Aw Crap.

Well, I've been out of the blogging mindset for a few days as we muddled through nursing Brea back to health. But I felt that a little update would be called for...

Last Friday was a particularly difficult day; Brea had been having diarrhea for the two days preceding that. It was most noticeable because she left the evidence right in front of the back door either while we were sleeping or at work. Early Friday morning she even woke me up at 2 am in a panic to go outside. After a phone call from Scott while I was at work telling me he found some sort of doggie-mess in the backroom again, I called my vet. I'm really happy with my vet- in fact Dr. Nichols is the first vet that I've had in Tucson that I have liked and trusted. Unfortunately they were moving their offices the following week to a new location so they would be closed (figures). The vet tech told me to withhold food from Brea for 24 hours, and if it was still bad by Sunday to find find another doctor to bring her to for help because they wouldn't be open.

I was okay with this, because from the advice I had gotten from her, it seemed like giving Brea's belly a rest from food would help to clear it up. I was really trying to be positive and not think about all of the horrible things that COULD be wrong with her (Damn you, Google!) I called my boss from work and asked him if he had a good vet (he's a dog person like us) and even called his vet to schedule an appointment for Brea on Monday morning.

I felt a little better when I got home; I even bought her some Gateraid to pour into the ice cube trays for some electrolyte replenishing treats. Scott looked a little grim when I walked in, and showed me a new mess (outside this time) that he had just found. And it really was blood. I followed Brea around the backyard as she tried to go to the bathroom, hoping that it wasn't from her... Only when I actually saw her pass blood I started to freak out. Thank goodness Scott was there and was able to calm me down. I honestly am a real pansy when it comes to blood- especially when it has anything to do with someone I care for. I've actually passed out at the sight of it- which was always strange to me because my mom was an ER nurse at a city hospital the entire time I was growing up. You would think that exposure for me would have given me a stronger stomach. But oh well.

I called my boss's vet- But of course at this time it was after hours and the beginning of the weekend. Which translated into if we wanted Brea to have medical attention sometime before Monday (which they really felt she needed, and I agreed) then we would have to use their emergency service. I give the receptionist credit for warning me beforehand that it would be $85 just to walk in there- before they even examined her... But what can you do? My lovely little dog was in obvious distress (Scott said she spent the whole day in the bathroom and when we checked on her she looked REALLY bad) and was passing blood.

My first shock was when we got to the vet and they weighed her. I had brought Brea to my vet the week before we left for vacation to refill her pee-pee medicine (and incidentally they performed a blood test and urinalysis that both came back squeaky clean) But he weighed her and she came in at a whopping 73 lbs. Which was 2 lbs lighter than the last time she came in- right after her knee injury and she had been immobile. The vet told me she was a chub-a-lub and needed to lose 12 lbs, but he would settle for 3 lbs in 3 months. If she didn't lose the weight by then, they'd have to check her thyroid. Good enough. But that Friday night in the ER, she weighed 65 lbs. She had lost 8 lbs in probably about three days. That totally scared me.

They were really great, though. I ran through every possible explanation I could give them about why she was so sick: from her love of chewing on rocks (equaled a $200 belly X-Ray) to Doggie Beach in San Diego and the river in Michigan (maybe she drank too much of the water and ingested some kind of parasite?) They did the X-Rays, blood test and checked her dookie. When they showed me the results (the blood test was again squeaky clean) and her X-Rays, everything looked good. No belly full of rocks. But the poo did show a ton of mean little bacteria and white blood cells. So, essentially she had a pretty nasty bacterial infection that could be treated with a slew of antibiotics and "bland" food. They couldn't say for sure why she was sick (and it was blood that she was passing) but they felt confident she would be better. Thank you and that will be $600.

I was so relieved, but it was when they told me she was fixable that I finally lost it and started crying right there. The whole 3 hours we were there I had tried to remain light and positive, but once they said she was going to be okay, I was just so relieved. Everyone (even Scott) looked at me a bit strangely, but I couldn't help it. When they showed me her X-Rays, my fear was that they were going to tell me they found some nasty tumor, and that they were sorry and there was nothing they could do for her. Ugh. I was just so relieved.

I've had Brea for 9 years, since she was this little, fat, bear cub of a puppy. We've been through a lot in those 9 years, too. And we have put each other through a lot. Even as a puppy I spent more time with her in a vet's office than I'd like: At 6 months she had Pyometra, and then shortly after had a serious allergic reaction to her vaccinations (which made her face and tongue swell up twice the size and landed her two days in the hospital.) She has incontinence (thought by the vet to be a by-product of the Pyometra) and tore her ACL. Now this.

And she put up with me a lot: moving her thousands of miles west from New York, into a place that is hell-hot, and has prickly cactus, and no snow or grass (her favorites). And Milo (although we got him because of her- oh well) I know she's 9 and that it is inevitable, but I won't be ready for the vets to tell me there's nothing they can do for her for a very very long time.

Anyway, she's doing so much better. For the last 4 days she has been on her antibiotics and on a "bland" diet consisting of cooked rice and yogurt (which she LOVES!) Today I was able to mix in some Iams dry food as well, and by the end of the week she should be back to regular meals. And she's acting starved- and spunky. I can't help but think that although it sucked that she had to lose 8 lbs because she was really really sick, it might be a blessing in disguise for her arthritis and knee!