The Dog Days of Summer

Our summer started off quite interesting, with a huge four day road trip. It only got more interesting. Again, we are never boring! More details to come on the little boy, but here is a little tidbit on Slugger.

One night, Brian noticed that Slugger was unusually thirsty. He thought he must just be hot, he is covered in fur after all!

The next morning, Slugger once again went straight for his water bowl and drank like he had been in the desert. Again, must just be hot-it has been 100 degrees in the shade, plus humidity around here. He ate his breakfast and went to the bathroom, so he must be fine.

We noticed that Slugger was kind of mopey and was laying in corners that he did not usually frequent. However, no real extreme markers that something was wrong. Then he had an accident downstairs. That has not happened since we first brought him home! In the commotion, we learned from our nurse that he had thrown up in the house the night before while Brian and I were out at Costco (recent version of a hot date). That would have been good information! So we know that Slugger is not feeling like himself. I keep him close and watch him.

As the day goes on, he is still somewhat sluggish but will come when called and has been outside. Dinnertime rolls around and he refused to eat. MAJOR red flag! This dog is totally motivated by food. Usually he practically inhales his dinner. In training, we were even told, "If Slugger doesn't eat, you know something is wrong". I went over and started to examine him. Since we are working on bonding and I do not touch Slugger, I did not notice that his abdomen was distended earlier. I felt and it was tight and bloated. I was praying that his stomach had not flipped and knew that we had to go to the hospital. I hoped that it was just bloat, but had no idea what he could have eaten. Brian got home and Slugger and I headed to the Pet ER. Cole was super worried and anxious about where I was taking him. He has never really been away from him, especially at night.

I do like the facility. They make it seem like a posh hotel with couches, nice rugs, arm chairs and art every where. They even have oncologists, neurologists, opthamologists, internal medicine doctors, etc here...for pets! The desk is super long with all of the departments, but we wanted this one.
We checked in and got set up in a room. Slugger was very obedient, but I could tell he was miserable. They took him right back for x-rays and then we had to just hurry up and wait. We hung out in the nicely appointed room while we waited for results. They came back and asked me if I was missing a loaf of bread. What?! The doctor actually said it is quite common. Slugger has been naughty recently and has been eating things that have been on the floor, but I don't think that a dog without opposable thumbs could open my fridge :) His food is in a locked bin in the garage and anything he gets is strictly monitored. One cup, twice a day and only gets treats from Cole or when he is tracking or for seizure alert. I don't think that he could have eaten a huge amount of anything without me knowing!
The x-rays did not show any metal, that is good. Plus, his stomach was in the right position, also good...it was just 3 times its normal size! I saw the films and it was indeed, "Remarkable and absolutely incredible" as the doctor kept saying. Slugger's stomach was so bloated that it had pushed his intestines and colon clear back in to the rear of his body. I would have never really known, had I not felt his stomach. Now I have a kid AND a dog who will not whine or cry when they are in pain. The x-ray could not show exactly what he ate, it just looked like "granular material" aka food. Sluggie is known for loving plastic, but it did not seem like there was any hard object in there, that they could see. I can't wait for technology to be able to just peek inside our bodies without having to cut us open. SO-no emergency surgery for Slugger. Relief! They took him back and gave him huge amounts of IV fluid, so he looked like a hunchback. The doctor wanted to keep him overnight since he would have to go out multiple times to relieve himself of all of that stuff in his stomach. He might throw up and have diarrhea. There was heavy medication on board to help get things moving. I told him that I was not scared of bodily fluids and that we could handle it at our house if he didn't think there was any other reason to keep him. ;) I knew that Cole would be anxious without his buddy and dollar signs were flashing in my head at an overnight stay. So, they set us up for a follow up x-ray the next morning, wished us luck and we were on our way! Slugger almost puked in the car on the way home, but held it in. I had the windows down and was driving as fast as I could without breaking the law just trying to get him home. He must have had nausea like a first-trimester pregnant woman. I laid out a sheet for Slugger and kept him in my room, taking him out multiple times that night. When Cole woke up, he was so happy to have his Sluggie back!

We went back for the follow up x-ray and his stomach was empty. We will never know what he ate, there is no evidence that is was anything abnormal. I am just glad he is okay. All of my boys keep me on my toes! I feel like Ellie from UP with my fist in the air and screaming, "Adventure is out there!" Come and find it at our house :)