I had great hope to be rid of the infection, yet apprehension knowing Sadie’s usual reaction to antibiotics, much less through an IV. The first day was an absolute nightmare. Sadie’s veins blew on the first catheter. And on the 2nd. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was primarily due to low albumin. The search to find an alternate vein was most difficult. As I was about to leave, the vet informed me that she would not be back for a week. This was my worst fear in changing vets. My goodness, we were at our most critical crisis point and now we had to meet a new vet who knew nothing of Sadie at all! What followed was a most difficult week. The next day, Sadie’s vein blew again, only this time while the drug was being administered. She snapped her teeth and showed she still had a fight left! I know it must have hurt terribly, and it pained me beyond words. Being that I had no relationship with this other vet, I could tell she was pacifying me. The next day, she told me that she thought I was wasting my time. I AM NOT A QUITTER! Nor was Sadie. This infuriated me! If she had only seen how Sadie had been improving before the IVs. I would never let Sadie live in pain. I didn’t think it was cruel of me to try to save this baby’s life. It was only with the drastic measures that she would regress. It was a horrible week. We sensed Sadie was tired. Goodness, anyone whose red blood cell count was as low as hers would have been weak, too. As usual, Sadie did not react well to antibiotics. But this time it was much worse because of the catheter. Walking on her own was nigh impossible, and we feared she would fall if we let her alone. It had become difficult for her to stand up by herself, which saddened me immensely. She was very lethargic, and was so affected she didn’t act like she knew loved ones. I kept thinking, “It will all be worth it if we can just beat this infection.”
Yet, in the midst of it all, Sadie did make improvements. On April 19, my husband’s sister and her friend came to see her. We had asked if there was anyway they could come over and help us with Sadie’s walking. They loved on her and spoke tenderly to her. Unexpectedly, Sadie got up and went to our friend, giving her that knowing look. You see, this friend and Sadie had a special bond and she always had something tasty for Sadie. Sadie’s behavior was so sweet. It had been about a month since Sadie had drunk any water on her own. I didn’t like that, but the risk of her vomiting had been so great. I really wanted her to drink again. My sister-in-law tried to get her to drink some water before she left, but she refused. She and her friend were leaving, and my husband went outside to say good-bye. I was putting the water bowl away and thought, “let’s try one more time.” And she took it! She licked up the water! I ran to the door and yelled, “She’s drinking water again!” They rushed back in and it was a joyous moment. I could tell she was happy that they had come by.
The next day was rough. Her veins were so weak and after we returned home from the vet, Sadie didn’t want me to touch her. She snapped at me, growled at me, and I could tell she was hurting. She cried, as something had happened with her veins. I got a hold of the emergency vet, and he asked me to wrap her legs with warm wash cloths. It worked. She calmed down, but I felt so bad that she’d had that happen. We had all begun to wonder if the medicine was poisoning her. The next day, we had her blood taken to monitor her progress. Her WBC was 27.4, still high, though drastically improved. The antibiotics were working! On the down side, her Hematocrit had dropped a little, to 19.2, and her RBCs drastically decreased to 2.74. Something should have been done about those numbers. Still, we were encouraged that her WBC was going down.
She the cutest thing that night. My husband and I had driven separately that day, and I had briefly dropped Sadie off with his parents while we taught a class. (I may not have said this before, but I took care of Sadie ‘round the clock. If I had to get up at 2 or 3am to make sure she was fed enough calories in a day, I did it. Time was no hindrance. Taking care of her was my #1 priority for 3 months.) On our way home, we stopped to gas up the cars. A friend came to the car and tried to talk to me through the window. When Sadie saw him, she started barking at him, and she actually scared him! Oh, my, was she ever proud! She had not gone on like that for a very long time, and I was moved to tears. I yelled to my husband, “She’s barking, she’s barking!” On the way home, I praised her to no end. And she did the sweetest thing; she mimicked my tone. I didn’t know what to think. I would say something to her, and she would “speak” back to me with the same tone and length. I had seen dogs do this on TV, but she had never done that before. It was the sweetest thing in the world. She was so proud of herself for scaring our friend, and I was proud of her, too! That was on April 21, and she still had a little spunk. She certainly had the will to live.
