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Bobby's in the ER!

10K views 77 replies 44 participants last post by  Blue_Persuasion 
#1 ·
I'm so scared, I can hardly type.

Bobby, who just turned a year old on 10/29, is in the ER right now, and we don't know what's wrong. Right now, the vet at the animal hospital has three ideas in mind: lepto, liver shunts, or he injested a toxin.

Bobby has been perfectly and completely fine for the whole time we've had him. The biggest problem we've had is that he eats his hair off which has been bothersome, and I've been doing all I can to try to figure out what is going on.

But today, he fell really ill, and he's now in the hospital for at least 24 to 36 hours. Seems around 5:00, he was laying on my husband while they were on the couch, and he started retching. My husband scooped him up and ran him over to the sink thinking he was throwing up another furball like in the past. He threw up some bile-like substance and then started screaming like he was in pain. My husband then returned with him to the couch and was comforting him, and he said the dog was breathing kind of shallowly and making some small noises. Then he felt Bob's stomach tensing up and realized after a few moments that the dog had pooped while laying in his arms.

He then took him outside to go finish going to the bathroom; and when he did, he said Bob collapsed and was lethargic. I got an alarming phone call as i was leaving work, telling me he was heading to emergency.

Bobby just got fixed on 10/29, and thankfully I had them run bloodwork so we had some baseline numbers. His liver enzymes at that time were at 43, and tonight they were at 1,500. Additionally, his clotting agent numbers are low, and they had to inject him with vitamin K. They said that a preliminary look at his x-rays show a small liver for the size dog he is. The more I keep reading, the more I wonder if it's liver shunts, though he doesn't have many of the symptoms that I've read, AND it came on so quickly. The vet said something about oftentimes, after they've been under anesthesia, a shunt will reveal itself (I think that's what she said).

Right now we don't know anything, and I'm beside myself with worry. I don't know what's worse -- not knowing what's wrong, or looking at the possibilities. I'm trying to read through some of y'all's other experiences, but I still don't know what to think. The earliest I may know something is tomorrow after 10:00. I'm so very scared. :'(
 
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#28 ·
I'm blessed and overwhelmed by all your prayers for Bobby. I know I haven't been very active here with my new work schedule, but y'all are great people.

Update: The vet called after having run his blood work this morning. Still elevated enzymes, but instead of being 1500, they're 990. Much better, especially for just being overnight. We have put shunts further down the list, and I just don't think lepto is an issue out here, so it sounds as if he may have ingested something -- mushrooms or sugar-free gum are two possibilities. My husband has seen a couple mushrooms on the lawn recently after Hurricane Sandy came through, but he's never shown any interest in them. However, he may have accidentally gotten one when rooting around in the leaves or hunting for sticks (his new best toy). As for gum, we don't chew gum here, but we are on lots with no fences, and we are bordered on the front by a sidewalk. There's no telling if somebody may have tossed their gum. Something I never knew but have learned quickly.

They recommend a further injection of something (sorry, everything sounds like blah blah blah when you aren't medically inclined AND scared) at 5:00, so they say we should be able to get him at 6:00.

Thank you again for all your prayers. I know they were answered. <3
 
#33 ·
Great news! Yay! Our pups can get in to so much trouble forging, sometimes you never know what it is, it is common for liver levels to rise with toxins, they usually go to the liver for cleaning. I know this has been scary for you, it could happen to any of us, I am glad your DH's quick action got your pup to the vet in a timely manner. Bet you can wait to pick him up!
 
#35 ·
I'm very happy as well. I tend to be more reactionary than he is, so when he called me and told he he was taking Bob to the ER, I FREAKED. This is the same man who was poo-poohing the Maltese, who was having trouble breathing one night at 1:00 am, saying he would get through it. The dog has congestive heart failure, and I knew something was very wrong. So, for him to do this, I was VERY alarmed -- but glad that he didn't take our local vet's offer to bring him in to them in the morning because they couldn't accommodate us at 5:00 yesterday.
 
