As I've already shared with you, we have three dachshunds. Darwin, while the middle in age, was the first dog we got. We've had him since just before we got married, so he's just over 5 years old (we'll have been married 5 years this summer), and he is notorious for having medical issues. First off, he's a vaccine reactor. When he got his first puppy shots at 6 weeks, his face swelled up and we had to pump him full of benadryl to make it go away. Now every time he gets vaccines, we have to drop him off, give him an IV catheter and administer antihistamine injections. Fun. He also has a crazy weak stomach. He eats grass all the time, pukes on every car ride, and pretty much can't eat anything other than dog food. We love him to death, but he's a handful.
Well, right around the time that we were dealing with Corgan's diaper rash issues, Darwin hurt his back. Talk about good timing. I told you about it back in February, and now we've lived through it. Three week of isolation for a hyperactive dachshund is NOT fun. We actually had to have the vet prescribe a tranquilizer so that he would stay calm in the kennel. Not only was he annoying as all get out, but he kept jumping around in the teeny tiny kennel to get our attention. Not good for his back.
For three weeks, we had to have him kenneled away from his brother and sister, carry him outside, prevent him from running around, feed him in his kennel, and hear him whine. He was not a happy camper. On March 3 we let him out a day early, and our lives returned to somewhat normal. Then, last week he started whimpering again. Not a good sign. This time, though, there was another symptom. Vomit. Lots of it. And shaking. Lots of it. Oh, did I mention we had just sprayed the yard with weed killer?
While Stuart was calming Darwin down, I was calling poison control at 9 o'clock at night, because we all now that emergencies never happen at a sane hour. They looked up the lot number from the product we used and told us that the product was considered one of the lower toxin ones and it shouldn't be causing his problem. The yard had had about 6 hours in the sun to dry and it had rained the next night (it wasn't even killing the weeds) so he should be in the clear. They recommended taking him to the vet the following day if the vomiting was still going on. Morning came, and the vomiting was still going on.
Stuart took in Little Man that afternoon, and the vet agreed with poison control. Apparently with the ground warming up, there is often bacterial growth of all kinds that can get dogs sick, especially ones like Darwin who have sensitive systems. They administered sub-q fluids, gave Darwin some anti-nausea injections, and sent him home. Have you ever given a pet sub-q fluids? It's rather Hunchback-of-Notre-Dame until the sack of fluid right under the skin slides down the side of your animal. You can see the small hump that was still there the next day. You can also tell that Darwin did not want his picture taken.
We put him back in the isolation kennel (you do not want to clean three dogs who are covered in vomit, believe me) and went about cooking his dinner. Yes. Cooking his dinner. Darwin was ordered to a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice while his illness was working its way out of his system. After a few days, he completely recuperated and is a happy camper again. For now. It won't be long until the next illness. Believe you me.
No comments:
Post a Comment