Abbye did not have a good Thanksgiving evening. First, she suffered the indignity of my cramming a pill down her throat when she refused to accept it wrapped in even the tastiest of morsels. Then she had another bout of throwing up, making us despair that we were making any progress on her recovery. To make matters worse, we were unable to get another antibiotic tablet down her before bedtime.
When we awoke this morning, she just laid in her crate, eyes half-closed, refusing to even acknowledge our presence. We began to discuss potential options, one of which was to hurry her back to Midland and leave her with the vet for continual monitoring. How bad did things seem? MLB had tears in her eyes as she said “I just can’t bear the thought of her dying over there by herself.” I had no good words of comfort.
We decided to go for a run, hoping that the cold air and exertion would help us focus on what needed to be done. When we finished, she kept going a few more blocks while I went in the house to check on Abbye…who, by that time, had apparently decided that the joke had gone far enough and was trotting around the house looking for a handout of leftover turkey. I put her on the leash and we set out to meet MLB. Abbye was as animated and alert as she was before all this started.
So, we’ve gone from cutting our trip short to return her to the vet in the hope that he might somehow save her life, to MLB going shopping with my mother and our niece. Abbye’s now asleep in her crate, which is her normal mode this time of day. And we’ve decided that the antibiotic was actually making her sicker instead of healing her. She’s had adverse reactions to antibiotics in the past. As it turns out, her refusal to take one last night was probably the key to the apparent turning of the corner.
And, as far as why she refused to acknowledge our presence this morning, I think it was her way of expressing her absolute disgust with the lack of respect accorded to her yesterday evening when I manhandled that pill down her throat. Let that be a lesson to me.
The indignity! 😆
I’m glad to hear she’s doing better.
Thanks, Jen. I figure any “dog person” will be able to easily relate to what we’re going through. 😉
Oh yeah, I relate. Every day I get home from work and have to go upstairs to make sure Annie is just sleeping and not dead. Since she’s now almost completely deaf, she doesn’t greet me at the door anymore. Kinda sad.
Bless your heart (and Annie’s). That is a sad situation, as they start to slip away from you, and at some point you’re not sure what to wish for. We once had a dog that lost his eyesight about a year before he died. Very hard to deal with…
Glad to hear the good news. We just had dual knee surgery on our golden in August. It seemed like the only choice, but watching her difficult recovery was hard. But just last week it seems as though she is her old self. As in before the knees became a problem. It’s an unbelievable relief when they come through a tough time…especially since they can’t talk in words leaving us to guess some of their body language.
Knee surgery on a dog…isn’t that amazing?! But that’s such a great use for technology; you guys get major props for being willing to make the investment to improve the quality of her life.
That’s a hard one. I would have crammed that medicine too. In fact I might not have figured it out the next day as you did. Good on you and YLB for being perceptive.
Tell Abbye i think she was being a little hard on y’all. You can tell her I’m glad she’s getting better too.
How good that relief feels to us helpless humans.
Good to hear she is doing better. There is nothing more disconcerting to dog parents than a sick pooch. I too, have been thru this on many occasions. One night I was even so concerned about the Big Gold Dog that I had Julie sleep on the couch next to him in the living room when he couldn’t get to usual night spot. He recovered nicely….
Sometimes antibiotics give the appearance of making us sicker before we get better also, like fever spikes after the first couple pills, followed by a rapid recovery. I pray that Abbye is on the rebound and that you and MLB get some worryfree rest soon. Caring for a sick pet equates to caring for a sick baby since neither can tell you where it hurts (although you’re reading Abbye’s mind quite nicely).
Glad to hear she’s doing better! Dogs are such a part of the family that we’d be lost without them – I know I’d be lost without my Mac!
Thanks again for the encouragement, folks. We had another rough night last night, but we’re back in Midland and Abbye has been to the doc for multiple injections…different meds all around…and we’re hoping that we’re on top of the problem now. She’s feeling good enough that she glared at us tonight when we wouldn’t share our popcorn with her while watching a DVD.
And she doesn’t even like popcorn. 😉
I’m glad she’s feeling better, too. And I hope she stays that way! 🙂
We’re glad Abby is feeling more herself! And being dog lovers ourselves, we certainly can commiserate and celebrate with y’all! Go, Abby!