My husband went in with me the next day to the vet. We had a frank discussion with her. I do believe she just didn’t understand Sadie’s history and recent improvements, and her comments were an effort to be merciful. From that moment, we understood each other, and she kept her opinions to herself. We were still very concerned that Sadie’s mental state was not up to par. Sadie’s vet was set to return the next day, and we discussed our concerns then again. Sadie had been groaning after we fed her and this concerned us greatly. What was causing the discomfort? During that visit, we discussed how to treat her anemia. Sadie was given hetastarch that day to help with her leaky vessels. The vet discussed how blood transfusions were done in canines, and I thought perhaps this might be an option once we were finished with her antibiotics. I didn’t want her to go through too much stress. We had a really rough night. Before retiring for the evening, my husband looked at me knowingly and stated how very tired Sadie looked. She had been through so much. We both knew we would never let her live in a state of suffering. Sadie woke up in the night and had an accident. Something was different, and we both sensed a very awkward feeling. Early the next morning, my sister-in-law called to say she thought the Gentocen was poisoning Sadie and thought we needed to discontinue it for that day, do another blood test, and perhaps her WBC would have come down. I agreed, and we even asked her and her friend to come with us to the clinic. I remember telling my husband, “I’m okay with letting her rest from the IV today, but I don’t want to do anything drastic.” He agreed. When we arrived, Sadie’s regular vet had left, but my sister-in-law was able to reach her and she returned. We all talked about Sadie’s behavior. Then the vet started pushing to do a blood transfusion right then to combat the severe anemia. That wasn’t what I was planning on, but the vet said she needed it “today.” Would it hurt her? I was told, “no.” I felt so desperate, but all professional opinions encouraged us to try it. I stayed with her throughout the entire process. The vet was kind enough to bring her own dog in, put him “under” to obtain his blood and then give it to my Sadie. They had a terrible time finding a good vein. It was the other doctor who was called upon to find the vein, at last. It was in her upper thigh, not exactly where her vet had wanted. I remember seeing her make the sign of the cross and I realized how serious this was. They brought Sadie into the client’s room while the 4 of us loved ones were around. Sadie should have perked up immediately. Her little paws were moving a bit, but she wasn’t visibly improving. The vet came in, and noticed Sadie had bruised immensely on her stomach, but reassured us that the blood was going through the vein. She then, with tears in her eyes said, “I’m not liking what I’m seeing. She doesn’t look good. We tried, but this isn’t helping her. She should have perked up by now. She may pass today or tomorrow. I’m so sorry.” What? I just couldn’t believe it. I thought, “Everyone told me this wouldn’t hurt her, her WBC is coming down, and you’re telling me that I only have a few hours?” But I was reassured it wasn’t the blood transfusion that would take her, it was the low RBC count. It was a somber ride back home as I held my baby for one last car ride together.
Yet, in the midst of it all, Sadie did make improvements. On April 19, my husband’s sister and her friend came to see her. We had asked if there was anyway they could come over and help us with Sadie’s walking. They loved on her and spoke tenderly to her. Unexpectedly, Sadie got up and went to our friend, giving her that knowing look. You see, this friend and Sadie had a special bond and she always had something tasty for Sadie. Sadie’s behavior was so sweet. It had been about a month since Sadie had drunk any water on her own. I didn’t like that, but the risk of her vomiting had been so great. I really wanted her to drink again. My sister-in-law tried to get her to drink some water before she left, but she refused. She and her friend were leaving, and my husband went outside to say good-bye. I was putting the water bowl away and thought, “let’s try one more time.” And she took it! She licked up the water! I ran to the door and yelled, “She’s drinking water again!” They rushed back in and it was a joyous moment. I could tell she was happy that they had come by.
The next day was rough. Her veins were so weak and after we returned home from the vet, Sadie didn’t want me to touch her. She snapped at me, growled at me, and I could tell she was hurting. She cried, as something had happened with her veins. I got a hold of the emergency vet, and he asked me to wrap her legs with warm wash cloths. It worked. She calmed down, but I felt so bad that she’d had that happen. We had all begun to wonder if the medicine was poisoning her. The next day, we had her blood taken to monitor her progress. Her WBC was 27.4, still high, though drastically improved. The antibiotics were working! On the down side, her Hematocrit had dropped a little, to 19.2, and her RBCs drastically decreased to 2.74. Something should have been done about those numbers. Still, we were encouraged that her WBC was going down.
