I started my jog, and about 5 minutes into it Cody was sick twice more.

At this point little alarm bells were going off, but I knew he hadn't gotten into anything, so I just figured he had a little stomach bug.  Still, just to be safe, I took him along with me that morning.  I kept him as cool as possible and made sure he didn't have any contact with other dogs, and after a mere 2 hours he really seemed to be doing better.  Great!  He just wasn't feeling well, and now he's better.  I'll take him home for the day.

I got him home and he just seemed to back track.  He started acting lethargic and all around miserable.  I thought, "well, I'd be kind of miserable if I'd vomited 7 times in a morning.  He's probably just tired."  While I was worried, I thought it would be best for him to stay home for the rest of the day.  I was in constant contact with Hans and I made sure he called me as soon as he got home to check on Cody.

Five-thirty and Hans was home.  Cody had greeted him, but seemed not quite as excited, still he seemed ok.

At six-thirty Hans called to say that Cody had vomited a few more times and now there was blood in it.  Thank God it was Wednesday night, because the vet was open later.  I told him to put Cody in the car, take him to the vet, and I'd meet him there.  All of my evening appointments were then cancelled.

After getting to the vet and chatting a bit, Hans and I realized that from the time we went to bed the night before until 7:00  that evening, Cody had vomited 14 times.  That's a lot for anyone, but especially a 50 lb dog.  He'd had water, but had vomited it up.  He was not doing well, and now there was more to worry about.

What could have been wrong:  Twisted stomach (aka bloat), foreign body, stomach virus, stomach bacteria, diabetes, anemia, and something else that I wouldn't even be able to pronounce, much less spell.  Plus, due to all the sickness, we were worried about how dehydrated he was.

The vet took him to the back for x-rays and blood work.  Hans was smart enough to bring a stool sample and a vomit sample, so they tested that as well.  While they were back there they also gave him some sub-cutaneous fluids.

While I paced the room nervously, Hans tried to keep me distracted.  Sorry sweetie!  I wanted my baby boy back.  After everything was said and done, we found that yes, he was a little dehydrated, but nothing too horrible, and NO!   He was not suffering from bloat.  Hurray!!!  There also weren't any foreign bodies and all other tests came back fairly normal.  Phew!  It's most likely just a stomach virus or bacteria.  Huge sigh of relief!

When we got home Cody pretty much passed out.  I held him and tried to keep him comfortable.  This morning and today, Cody seems much improved, but he's obviously still not feeling well.  He's drinking water and keeping it down, but he's not really up for eating.  I have to say, though, after vomiting 14 times I don't blame him for not eating now.  Today, I'll just let him rest and have a relaxing day.  Hopefully he'll be back to his normal self by next week.

For those of you in the Richmond vicinity, I use Dr. Locke A Taylor.  His office and staff are fantastic, and they really know their stuff.  I dread the day Dr. Taylor retires, but I'm sure his staff will continue to do amazing work.  Thank you to Dr. Taylor (and Dr. Peace, the doctor who treated Cody yesterday) for all that you have done and all I'm sure you will do.