Sunday, January 25, 2015

Our poor pooches

Recently our dogs have taken us on a roller coaster of health concerns. First Dozer lost interest in food; then Jackson threw up, then Dozer went through a couple days of occasionally yelping for no discernible reason, then Jackson threw up again. That last one happened Friday evening, and things went downhill from there. Jackson woke us to go outside every hour to hour and a half, and by morning was weak, listless, and dehydrated. Before we left for church Saturday morning, Rick ran some fluids with glucose sub-Q; when we got home Jackson was feeling slightly perkier but still had bloody, mucousy diarrhea and no interest in food. His temp was normal, so it appeared to be a bad case of enteritis.
Dozer couldn't figure out what was wrong with his buddy!

Finally, by Saturday night, he was willing to eat some white rice.

This morning, Jackson ate some more rice and was much perkier. He still had diarrhea, but was clearly on the mend; I am so relieved!

Happy to have healthy hounds again at . . .

12 comments:

Mama Pea said...

Do you suppose they both had the same "bug" and it affected each differently?

Hoping they both are back to super-good health PDQ!

LannieK said...

Hope they both are doing much better! (and stay healthy)

Debbie said...

Fingers crossed that both are on the mend. If only they could talk.

Michelle said...

Both are acting and eating normally now; thanks for the warm wishes! Since they are buddies, they go everywhere together; if one found some nasty trash to eat, the other was sure to share in it. I have no idea what it was; the neighbors' free-range chickens could have laid eggs on our property that rotted, but that's just one of myriad possibilities. They seem to go through (a lesser) bout of this every year or two....

Susan said...

If they are anything like mine, they will go to the ends of the earth to find the nastiest stuff ever and eat it. I am amazed sometimes that they live through most of it! Glad that they are both on the mend. And glad that you can get some uninterrupted sleep!

Kelly said...

I got pretty worried when I started reading, so I'm relieved this had a happy ending. I've gotten a bit weepy at the thought of a dog passing these days. Still missing my girl.
So glad you have Rick to sort them out so quickly.

Unknown said...

Good to hear the hounds are doing well. Cute pictures!!

Monica said...

I hate it when they're sick. Glad they are feeling better.

Lisa Smith said...

And a roller coaster ride of a post! Isn't amazing how things can look so dire one minute then look up the next? Thank goodness you can handle it at home with the I.V.'s and such. Sometimes I think it can make it seem worse to have to take an already sick and stressed out dog (or cat) to the vet. I am so glad to hear everyone is on the mend!

Michelle said...

I think that is all dogs, Susan!

I know exactly what you mean, Kelly. I am the same way when I read of friends losing their four-legged friends; having been through it makes the memories of losing my own past friends all too fresh.

Thanks, Nancy Kay and Monica.

Yes, Lisa, I agree that transporting a sick animal adds to the stress, and am very thankful Rick can handle most things here.

Mary Ann said...

Thank heavens for Rick!

Unknown said...

One November several years ago, my 2 Aussies went through the same sort of thing as Jackson. Temps were normal, the blood test showed normal liver function. After a weekend at the emergency vet, they started feeling better and recovered just fine. (the pocketbook suffered a nasty blow!) Severe enteritis was the best we could figure too. I had noticed that before that bout, both dogs were snacking on damp, rotting and moldy grass cuttings. I don't know if that was a contributing factor, but I've made sure that grass clippings don't sit around in a pile any more.