Momo's Turn for Vet Woes

[JMFS]

So Momo killed a raccoon a few days ago.  He's gone from squirrels to 'possums and now raccoons.  What's next?  Deer?!  The problem is he May have swallowed bones.  Or it could be something else entirely.  They're just not sure, though it seems the most likely scenario. 

He's not eaten since Tuesday morning and if he gets his fill of water he throws it up.  I've resorted to ice cubes in a bowl so he gets a couple ounces every hour and he seems able to keep that down.  He finally peed this afternoon, but that's to be expected with the limited water intake.  He woke me up this morning with another impressive river of clear liquid vomit.  The x-rays showed nothing in his stomach other than a "shiny mineral deposit" and a small mass that may be tissue or something foreign. That's super specific.  I'm guessing they mean like fur from the raccoon.  Nothing is blocking the way in or out of his stomach, though.

They have him on gabapentin for pain so he's wobbly.  He just wants to go outside and lay in the grass, but I can't watch him from here.  He's mostly laying down but gets up once in a while to pace. Refusing even the highest regarded foods so we Know it's bad.  Walking gingerly and allowing me to pick him up.  Yikes.  He Hates being picked up.  Vet tech said he even tolerated the temp check - they usually can't do that with him. 

He goes back to the Vet tomorrow morning for a follow up.  We were sent to the emergency hospital, thinking he'd be admitted based on the x-rays, but the doc there said he didn't think it was necessary and to follow up with our Vet this morning.  I opted to hold until tomorrow because Mo is stable, though uncomfortable.

I did learn today that dogs can have Pedialyte.  Our store doesn't have the unflavored so we opted for strawberry since I know he likes strawberries.  I skipped grape because if they use real grapes that's a whole other issue with potential renal failure (for those who don't know, grapes and raisins are majorly bad for dogs, some don't have any issues and others have died within the day so real real bad stuff) and the orange because dogs generally don't care for citrus and it's on more "no" lists than "yes" I've seen for canines.  Just hope he drinks it because right now he's refusing anything with a scent, though I did get some chamomile in him earlier to help with inflammation and belly upset.  I may have to water it down.  Anything is better than nothing, right?

We're supposed to be going to Aruba on Tuesday . . ..  If he doesn't get on the mend sooner than later we're going to miss out on that unless I can find someone I trust to watch him.  Even then I'm just not sure about leaving him.  I don't know if the boarders are going to want to take him in if he's still in bad shape come Monday (when we're supposed to drop them off).  I don't want to ask them, yet, because I don't want to alarm them.  If it is something he can pass then it will resolve once it's passed.  If it's something more serious well, I should know by Saturday.  Husband thinks we should schedule an endoscopy with the hospital to fast track a more informed treatment plan.  I agree. 

The craziest part about this is he and Gertie were running around the yard like little whirlwinds Tuesday afternoon, then Wednesday around 7:30 am he vomited and it was 99% clear liquid.  Hardly any of the normal stuff you would expect to see and no odor.

And scratch that, he just threw up again.  <sigh>  Mostly water.  I think he may have caused that by trying to jump up into the crate area before I could get over there to assist - he bumped his tummy.  It's going to be a long 18 hours until that appointment. 

[JMFS]

Mo passed away this morning.  He was still okay'ish last night - same as he's been, but with us going out of town we decided we'd take him first thing this morning to the pet hospital for ultrasound or endoscope so we could decide whether to stay or go, but he didn't make it there.  At some point he took a turn for the worst this morning and at 7:25 he was in Really bad shape.  We tried to take him to the local emergency hospital but they told us they were closing in 20 minutes and all they could do was put liquids into him or something and then they'd have to send us on our way.  Still processing that and will be contacting them again about it.  I think that's callous for a business that's supposed to tend to pet emergencies.  They're a 5 pm - 8 am clinic, but still an emergency hospital for pets and to tell us we have to go 60 minutes further because they're closing isn't sitting well with me.  I'm going to let the emotions calm first, maybe cooler heads will prevail.  They're also the ones who recommended not admitting him.  "We Can admit him if you want to, but it's kind of like having a stomach ache and going to the hospital as the first solution," is what the doc said.  Made sense at the time.  In retrospect they didn't treat it seriously enough.  Retrospect is so very wise.  Then again, I haven't seen thousands of dogs with similar symptoms.  Having said that, what kind of after hours hospital says, "sorry, we close when we close, good luck getting to our 24/7 hospital in time," after you tell them your dog is barely breathing and limp?  Maybe there's information I don't have, but it seems irresponsible and cruel to me.  He took his last breaths in the backseat on our way to the 24/7 hospital.

