Wild and Stressful Week

Some of you may be wondering where I’ve been all week, well hopefully this will explain it (though those of you who follow me on FB already know most of the story).
This week has been a bit of an emotional and stress roller coaster with Shayne.  On Sunday evening, while I was teaching classes, she presented with some restlessness and wanting to go outside frequently.  This wasn’t terribly concerning as it happens on occasion and she was otherwise acting pretty normal.  Very early the next morning she got up and vomited multiple times in a row all over the house–we didn’t notice until it was time to get up in the morning. My first thought was an obstruction but she hadn’t gotten into anything so I sort of pushed that to the side.  She was mopey and sluggish in the morning but had perked up enough by noon to go with me on my dog walk appointments and was acting quite normal.  I fed her some rice and chicken and she gobbled it down readily.
When she slept through the night on Tuesday and woke up without vomiting, I felt much better about her condition–really made me feel like obstruction was not as likely.  I felt even better when she eagerly ate a frozen kong stuffed with rice and chicken.  She was acting pretty normal all of Tuesday and had a normal poop in the morning.  Everything seemed fine until the evening time.
Since she had been good all day, I agreed to meet a friend for a walk.  Both Shayne and Rio excitedly jumped in the car and were ready to go!  We drove to the park and got out of the car, Shayne took a piece chicken before we started walking as we all got situation.  We weren’t more than 100ft from the car when Shayne refused a piece of chicken–this raised a big red flag but she was still at the end of the leash wanting to walk, so I let it go.  She starting munching grass much more than normal but was still ready to go.  She needed to potty pretty early on during the walk and it was NOT a normal poop–I will spare you all the details, but it was yucky.  She kept wanting to eat grass so we turned around and drove home.
Shayne was back to acting wonky when we got home, nothing horrible–no pacing, panting, whining–but was just off.  I made a vet appointment for the next day with her normal vet (soonest they could get me in) but after talking to a few friends I was considering more and more taking her to the emergency vet.  I made the decision to rush her to the e-vet when I went into the kitchen, opened the freezer door and she didn’t rush to see if I was getting her dinner out.
I pulled together a quick “go-bag” with her muzzle, a mat, and her blood work from last year and rushed to the e-vet, which is LUCKILY only a few minutes down the road.

She was very nervous when we got there but all the mat-work training paid off because she was able to lay on her mat calmly in the waiting room (which was surprisingly busy at about 8:30pm).  She was by no means relaxed or comfortable but she was not pacing or panicking, which is a good thing.  We talked to the vet, who took a history of the situation.  She decided that x-rays were the best ‘next step’ for her so Shayne had to go into the back.
It was more than an hour wait until the vet came back with the results of the x-rays and there was no definitive obstruction in her intestines but there were a few strange bubbles in one of the loops, which was slightly enlarged.  This was indicative of a potential foreign body or something that could cause a potential obstruction.  Their suggestion was to leave her over night and they would give her sub-q fluids to get things moving and in the morning they would take more x-rays to see if it had been able to pass.
It really tore me up leaving her alone when I knew just how terrified she was but it had to be done and I knew she’d be in the best hands.  They offered to let me see her before leaving but I decided not to because I didn’t want her to get her hopes up that I was taking her home and I knew that I was an emotional wreck and she’d absolutely feel it and probably make her MORE scared that she already was.  So at 11pm, I FINALLY left the emergency vet and drove home… without my Shayne-y.
I didn’t sleep much Tuesday night to say the least and I was rather mopey all day Wednesday.  I must have broken down in tears once every 20 minutes thinking of my girlie.  I called a few times to get updates from the techs to see what Shayne’s condition was because I was a very worried momma.
A bit before noon, I was so excited when I FINALLY got a phone call from the vet currently tending to her to get a full update.  The morning set of x-rays did not show the same bubbles or enlarged loop of intestine.  It seems that whatever was in there had passed.  Before discharging her they wanted to make sure she could keep down food so they had fed her a few times and as long as she kept it down I could pick her up in the late afternoon.  I was so excited that I’d be able to get her home!
I got to e-vet and paid the balance of the bill and waited for them to retrieve my baby girl.  When they brought her out she was SO terrified.  She was slinking on the floor, eyes dilated, panting, tail tucked, and frantically moving.  She didn’t even see me at first she was so concerned about the environment.  When she finally noticed me she practically threw herself into my shins with a low wagging tail.  Poor baby girl.

We drove the few minutes home and we weren’t on the couch for 30 seconds before she was completely passed out snoring next to me.  Poor girl probably slept just about as well as I did that night.
Thursday she was back to 85% of her normal self and I’m sure today will be even better.  It has been an incredibly stressful few days for both of us but I feel so lucky that she got to come home with me.  On Tuesday night, before I left the ER, two families before me left in tears without their pets.  I really am so thankful that she recovered pretty easily and feel really lucky that I have kept my credit card empty so I could cover the very high price tag for her care.
Although I expected a high bill, it was much higher than I expected, considering she didn’t end up needing an ultra sound or surgery.  In an effort to help be able to pay off the bill, I will be having a tug-toy and training lesson sale  in the very near future to help make some extra money.  So, if you are a tug toy fan or are in need of training lessons, keep an eye out for the announcement on SJC’s Facebook Page.