Foo - Off to the vet with our dog...

Dora, our 1 1/2 year old sheltie mix (we think) rescue mutt has gotten sick over the holiday weekend... No appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea that's turned a little bloody.

Looks like Parvo or some other infection, but we'll see...

Wish us luck. :(

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/dr_pete177/dora.jpg

I hope it's nothing serious! Fingers crossed for you Dr. Pete!

Luck, Doc!

http://www.diamondsourceva.com/AboutUs/images/Four-leaf-clover.jpg

Dogs, I absolutely love. I hope all goes well for yours, doc.

As opposed to a rat, in that other thread

Well, we stopped by the office and our vet isn't in till 9:30, so we're going back in a little bit. Yesterday she was just feeling a little off, but now it's full-on bloody diarrhea and vomiting. I'm thinking some IV fluids are going to be in her future, because she's really not holding anything down. If she were a person, she'd probably be admitted too.

We don't have any kids yet, so Dora's really our "baby," as ridiculous as that may sound to the non-pet-owners out there. Keep those fingers crossed, and I'll post an update after we see our vet (who is fantastic, BTW).

:(:(:(

Oh phooey. I remember when we had to euthanize my first dog. Looked *just* like yours. Prayers to you pal.

Come on Dora!!!

...hope everything turns out well pete, keep us posted....

Dog lover here too.

It's a bit ironic that I have ended up spending more on my dog's health than my own. Insurance covers a lot of the people bills but the doggies aren't covered under my work insurance. Neither one has a job either. Good luck!

Dog owners know how much they mean to their families. Good luck Pete.

Well, we dropped Dora off at the vet--she's spending the night there at a minimum. She had 3 more bloody BM's before we got to the vet, and she was getting quite lethargic. She clearly needs some fluids/antiemetics/antidiarrheals, and probably some antibiotics as well, depending on what's going on. Just to be on the safe side, she's getting X-rays too, just to make sure she didn't eat something that's causing an obstruction.

When we were getting ready to drop her off, I was standing about 8 inches from the wall in the exam room, and she snuck in between my legs and the wall to keep the vet from putting their leash on...

I had two dogs growing up, but they were still family dogs, ya know? And our last dog, China, started out as Mollie's dog, even though she was really ours. Dora is the first dog I would call my dog, if that makes any sense.

Keep those fingers crossed, folks. Hopefully it'll be a fairly quick/simple fix after some fluids and meds.

:(

Good Luck, Doc.

Good luck Doc and Dora!

Joe

Dora's really our "baby," as ridiculous as that may sound to the non-pet-owners out there. Keep those fingers crossed, and I'll post an update after we see our vet (who is fantastic, BTW).



I understand completely. My prayers are with you and Dora. I have faith she'll be fine.

Awwww. Hoping things get better for Dora.

Good Luck Dr. Pete.

OH no!! *covers ears*

This sounds like what I just went through!! :cry: PLEASE don't be anything like this!!

I hope the best for her, Dr.Pete. Please keep us updated.

Good luck Pete, I'm pulling and praying for Dora.

I hope it's something simple to correct. As a pet person, I can totally sympathize with what you must be going through.

I'll send my extra karma points your way... *hoping for the best*

A family member is a family member.

I'm praying for you and Dora, Doc. Good luck!

85 reads of this post. I'm sure we're all pulling for Dora, Dr.Pete.

Sending healthy dog vibes to your pup. Hope it's just an easy cure.

The coffee hasn't kicked in yet -- that should read "Hope it's just as easy a cure as you describe."

Well, anyway, you get the idea. We hope it's not serious.

Yeesh, not again! Good luck Doc.

Prayers and good thoughts for Dora and you guys- keep us posted!

Hopin' for the best, Doc! ((hug))

Well, here's the afternoon update:

Dora perked up with some fluids, and she got some anti-emetics/antidiarrheals to keep the dehydration at bay, and it seems to be working. Her X-rays didn't show any obstruction or any other major badness requiring surgery. So right now it's watch and wait until the lab tests come back and we figure out what we're treating.

Dora was rescued from a 90%-kill shelter in WV, and had been a stray for several months... as a result, we'd been struggling with parasites for a while now, and needed several courses of antibiotics to get rid of her Giardia. There's a possibility, though, that this is a very resistant Giardia infection, or some other viral or bacterial enterocolitis.

I feel compelled to post another cute photo--when we brought her home, she was still all dirty and matted--looked more gray than golden... This is Dora on her first night home, and after a long and particularly filthy bath. :)

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/dr_pete177/dorahome.jpg

Well, here's the afternoon update:

Dora perked up with some fluids, and she got some anti-emetics/antidiarrheals to keep the dehydration at bay, and it seems to be working. Her X-rays didn't show any obstruction or any other major badness requiring surgery. So right now it's watch and wait until the lab tests come back and we figure out what we're treating.

Dora was rescued from a 90%-kill shelter in WV, and had been a stray for several months... as a result, we'd been struggling with parasites for a while now, and needed several courses of antibiotics to get rid of her Giardia. There's a possibility, though, that this is a very resistant Giardia infection, or some other viral or bacterial enterocolitis.