He was a challenging dog, but a happy one.  Wickedly intelligent - smarter than most humans, but silly.  He was spoiled beyond belief with his free reign of the yard, a swimming pool at his disposal, a screen room around that pool with ample shade or sun - his choice, and all the squirrels he could ever care to chase.  Either he had an underlying condition that was massively aggressive or that racoon got the last word in.  Hard to believe he and Gertie were tearing up the yard running around Tuesday afternoon and not even 96 hours later he's gone.  He was supposed to outlive us all with my dad, sharks, crocodiles, and roaches. 

Momo, "Mozies" "Dosie Dozies" "Dosie Doe" "Mo" "Butthead" "Mozers"  07/10/2010 - 04/30/2021  Enjoy your Rainbow Bridge squirrel chasing, buddy. 

[JuanitaCampbell]

Sorry for the loss of your fur baby. I had to put my Liberty down in November it hurt me so much. 😪

[Adrienne]

Oh my, I just read your first post and was hoping to read some good news in your next post, only to find out he passed! It broke my heart reading this and can't imagine how you must feel between losing him and the hospital downplaying things and then even sending you away! I am sorry for your loss of sweet Momo.😭

In my neck of the woods, in a town that is not that big to have a veterinary emergency clinic but not that small to not have any, we have dealt with too many potentially unnecessary losses. After hours and on weekends there is no emergency vet. Zero. Closest emergency vet is over one hour away. So many dogs and cats have died on their way. We have complained a lot, but all the 3 veterinary clinics we have tell us is that they cannot afford overnight staff as it's too costly. They would need to hire security, there is not enough need and they can't hire overnight staff. If somebody's dog or cat is sick after hours, they would therefore provide first aid and then send them over to the emergency vet over an hour away as they have zero staff at night. I still feel this is unjust and unacceptable. 

I haven't had the chance to talk about it yet, but we lost our last Rottweiler recently so we are for the first time officially dog-less. Hubby and I are taking a little break from dog ownership and have kept busy fostering and training dogs in need of homes. We feel this helps us with the grieving process and feel it's a good way to honor our dogs'. It's very tough losing them. I feel the need of getting another batch of dogs soon, but hubby still wants some time. Time will hopefully heal. 

Again, so sorry for your loss. It's so heart breaking to lose them. RIP sweet Momo. 

[JMFS]

Oh, Adrienne, I understand!  My husband felt the same way but I still dragged him over to the SPCA adoptions today when we went to Petsmart to pick up treats for Abbi's stay with her pet sitter while we're in Aruba.  They had only 6 dogs there, but one really spoke to him and we're going to go see her tomorrow.  They'll hold a dog for 7 days and we'll be back Saturday evening so the timing works.  I said it before and I stand by it, I feel the perfect thing to mend a wounded heart is a dog.  I told him if "Trouble' doesn't work out (she came in with her sister and they were named "Double" "Trouble") that I want to reach out to the Golden Retriever rescues.  With my experience with Momo being so challenging and his food aggression issues, and your guidance, I feel fully qualified to take on darn near any moderate to perfect dog situation.  Not so sure about severe . . ..  I'm almost ready to tell my kiddo to bring her roommate's Husky here to stay with me for a month so I can help her with the leash pulling and house soiling. 

I know Einstein was super duper special.  Petra, too.  They were gentle giants and they were fortunate to have you and your husband caring for them.  ❤ To me the perfect balance would be a Rottie / Golden Retriever mix.  My heart always goes to those rescues, though, and it's "you get what you get."  I Really struggle with the breeder vs rescue conundrum.  Based on Momo and Gertie I have to say you just Never know and a person might miss out if they insist on pure breeds.  "Mutts" have so very much to offer!  Heck, Gertie will turn on every light for me and she's helped me more than once to steady myself when I'm woozy from low blood pressure.  I say it's just as much the owner as it is the dog.

When we return from our trip I am going to write a letter to the after-hours hospital to let them know that the person who answered the phone needs to be put in a different position within their company because they lack the compassion necessary for the job they're performing currently.  I don't want them fired - I don't believe in that.  I do believe; however, that everyone has aptitudes and this situation was not one of theirs.  Mo may have not made it even if we had made the stop, but he may have.   We will Always wonder and we will Always kick ourselves for "what if" and "we should have."  He was taking water fine on Thursday and only threw up when he bumped his stomach.  We thought we had time and it wasn't so serious.  I keep thinking back to him having made his way to my side of the bed (he always slept on the opposite side, close to the door) and how limp he was when I picked him up to put him in my vehicle.  At that point I kind of knew it was futile, but we had to try. 

