I have only seen my parents this worried and upset twice before and those times involved two different surgeries I had. Once I got Pyometra (all went well) and the other time I had to have a mammary gland removed and there was some minor complications that caused us to spend the night out of town near the emergency vet until my Dr. opened the next morning.
My Sis became very, very sick two weeks ago. We took her to the Dr. and she had pictures taken of her insides. We could see all her bones and organs. I had no idea that's what was inside us. Mom and Dad even received them via email to view together. They also did blood work. The diagnosis - Pyometra. It's a very dangerous and life threatening problem that can develop in un-spayed female doggies. She was prescribed antibiotics and pain/anti-inflammatory medications and Mom and Dad kept a very close eye on her. She started to show interest in food again and playing. I got very excited because that meant we would be able to go for our walks and visit our donkey friends. I sure do love my donkey friends. They always come to see me. They meet us as we pass by from the one direction and again as we pass by returning. They are so cute. Dad says they are my cousins. He also says horses and goats are my cousins. Fooey! I don't think I eat that much grass. :)
A week after the first Dr. visit Sis went back and the blood work showed the antibiotics were doing the job. Yeah !!!!!
Two days later we took Sissy back to the vet she had taken a turn for the worse. She was so very, very sick. Mom and Dad stayed up with her all night. They haven't slept much in the past few days. I keep a very close eye on my Mom, Dad and Sis. We left very early to get to the vet before they opened for normal hours and we met with our good friend the Dr. Sis and I just LOVE him. He is so good to us. He comes right down to our level and lets us give him lots of wet sloppy kisses. He never rushes our greeting. He always takes as much time as necessary to answer all of Mom and Dads questions. Our tails almost wag right off our bums when we see our Dr. friend. He took more pictures of Sis's insides and more blood work. We had to leave her their to receive some fluids to help flush out the toxins.
We were not about to leave town with Sis at the Dr.'s so Mom and Dad took me out for breakfast at IHOP. Mmmmm bacon and eggs. Then we went to the pet store and searched for toys for Sis. I got to meet all kinds of nice people that wanted to know what kind of doggie I was. I'm a GREAT DANE. They always say I have beautiful markings. They say I'm small for a Great Dane. Well, that's a story for another day.
Just as Mom and Dad were half way through their breakfast the Dr. called and said he had good news and bad news. Good news is the object seen in the intestines during the last image has passed. We have no idea what it was because Mom and Dad are always watching us and keeping an eagle eye on us at all times. We can't do anything without one of them hovering over us. We hear a lot of leave it, and no. I swear they must have eyes in the back and sides of their heads...what strange creatures they are. They see everything. The bad news is her Pyometra had compartmentalized and was trapping the infection inside her uterus in the front portion. The back portion was draining from her vulva. The area that is trapped will never drain or be adsorbed by the body and if surgery is not done right away she will become toxic by the weekend. Mom handed the phone to Dad and started crying. I hate it when she cries. I always run to her side and lick her face and push against her. I don't want her to cry. I want to help. I leaned over the seat and licked her face. I pushed my nose into her face to get her to stop crying.`````````
Mom cried and cried and cried. I didn't think she was ever going to stop. We went to stores and Mom stayed in the vehicle with me and cried some more. Dad came out and they talked and they both said it had to be done it was the only choice to save her life. Without the surgery she would not live. Mom is scared of surgery. Dad tried to reassure her and as we sat there I am pretty sure I saw a tear fall from Dad's eye. He's very strong and the alpha of our pack. I've never seen tears in Dad's eyes before.
Mom calmed down and we went to the parks. Dad walked me because Mom was still very sad and worried about the outcome of the surgery. They asked me to sniff a bed of beautiful pretties for Sis. Sis always likes to sniff pretties (flowers). Mom taught her to do that when she was a baby but me I'm not that into flowers. I did give in and sniff one pretty for Sis. We went to the pet store and then Mom went into a Big Lots to look for some toys and some treats for her and Dad. She came out with 2 toys for me and Sis. We went to more stores and they took turns sitting with me. They never ever leave us alone in the vehicle no matter what. Like I said they are very protective of us. Then we went back to the park we started at and the Dr.'s office called and said Sis was awake and her surgery went well and she could come home with us this afternoon. Mom and Dad were so excited. All the tension and stress that had consumed all of us was gone. I watched them close their eyes and talk to God. They talked to him a lot that day. I am very God heard all of our prayers and kept my Sis safe and watched over her and guided the hands of the Dr. and his staff.
We had about an hour and a half before we could pick Sis up so we went back to a store Mom wanted to shop at. They just discovered it a few weeks ago when were here and they sell yummy sweets and different foods not found in our local grocery stores. I watched them pull out 2 extra large gourmet cupcakes, milk, and candy. I know I won't be getting any of that. They never let me taste any of the goodies they call chocolate. They say it's not safe for me. If it's not safe then why do they eat it????
We arrived at the Dr.'s office and they brought out paperwork and told Mom and Dad all the things Sis can not do for the next 10 days. What to look for and expect. They are all so wonderful. Then the vet tech brought Sis out and she had this big funny white cone around her head and needed help to walk about without bumping into things. She sure looked funny. You should have seen her face she was so very happy to see all of us. She was ready to head home. After all the excitement today so was I. I sure did miss my soft, comfy couch and my nap. It was also getting very close to our dinner time. Mom and Dad said I can't tell Sissy about our walks or trip to the store to get toys because it wouldn't be fair. She had surgery and I had fun. I understand. We will give her the new toys when she is well enough to enjoy them. I can't wait.
We got home and Mom put together one of our kennels and placed some soft fluffy pillows and blankies in it. Sis settled down for 10 days of rest and healing. She won't be happy about that she likes to snuggle with Mom at night.
I'm glad to be homeWhew, we have had too much excitement these past few days. I am looking forward for things returning to normal.
