Probert Visits the Hospital

Hello dog (and human) friends! Sorry for the lack of updates, but we have been in crisis mode over here! On Monday night Probert started barfing and did not stop. I woke up a few times during the night to clean him up (boy was he stinky) and pet his sweet head while we waited for the vet to open in the morning.

By morning, he was still barfing and refusing to eat, so I took him to the local vet hospital (decided to cut out the middle man of our regular vet because I decided he would just refer us there anyway). His doctor there determined that he was having some kind of GI problem and was severely dehydrated and required hospitalization. They kept him to give fluids and for xrays and blood tests to determine what the problem could be.

I kept in touch with the doctor throughout the day and it was determined that Probert had some kind of Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis, but they still could not determine the cause. Before bed I called and the man working overnight (it is a 24 hour vet hospital) said that Probert was afraid of him, but otherwise very sweet. I told him that Probert had an issue with strange men and the man told me that made since since he was a very strange man. :)

Wednesday morning I called to talk to Probert's vet and she told me that a radiologist had looked at Probert's xrays and saw a potential blockage in his intestine. It could not be properly diagnosed, so we made plans to come check Probert out of the hospital and transfer him to Aurora, about an hour away, for an ultrasound and potentially a surgical consult. Shawn called out of school and I called out of work and we picked up the little man (who about flew into Shawn's arms when they brought him out) and headed to Aurora (the home of Wayne and Garth!).

We waited a very long time for the ultrasound and it was over in 10 minutes when his new doctor came out and said that there was "good news!" and no blockage was found! All they saw was a lot of gas and fluid. I asked if Probert needed to return to the hospital for further fluid therapy and his doctor brought out a bowl of water and half a can of bland prescription dog food which Probert happily wolfed out of her hand. With that, he was free to go! (Party time! Excellent!)

We drove home where Probert happily (with a little help!!!) pooped out about 2 feet of fabric that he must have torn off of his blanket at some point. I think we found the cause of his GI distress!

Anyway, we are ecstatic to have him back home (and also pretty ecstatic that no surgery was necessary). Probert now has only blankets that he cannot rip chunks off of and he is on a bland diet until Friday when he can return back to his regular diet.

The moral of the story for dogs: Do not eat your blankies!!!