When Dr. Vickers at Banfield came out I lost my composure.  He's such a sweet man and when I heard him say, "my friend, I'm so sorry," I couldn't keep it together.  I only hope he doesn't blame himself in any way.  He did Everything he could with the resources he had and he referred us to the people who should have helped.  I can't blame them, though, because Mo was ambulatory and alert when we went in there.  What he said about humans going to the hospital for a tummy ache made sense in conjunction with Momo's ability to walk.  He was in obvious discomfort but he didn't whine, whimper, or otherwise complain at all, and his tummy was Always tight when examined because he was wound tighter than a drum any time he had to see a doctor.  l

We have an agreement now.  If ever a Veterinarian is uncertain, we're going to Gainesville UF and that's that.  Forget the cost, we'll figure it out.  I never knew how much my husband had bonded with Mo until this week.  He's cried more than I have.  I hold it together until no one can see - have to be strong for everyone else, you know?

Here's a link to the few videos I've posted to YouTube.  This was the same day he saw the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue, walked past it, backed up, sat in front of it, and proceeded to bark at it, lol. He was challenging, and sometimes I didn't think I could do it, but overall he was my Mozies. https://www.youtube.com/user/shyanha/videos

The more I look at him and pictures of Finnish Spitz the more I think he's Finnish, not German, Spitz.  Some of them would be doppelgangers if not for the tails and ears.  He had a low toned bark, too.  Finnish Spitz tend to have a high pitched bark.  Mo sounded like a Coon Hound that got pinched off mid bark, lol.  He had a special preference for emergency vehicle sirens.  They had to be Just the right pitch for him to sing along. 

 

[JMFS]

We had to go to Petsmart yesterday to get treats for Abbi's stay with her sitter while we're in Aruba.  The Humane Society was there with adoptions and my husband didn't want to go look, but I did.  What can I say?  The best thing to mend my breaking heart is a dog!  They only had about 7 pups there and as I was looking at one my husband came around the corner.  He kind of looked at the other pups and came over to me where we both looked at a 23-week old yellow lab looking puppy named "Trouble."  They couldn't let us play with her there so we went to their kennel today and met her. 

She was so very sweet and loving.  Gentle with toys, loved being pet, put her head in our laps, and let go of toys when we asked her to.  We came home, loaded Gertie and Abbi in the car and went back for a meet and greet.  Five minutes after sniffing the area and ignoring each other for the most part Gerts and Trouble started playing.  They ran all around playing chase and tousled a little bit.  Once we were sure it was a fit (we knew it would be - Gertie loves everyone and Trouble was just a doll) I went inside and filled out the adoption paperwork.  We'll pick her up Sunday after we return from the trip.  ♥♥♥♥

We all grieve differently and I just know Mo would want me to adopt another pup from the shelter like I did with him.  She had been fostered, returned, 4 days later she was adopted by a family with an autistic child.  She proved to be too much for them and was returned.  I'm thinking they have to have their hands full with the kiddo because Trouble is no trouble at all - she's the calmest 6-month old puppy I've ever seen (other than Gertie).  She was coming out of isolation today so the timing was spot on. I didn't want to bring her home only to send her to the boarder so we opted to leave her there for the week.  Having said that, though, I can't wait to get her out of that noisy place and into our home!  They're keeping her in isolation for us so that should help.  She won't have to suffer Gen Pop.

We may be nuts, but we'll have a new adolescent in the house next weekend. I guess I have a thing for that difficult / special stage of dog life because it's the age I gravitate towards.  I like them out of the puppy stage and just before they're adults.  Kind of like children.  I understand middle / junior high schoolers where many folks find them insufferable, awkward, or just weird.  I'm still shocked Mr. I'm Never Getting Another Dog was the catalyst behind this adoption.  Until this afternoon I wasn't 100% sold.  After seeing her outside of a crate and playing with her the deal was sealed.

Oh!  And they had my letter about Gertie on their bulletin board!  I write a letter to update them every year and mail that along with a small donation to the shelter.  Some of them remembered her and her namesake was the one who orchestrated the meet and greet.  Gertie was originally named after this girl because they have similar "go with the flow" personalities.

[Adrienne]

That's wonderful news! Glad to hear that you're opening your heart and home to this new pup!