When Bailey was almost two years old, she got very sick. She was vomiting and not eating or drinking. She became so lethargic we thought she was dying so we took her to an emergency vet clinic since it was Saturday and our regular vet was closed. The vet examined her and could not find any obvious causes either by physically feeling her abdomen or by looking at her x-ray images. They gave her fluids intravenously and sent her home with some probiotics. On the following Monday, we took her to our regular vet because she was getting worse not eating or drinking. The vet again examined her physically and took X-rays without finding any obvious causes. He wanted to keep her for observation with plans to do an exploratory surgery in a couple of days. Early that afternoon, the vet called to get approval for immediate surgery. He had cleared part of his schedule and thought she was sick enough it would be best to operate sooner rather than later. After the surgery, we were told that Bailey had intussusception in her intestine. The condition is when one section of the intestine telescopes into another section of the intestine causing a blockage. He cut out the affected portion of her intestine and reconnected the remaining sections. The bad portion of the intestine already showed signs of dying and the vet believed if he had waited the planned two days, Bailey would have died. (For more information on intussusception in dogs go to Intussusception In Dogs: Symptoms, Causes, & Treatments – DogTime)
Bailey recovered from her surgery and is a happy healthy dog. But it was not that easy for her. For the next eighteen months or so she would get sick and vomit not eating or drinking. Of course, after our experiences, we took her back to the vet right away. We were in the vet’s office about every six weeks initially. They treated her with anti-nausea medication and we watched her closely. The spells lasted a couple of days, then she would recover. The time between bouts gradually increased and it has been over a year since we last took her to see the vet except for regularly scheduled examinations and shots. Having a vet who is familiar with your dog is very important since they get to know the dog and its behaviors as well as the owner’s concerns.
If you enjoy my blog, please subscribe and comment. Next week I will take a break from Bailey and write something in honor of Father’s Day. Thank you for taking the time to read this.