Tuesday April 6th 2010 It is 9:15pm and I just arrived home from our local vet. Josie began acting strange at about 5:40 tonight…we did our normal walk in the gully with Gully, my friend Lynn and her standard poodle named Henry. We were at the park for 2 whole hours. When we were done we went to the shop and the girls both got baths…mainly because of the rain we had today and all the mud they schlepped through. We stopped home quick for 2 dry collars and then we were off to the vet…We had a 3:40pm double appointment. Gully needed suture removal for her recent squirrel chasing escapade and Josie needed a CBC count done and faxed down to Madison for follow up on her recent chemotherapy. Both went well.
We arrived home at 4:15pm to find Marsh in the garage riding the recumbant bike. The girls and I went into the workout room and said hello to him and then went into the house to prepare dinner. Of course the girls ate first. I made their favorite gravy food which they both ate and then they laid down in their respective spots in the living room for a little snooze. I fixed supper for Marsh and I after he got out of the shower and we both ate. Marsh cleaned up the kitchen and I let the girls outside for a drink of water and then they went and laid back down.
From here…I dont know what time it was, or how long after the water drinking episode it was…but soon, very soon after she laid down, Josie came and stood in front of me…I thought it was very odd, Gully was out cold….she was exhausted and full bellied….but Josie, was standing, staring at me….I asked her if she had to go potty but she didn’t move. She had just drank and ate, so I knew it wasnt one of those, and then she put her head down and a stream of saliva fell from her mouth. I immediately thought she was nauseated from the chemo…but that was last week Tuesday…could it take a whole week to effect her?
I opened the door and she hopped out on the deck and heaved but nothing came out….I tried to get her to drink, but she wouldnt…then she walked in a circle like she was going to lay down….in the wet grass!!!!!…..this….made no sense to me. She hates getting wet…why would she lay in the wet grass….I thought for sure she was sick from the chemo and called the vet for more pills. It was exactly 5:45 and they close at 6….I could get there in time and save her a night of nausea…
I explained my fear to the receptionist. She put me on hold to got our records and said she would talk to Dr. Angie Madden-Heinzen about the prescription….within 1 minute Dr. Angie was on the phone and her first question…. “Is her stomach distended?” Baffled…I asked her “Are you thinking bloat?” She said yes, that she was….so I palpated her stomach and said, it is bigger, but she just ate….I looked at her from all different angles and felt one way one second and the other way one second after that….She suggested I get something yummy and see if she will swallow it. If she wouldn’t swallow it, that could mean bloat….I ran to the fridge and got some goodis and put it in front of her. Josie smelled it and then turned her head….Well, that didn’t help.
I asked her if it was okay if I just brought her in… “Better safe than sorry” were my exact words. She said of course….so…we loaded up in the Jeep…and off I sped, to the other side of town….as I drove Josie began to pant. Her tongue started hanging out of her mouth and the color of it confirmed to me Dr. Angie’s suspicions, she was losing color. We arrived and Dr. Angie was waiting for us holding the door to an exam room open for us. She felt her stomach and then took Josie to the back room for Xrays…She was right, it was bloat….
At this point, I have two options….surgery or euthanasia….no question in my mind! Immediate surgery I said. Dr. Angie also offered me another surgery option, The Referral Center in Appleton….45 minutes away….I said no, immediate surgery. I waited in the waiting area while the cleaning lady picked garbage cans up off the floor to sweep underneath them and rinsed the coffee machine…..Marsh came and sat with me. I called Brittany and my Mom. I cried….I worried…. 50/50 chance are the odds Dr. Angie gave Josie….
1 hour later…Dr. Angie came out from behind the counter….still drying her arms….the arms attached to the hands that saved my babies life. These doctors are amazing…I am so blessed to have this knowledgeable woman live in my hometown and know…over the phone the life threatening condition that has just taken over my dog. She diagnosed her twice….One month ago she looked at the lump on her wrist and said.. “I am afraid it is Osteosarcoma”, and she was right….and today….over the phone…. “Is her stomach distended?” Cats have nine lives, my precious Josie has had three so far, thanks to Dr. Angela Madden-Heinzen.
I waited in the lounge about 15 more minutes while they got Josie settled into yet another kennel and then Dr. Angie came out to announce that Josie was “now taking visitors”. She looked amazing…still drugged, but happy to see me. I laid on the floor with her for about an hour, caressing her, kissing her and whispering to her how much I loved her and what a good girl she was….all this while Dr. Angie stepped over us and took vitals.
Josie is not out of the woods yet, tonight is still a big hurdle to get through. Dr. Angie is going to check on her every two hours and report back only if there are problems. Otherwise I look forward to hearing from her at 7am tomorrow with my first visit at 8am. If all goes well, she will be able to come home on Thursday.