Cali has had a rough few days, which means Jeanie and I have had a rough few days...
Monday night, Cali threw up after dinner. She does that on occasion, so we didn't worry too much. Yesterday, she wouldn't eat, and starting having diarrhea. She was also listless and just didn't seem to feel well. By the afternoon, the diarrhea looked like strawberry preserves. At that point, thank goodness, Jeanie got worried and suggested that we take Cali to the vet. I quickly begged off of the work teleconference I was participating in and we drove to the vet.
The vet's first concern was that Cali had Hemorrhagic GastroEnteritis (HGE). She performed a blood test and ruled this out. Cali's temperature was also normal. The working theory was that either Cali was reacting to the steroid she had been prescribed the previous week when she went to the vet after coughing white foam, or she had a bacterial infection. The vet gave Cali some subcutaneous fluids and prescribed an antibiotic and some medicine to treat the nausea/diarrhea. She also suggested that we stop the steroid after one more dose. Per the vet's instructions, we purchased some plain yogurt (for the probiotics) and some cottage cheese. Cali refused everything we offered her. Jeanie ended up staying up with her until 3:00 AM, at which point Jeanie came to bed, and I awoke and came into the office.
By yesterday mid-day, Cali had started eating some and seemed to be feeling better. We found that one teaspoon of yogurt, one teaspoon of cottage cheese and two teaspoons of rice cooked in chicken broth made a good meal for Cali. Right before bedtime, Jeanie noticed that Cali had broken out in a rash over most of her belly. We gave her 1/2 an antihistamine and decided to call the vet in the morning.
So, this morning, we called the vet and reported that the rash had subsided, and that Cali was eating well and seemed to be feeling better. The vet suggested that we stop all medications, and continue feeding her the mixture described above. Everything seemed to be progressing well until this evening, when Cali wouldn't eat her dinner. About an hour later, she started throwing up. She wouldn't vomit very much, and it was clear, but she vomited a number of times. After a couple of hours and much discussion, Jeanie and I decided to give Cali a nausea/diarrhea pill. After a couple more hours and a couple more pukes (in my lap) Cali seemed to start responding to the medication. She hasn't thrown up for a few hours now, but I'm still concerned. Jeanie and Cali are asleep, so hopefully when Cali gets up tomorrow, she will have an appetite. Either way, we will make another call to the vet, as my Internet research seems to indicate that there still might be a bacterial issue in which case I would think we need to resume the antibiotic. I also think the vet should have suggested waiting another day before we started feeding Cali again.
When Sam passed away, I swore I'd never have another dog. I do get great joy from Diego and Cali, but I can't stand the thought of having to go through the pain of eventually losing them. Now I'm starting to think I should have stuck to my convictions.
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Posted by David at May 22, 2009 12:28 AM | Categorized under: A day in the life