She the cutest thing that night. My husband and I had driven separately that day, and I had briefly dropped Sadie off with his parents while we taught a class. (I may not have said this before, but I took care of Sadie ‘round the clock. If I had to get up at 2 or 3am to make sure she was fed enough calories in a day, I did it. Time was no hindrance. Taking care of her was my #1 priority for 3 months.) On our way home, we stopped to gas up the cars. A friend came to the car and tried to talk to me through the window. When Sadie saw him, she started barking at him, and she actually scared him! Oh, my, was she ever proud! She had not gone on like that for a very long time, and I was moved to tears. I yelled to my husband, “She’s barking, she’s barking!” On the way home, I praised her to no end. And she did the sweetest thing; she mimicked my tone. I didn’t know what to think. I would say something to her, and she would “speak” back to me with the same tone and length. I had seen dogs do this on TV, but she had never done that before. It was the sweetest thing in the world. She was so proud of herself for scaring our friend, and I was proud of her, too! That was on April 21, and she still had a little spunk. She certainly had the will to live.
My husband went in with me the next day to the vet. We had a frank discussion with her. I do believe she just didn’t understand Sadie’s history and recent improvements, and her comments were an effort to be merciful. From that moment, we understood each other, and she kept her opinions to herself. We were still very concerned that Sadie’s mental state was not up to par. Sadie’s vet was set to return the next day, and we discussed our concerns then again. Sadie had been groaning after we fed her and this concerned us greatly. What was causing the discomfort? During that visit, we discussed how to treat her anemia. Sadie was given hetastarch that day to help with her leaky vessels. The vet discussed how blood transfusions were done in canines, and I thought perhaps this might be an option once we were finished with her antibiotics. I didn’t want her to go through too much stress. We had a really rough night. Before retiring for the evening, my husband looked at me knowingly and stated how very tired Sadie looked. She had been through so much. We both knew we would never let her live in a state of suffering. Sadie woke up in the night and had an accident. Something was different, and we both sensed a very awkward feeling. Early the next morning, my sister-in-law called to say she thought the Gentocen was poisoning Sadie and thought we needed to discontinue it for that day, do another blood test, and perhaps her WBC would have come down. I agreed, and we even asked her and her friend to come with us to the clinic. I remember telling my husband, “I’m okay with letting her rest from the IV today, but I don’t want to do anything drastic.” He agreed. When we arrived, Sadie’s regular vet had left, but my sister-in-law was able to reach her and she returned. We all talked about Sadie’s behavior. Then the vet started pushing to do a blood transfusion right then to combat the severe anemia. That wasn’t what I was planning on, but the vet said she needed it “today.” Would it hurt her? I was told, “no.” I felt so desperate, but all professional opinions encouraged us to try it. I stayed with her throughout the entire process. The vet was kind enough to bring her own dog in, put him “under” to obtain his blood and then give it to my Sadie. They had a terrible time finding a good vein. It was the other doctor who was called upon to find the vein, at last. It was in her upper thigh, not exactly where her vet had wanted. I remember seeing her make the sign of the cross and I realized how serious this was. They brought Sadie into the client’s room while the 4 of us loved ones were around. Sadie should have perked up immediately. Her little paws were moving a bit, but she wasn’t visibly improving. The vet came in, and noticed Sadie had bruised immensely on her stomach, but reassured us that the blood was going through the vein. She then, with tears in her eyes said, “I’m not liking what I’m seeing. She doesn’t look good. We tried, but this isn’t helping her. She should have perked up by now. She may pass today or tomorrow. I’m so sorry.” What? I just couldn’t believe it. I thought, “Everyone told me this wouldn’t hurt her, her WBC is coming down, and you’re telling me that I only have a few hours?” But I was reassured it wasn’t the blood transfusion that would take her, it was the low RBC count. It was a somber ride back home as I held my baby for one last car ride together.
