Just got back from the emergency vet

Cesare Borgia · 06-27-2009, 05:03 PM

Today got off on the wrong foot, i woke up to a couple piles of diarrhea with a LOT of blood mixed in, a short time after that while i was looking up a walk in vet, she did it again in front of the door.

After i found a vet, i was on my way with Sam to go get checked over, it's odd because she seemed perfectly fine other than the extreme amount of blood in her stools, her tail was still wagging and she was looking forward to the car ride.

After we got there, Sam had another accident on the floor in the exam room so the vet could see what we were dealing with, the vet did a parvo test that came back negitive and a hook worm test that came back clean.

It turned out that somehow Sam had torn up her intestines, my suspicion is the rawhide bone she wolfed down splintered and since she has been eating the new brand of food i bought her and had diarrhea there was nothing to cushion the jagged bone in her intestines, after returning from the vet i all but confirmed it when i looked in her crate where she likes to sleep, i found jagged pieces of the rawhide she had puked up recently.

The vet told me to not let her eat anything until Monday and when i DO feed her, to give her Instant potatoes mixed with low fat Cottage Cheese for 5 days, they gave me some powder with the type of good fungus that yogurt has and said to put it n her food to help the healing, i got antibiotics to avoid an infection and a couple other things as a precaution.

Before leaving they gave Sam some fluids under her skin so that she would be less likely to be dehydrated, now she is packing a little extra bulk (like a camel) with the added fluid, i am also giving her Pepto Bismol to help with the diarrhea and stomach in the meantime.

They said that surgery did not seem to be needed but she gave me her cell number just to be 100% safe and told me to call any time, day or night, in the end i owed about $205 for the vet trip (which is a great price in my opinion)

Ill be keeping a close eye on Sam for quite a while now, hopefully she will heal up nicely and be back to normal soon.

FourIsCompany · 06-27-2009, 05:49 PM

Wow. That's pretty scary. I'm glad it didn't turn out to be more serious. And $205 is a pretty great price. Sounds like a pretty nice vet. I hope Sam is feeling better soon.

lexilu · 06-27-2009, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cesare Borgia

..... i am also giving her Pepto Bismol to help with the diarrhea and stomach in the meantime.

Did your Vet tell you to give Pepto Bismol? It contains aspirin, which is not great for dogs. You want to ask about Immodium, which is what our vet ususally suggests. Hope your girl feels better soon

Renoman · 06-27-2009, 05:58 PM

That's scary! Good thing you got Sam to the vet right away. I'm glad to hear she'll be fine with a little TLC and some meds.

Your vet bill was great! I never get out the door that easily.

I hope you threw out any other rawhides you had hidden away.

Cesare Borgia · 06-27-2009, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lexilu

Did your Vet tell you to give Pepto Bismol? It contains aspirin, which is not great for dogs. You want to ask about Immodium, which is what our vet ususally suggests. Hope your girl feels better soon

Pepto was the vets recommendation, i read on other sites that it's not that great but in the long run, the vet thinks its the best idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renoman

That's scary! Good thing you got Sam to the vet right away. I'm glad to hear she'll be fine with a little TLC and some meds.

Your vet bill was great! I never get out the door that easily.

I hope you threw out any other rawhides you had hidden away.

ohhh yea, i threw ALL the rawhide out, i took the blanket with the jagged rawhide pieces from the dog throwing up and showed the vet, she had mentioned Hemorrhagic gastro-enteritis and it seems to fit the symptoms, i am not 100% sure if diarrhea was a direct cause of it though, i had recently changed foods and that is when the runny poop started.

My theory is that she ate the rawhide to fast and since she was not pooping solid at the time there was nothing to act as a "cocoon" around the sharp pieces of rawhide as the moved through the intestines.

The vet had mentioned how it's a good sign that touching her belly does not seem to cause her any pain, she was happy go lucky at the vet up until she got her temperature taken and had to get the rectal swab for the parvo test, i think she felt violated, she kinda looked back at the vet like "Hey....what the hell are you doing?", she was a bit reserved after that, once they started giving her the IV fluids she seemed to be in a good mode, she just laid back and soaked up the attention, when they came out of the back room she came walking out with the "Whole body wag" like she had just had a great time.

for the amount of blood that came out of her, i was pretty surprised at how normal she seemed, right now she is laying down on the sofa getting some rest with a towel under her since the extra fluids are making her slobber like crazy, they gave her a shot to help her not puke so i imagine it has made her tired.

