Well, I woke up last Thursday to a very sick little dog. He was puking and had used the bathroom several times in the house. On Friday, he was no longer puking but wouldn’t jump up on the bed, couch, etc. Other than that, he was pretty well back to normal or so we thought. Saturday and Sunday, he wouldn’t eat, was very lethargic and had to be carried to his water bowl and outside to use the bathroom. His breathing was also very labored.
We took him to the vet first thing Monday morning. They had us wait outside with him because he was “sick” and there were puppies in there. When it was our turn, they called us in. Checked his stool and said there was some bile in it but didn’t explain what that meant. Then they took blood from his arm to check for diabetes. The vet said it was like 168 so he didn’t think that was the problem. He left the room and came back in and closed the door. He told us he didn’t really know what was wrong. He tried listening to his heart again but couldn’t hear it because Maxie was breathing so heavily. He told us he needed to keep him to give him fluids and do more blood work. He shaved his neck to get more blood. Tried twice and couldn’t get it. Then he told us to leave. Never mentioned how serious things might be or asked if we had other end of life plans so he didn’t suffer. He told us that he was going to give him fluids and then try for the blood again. He told us that if he perked up in the afternoon he would call us and we could come and pick him up. He called later that afternoon and I was all excited thinking he had “perked up”. He said I have some bad news. The pug didn’t make it. I was dumbfounded. He said he gave him some heart medicine and he seemed to perk up so he left to run some errands. When he came back, “the pug” was dead. He only referred to him as “the pug” which really irritated us. Anyway, he said he could do an autopsy if we wanted or he could just bury him. I asked if we could just come and pick him up. He said yes, but he was only waiting 30 minutes. So, I had to call my husband at work, get him home, and get to the vets office (about a 10 to 15 minute drive) in 30 minutes. When we got there he was with someone else and then saw someone else before acknowledging us. He then told us the story again and then went in the back and brought out our baby in a black trash bag.
Had we known the seriousness of the situation, we never would have left him. Now, I’m dealing with not only losing my dog suddenly but he was alone in a strange place all by himself. My heart is broken.
I called the vet the next day to see about the lab results he had sent off. He told me he thought Maxie was in kidney failure and his potassium was high which might have been an indicator of a tumor. I was still in shock and there are so many questions I wish I would have asked. My husband went by there today to talk to him and was told that the vet was very busy and if we wanted to talk to him, we needed to make an appointment.
We buried Maxie in our yard, on his bed, wrapped in his blanket. I ordered a stone to put on top of his grave.
I see one of his hairs and ball. Can’t go in the yard without balling. We explained to our four year old son that Maxie got sick and went to Heaven. Now, he wants to know if we can get a rocket ship to go see Maxie because he misses him. He had me pick him up the other day so he could pet the pug sticker on the back window of our van. Our other pug, Wrinkles, is depressed and missing his buddy. I wish we had just taken him somewhere over the weekend. I just never expected a dog to be rambunctious one day and dying the next.
My Random Ramblings 