Wow, what a scare we had over the weekend! My body is still recovering from the stress, as is Leo’s. Still not sure exactly what happened, but Leo obviously got into something that did not agree with him. After his lunch feeding on Friday, about 12:30, he started throwing up. The first two seemed like a regurgitation from eating too quickly, which he does regularly (not the regurgitate part, but the eating too quickly for sure), but after the food was gone it kept coming. He vomited about 5 times in a two and a half hour period. Knowing it was getting late on Friday and watching Leo get weaker by the minute I called the vet and let them know I needed to bring him in.
What happened next was one of the hardest things I have had to do in a long time. Knowing he desperately needed fluids, and not being able to confirm the problem from x-rays, I had to make the decision to leave our baby boy over night. Those of you that know me well know that I have a tendency to lean towards being a bit of a control freak. Leaving our precious boy in someone else’s care when he is very sick is not something that is easy for me to do. Give me instructions and send him home with me, and I am calmer knowing that I am in control and will do EVERYTHING in my power to care for my baby. Me finding the strength to trust in others to do the same is hard to come by.
It was a 100% sleepless night. I was in the car and back at the vet’s office the minute the doors opened, scared to death of what I would be facing (the horrors the sleepless night presented were relentless even through my struggle to remain positive). I arrived before the doctors, but Leo was looking so good and had not vomited during the night, so I was allowed to take him out for his morning walk during which he did all his duties normally. A wonderful confirmation it was most likely an irritation, not a blockage, saving Leo from invasive exploratory surgery and even more time away from home.
Although in the end this seemed no more than a bit of an upset tummy, the decision to take him in was absolutely warranted. The reading I did through my sleepless night confirmed what I already suspected. Dehydration in puppies and small dogs is very much a life or death situation. If they are unable to keep fluids down, as Leo was, fluids have to get in some other way. Leo went downhill quickly. By the time got to the vet, only a few hours after the vomiting started he was already very weak and moving slowly. I am sure that my sleepless night apart would have been much more horrifying had we not taken him in and would have included a very costly trip to a far away after hours emergency center.
Leo seems no worse for the wear at this point other than the loss of a couple pounds. He is on a bland diet, smaller portions several times a day for a couple days. I am looking forward to getting him back on track and plumping him back up as soon as possible, but not too soon… I don’t know if I can take another scare like that!