They said to keep an eye on her and call if she seems depressed or lethargic, as a bonus, if i have to take her back up again over something related to my last visit, the cost is free. Personally, i think i found a vet I'm going to keep.

alphadoginthehouse · 06-27-2009, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cesare Borgia

Personally, i think i found a vet I'm going to keep.

Well, at least something "good" came out of this horrible experience. I'm glad Sam is going to be ok. The vision in my head of the "body wag" is just so cute.

It's amazing how animals (and small children) can bounce back so quickly. Keep us posted.

Rowdy · 06-27-2009, 08:15 PM

That's a very scary day. I'm glad Sam's going to be OK. The vet sounds terrific.

Renoman · 06-28-2009, 09:57 AM

Yup, that vet's a keeper.

Cesare Borgia · 06-28-2009, 12:38 PM

Quick update, She is up and around today, she seems pretty hungry but she is not supossed to eat until tomorrow, she has not pooped at all since coming from the vets yesterday afternoon but im sure that it because she has no ate anything, also, so far there is no more blood and she seems to be in a better mood judging from her tail wagging.

alphadoginthehouse · 06-28-2009, 01:40 PM

Thanks for the update CB. Glad she's doing so much better. It's so scary when our dogs are sick...

Cesare Borgia · 06-29-2009, 01:29 PM

She had a good day yesterday, regardless of her being hungry and not being able to eat she seemed to have much more energy that the day before, she even tried play wrestling with me a couple times, we went outside a few times just to walk around a bit and she had a blast going next door to see all the kids, after that she laid in the grass for a little while and caught some sun rays, later that night she and the other pup chased a laser light around for a little while before going to sleep.

Today she started the Instant potato and low fat cottage cheese diet, today is the first day of 5 days she will be eating that (5 small meals a day), she got a cup of potatoes and a cup of cottage cheese but did not eat it all, I'm going to give her less in another hour or so.

What seems funny to me is that the other dog has not ate much since I took Sam to the vet, i don't think anything is wrong with her other than her food is no longer in the same place, i had been feeding her in the washroom so that Sam does not have to watch her eat, do you guys think the location change could be why she has not wanted to eat? its weird because i can get her to eat a little bit but i have to hand feed her since she wont take it from the bowl. I did give her some potatoes and cottage cheese as well when i fed Sam and she ate most of what i gave her.

Elana55 · 06-29-2009, 02:02 PM

most likely the lack of competition is why she is not eating as much. Two dogs (or cats) eating next to each other will eat more food quicker than they will alone.

Glad it all.. ahem.. came out OK....

Cesare Borgia · 06-29-2009, 02:19 PM

That makes sense seeing how i almost never see just one of them at the feeding area alone, when they eat they tend to eat together.

Cesare Borgia · 07-01-2009, 10:58 PM

Quick update, Sam seems to be doing great, she just had her first bowel movement since coming back from the vet on the 27th of last month, everything looked as it should, no longer runny and not even a trace of blood this time, she is back to her old self and acting as she always did now.

One thing i would like to recommend for people who need something for their dog's stomach when they have diarrhea or a stomach bug is product by purina called "FortiFlora".

I would ask you vets about it if your pet is prone to diarrhea, it seems to have done wonders for Sam, here is the benefits:

Contains guaranteed amounts of live active cultures (like in yogurt but more concentrated)
Proven to promote intestinal health & balance
Nutritional Supplement for dietary management of dogs with diarrhea
Promotes a healthy immune system

Anyhow, what i have is a box of 30 packets, each packet contains a powder to sprinkle on food, it's a 30 day supply. I can't say that it alone is what has helped Sam but i am sure it's playing a large part in it, between that and the bland diet she seems to be doing great (she is also on antibiotics and something else that escapes me at the moment)

I can't even express how relived i am right now to see that Sam was able to do her biz without any blood or parts of her insides coming out again, when i seen what had came out of her before going to the vet i thought for sure she was not going to live to see the next day. As long as she keeps going in the direction she is going, she will be back to 100% in no time.