I feel compelled to post another cute photo--when we brought her home, she was still all dirty and matted--looked more gray than golden... This is Dora on her first night home, and after a long and particularly filthy bath. :)

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/dr_pete177/dorahome.jpg
She really looks like a sweet little dog, Doc. Since she's perking up, that's a good sign (as you'd know well yourself....human and canine physiology isn't that different! They just can't tell you where it hurts!). Here's to good hopes.

Pete,

I have been there man, and I am pulling for Dora.

It hurts to see things like this happen to pets that we love so much.

I am hoping for the best.

Fred

She's a good looking dog. I'm sure she'll be fine.

Healthy dog vibes for Dora!

I'm trying to get work done, and I'm sitting here at my laptop unable to focus. Whenever I'm working on my Powerbook she'll walk up, ball in mouth, and rest her entire head, ball and all, on my keyboard until I play with her for a minute.

I can't focus without any distractions. :(

I'm trying to get work done, and I'm sitting here at my laptop unable to focus. Whenever I'm working on my Powerbook she'll walk up, ball in mouth, and rest her entire head, ball and all, on my keyboard until I play with her for a minute.

I can't focus without any distractions. :(You have my sincere feelings. I know all too well what you mean.

Update--7PM

Well, good news--Dora's had no more bloody explosions all day, and she actually managed to eat and hold down a little bit of food! Woohoo! She's still getting fluids, though, because her oral intake has been pretty meager...

It sounds like she's on track to (maybe) go home tomorrow, but we'll keep our fingers crossed!

:):):):):)

WHOOO HOOOO!
That is great news, DP. Glad to hear it.

Update--7PM

Well, good news--Dora's had no more bloody explosions all day, and she actually managed to eat and hold down a little bit of food! Woohoo! She's still getting fluids, though, because her oral intake has been pretty meager...

It sounds like she's on track to (maybe) go home tomorrow, but we'll keep our fingers crossed!

:):):):):)

:beer: :beer:

Bailey says good luck too. http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/4514/yellowcirclewithbaileyyp4.jpg

Great. Keep it up Dora!

This is the first chance I got to see the pictures (NMCI at work...you'll understand when you go to Bethesda), beautiful dog! I hope she's better.

I'll say a prayer to St. Francis of Asisi. The list goes on. And then there's the whales, and the elephants and the.. Well anyway good Luck.

We should learn to co-exist with nature.

Erich

O yeh, I forgot, my dogs Jaeger and Panzer says hope all is well

Good News!

(((((Puppy Healing Mojo)))))


Our three-year old "daughter", Pilot.
46029

Pilot sez "hi".

great news, Pete! Give her a big hug for all of us when you see her tomorrow!

Murph has his paws crossed that Dora can come home tomorrow. Any idea what caused this?

Murph has his paws crossed that Dora can come home tomorrow. Any idea what caused this?

Thanks to Murph... Not sure what the cause is just yet. She had Giardia when we adopted her and it took forever to get over it--a few courses of antibiotics later she was doing fine. Even so, our vet told us that apparently the cure rates for Giardia just using metronidazole are around 80%, so this might be the return of the Giardia. Otherwise, it could be something bacterial or viral... The stool culture and the parasite stuff are still pending, so we won't know for a while for sure.

Well, it's off to bed for me soon... I hope she's doing OK tonight. Thanks to everyone for the support and encouragement! :)

Good to hear the pup is doing well. My wife and I had a dog before we had kids and called her our fuzzy test child. The dog has now passed on to the big dog house next to the driving range in the sky where I'm sure she is pilfering golf balls and collecting them...again. She'll be healthy and happy in no time and looking forward to getting home.

It's all that Foo love going around.

And all the Foopet love too. :)

Go Dora!

Oh and when I told Jack he said "wooof woooof, wooof, grrrr, wooof!"
http://k41.pbase.com/g3/90/294690/3/55980606.two_comp.jpg

Good luck , hope all goes well.
I don't know what i'd do without my 2 Bullies(105-F & 125lbs-M) They sleep with me in my bed more than my wife does.

Morning update--Just talked to the vet techs, and apparently there was no more diarrhea overnight and she slept well... We'll be hearing from the vet a little later in the morning and we'll get the verdict on whether she can come home! I'm all for it as long as she doesn't need any more IV fluids or meds... Even then I could probably give them myself.

I have to admit I was getting really concerned yesterday morning--there was a pretty impressive amount of blood coming out, and when she started getting lethargic I knew she was in shock. I just hoped and hoped that the bleeding would stop--There's a lot in the armamentarium when you're taking care of people with GI bleeding, but when it comes to Dora I was stuck hoping and praying. Kind of a frustrating situation to be in.

Keep those fingers crossed, foosters--I'm hoping Dora will be home today! :D:):D:)

D'OH... the vet wants to keep her through the day, just to make sure she actually keeps down the food she had this morning and stays hydrated... :(

Oh well, it could have been SO much worse that I'm not going to sweat another half day... I'll just take it as an opportunity to post another cutie dog pic. :)
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p85/dr_pete177/dorabed.jpg