#34 ·
Oh Blue, I too am keeping you and Bobby in my thoughts. I won't add to the scary ideas you found on-line and it sounds like the vets are doing their jobs (both to help and keep you sufficiently petrified) But I did want to share with you, that Cash was seriously ill at just one year old too... and he just turned 6!!!! So know that this can turn out well for Bobby! But I know there is a special fear and sadness when they get so sick, so all of a sudden, and so young, in their prime. Hang in there! and please keep us posted!
 
#36 ·
Exactly, Missy. I mean, the doctor comes in with a list of tests over a page long that she thinks they need to run, tossing out these scenarios of what could cause what she's seeing, and all I can think is, "Omg, is my baby going to die??" That's why I asked if I should be scared. She said I should be very concerned as it was serious. Which, honestly, was no surprise as they wanted to keep him for 24 to 36 hours. That's always serious. Then again, I didn't need them to become petrified because we're talking about a HIGHLY energetic and playful dog that had collapsed in my yard, lethargic. That's enough to make you lose your mind. :(
 
#37 ·
Sorry I am late hearing about this Blue, but I am glad that Bobby is on his way to recovery and you have such a great Vet Team to help you!
Keep us posted, I am sending positive and get well Vibes Bobby's way!
 
#39 ·
Oh My Goodness! I saw this title and went straight for the end first and I see that things are looking better for Bobby. How frightening. I can't imagine the night you must have had. This sounds very similar to something that happened to Finn's sister who lives in another town. Perfectly fine, and just a short time later down with vomiting and diarrhea and had to be hospitalized. I don't think the cause was ever determined. But because of the lab tests, they questioned whether it was something that was thrown over their wall to their back yard. So glad that Bobby is improving and sending wishes for full recovery. Such a worry.
 
#42 ·
Just got home from a full day out and read this sad and scary story. I'm so sorry for what Bobby, you and DH have been going through. It's so hard to see our furry ones sick and not know what's going on. Glad to hear that things seem to be looking up and Bobby could be home soon. To repeat what's already been said, prayers and thoughts for all of you, especially Bobby. Keep us posted, as we're all in this together now.
 
#48 ·
So glad things are improving! Thank you for alerting me to sugarless gum...I didn't know that and Cass found some gum a few days back, and I couldn't get it out of her mouth in time and she swallowed it. She's okay, but I will be more watchful.
 
#51 ·
So glad to hear Bobby is doing better....hope he's home, and feeling better by now! I too, had no idea about the sugar free gum!!! We have it here all the time! Not to long ago, I noticed Chris had a wad of gum laying on the coffee table beside his chair. Next thing I know, I'm cutting it out of Boo's fur around her mouth, and saying to Chris, "This is why mother's teach children then when gum comes out of their mouth, it goes directly into the garbage!!!!" I had no idea the danger was FAR worse then gum in the hair!!!! Me and Chris will be having another talk.....
 
#53 ·
Bob is home. We got in with him around 7:30 last night. He was VERY happy to see mommy (lots of kisses), and the second we got into the car, he crashed and slept all night They said he would, not only because he was feeling badly, but because they are so bustling around there with lights on 24/7. The only other issue was where they took out his IV, it kept bleeding. We had to keep a pressure bandage on it for a few hours, wound pretty tight. Since his clotting agents were really low, it was taking a bit longer to heal. His forearms are shaved down to the skin (I think they had had to IV him in each one, switching out at some point), and the one that kept bleeding is very bruised under the skin. :(

My boy is sleeping again with his brother, Casey the Maltese.
 

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#62 ·
Bob is home. We got in with him around 7:30 last night. He was VERY happy to see mommy (lots of kisses), and the second we got into the car, he crashed and slept all night They said he would, not only because he was feeling badly, but because they are so bustling around there with lights on 24/7. The only other issue was where they took out his IV, it kept bleeding. We had to keep a pressure bandage on it for a few hours, wound pretty tight. Since his clotting agents were really low, it was taking a bit longer to heal. His forearms are shaved down to the skin (I think they had had to IV him in each one, switching out at some point), and the one that kept bleeding is very bruised under the skin. :(

My boy is sleeping again with his brother, Casey the Maltese.
So glad he's back home!

I included the quote above, so it would be on this page for people who look at the last page in a thread like this first. It's a little extra time to read through all the pages since the last update to hear what's going on.
 
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