Rodie…..

Tonight, after I picked up my daughter at work we went to Petco to stock up on some new things for our dogs, Romeo and Rodie.  We bought lots of treats, toys and new food.  I feed the dogs at 4:30. We had run out earlier and I fed the dogs some old food that was left over, from g-d knows when! I feed our dogs a mixture of canned, dry kibble and a bit of leftovers(so they will eat it)!  Romeo, the bigger dog, takes his time and chews his food. Rodie, the smaller dog inhales his food and is done eating before Romeo.  Since we had run out of dog food we had to go to Petco to stock up. We got home around 8:00, gave the dogs some new treats and started watching a movie.  I had noticed earlier that Rodie’s tummy was hard a rock.  He now was agitated and breathing erratically.

Off to Angell we went to have him checked out.  We got there around 10:30 we were lucky, they took him right away.  Our Doctor took one look at him and decided that he did indeed have a hard and distended belly and was dehydrated. She took him into the “back exam area” and told me that she would need my permission to start critical care on him, i.e, this is going to cost a lot and we need your permission to start.

Approx. 1/2 hour later the Doctor came out and reported that they had taken an Ultrasound didn’t see anything unusual and could they do an xray. Another 15 minutes passed and the doctor reappeared holding Rodie’s xrays.  She pinned up one of the xrays onto a light box and explained, this is where his head would be and here is his stomach.  It was filed with undigested food.  It was almost 11:00, and he hadn’t started digesting his food. The doctor felt that Rodie needed to stay overnight.  He would need to have IV fluids, many walks, and a girth check(to make sure he didn’t get any more bloated) every 2 hours.  She thought this would aid in the digestion process, and allow him to pass the food.  She hoped he  would be on the road to recovery shortly.

I told her I was an overseer, hoping to get preferential treatment, it didn’t help.  She asked me if I wanted an estimate and to wait at the ER desk for it.  She came out with the estimate and went over it with me, $800.00-1500.00.  Please give us a deposit and we will call you in the morning with an update. I know you think this is the kicker, but it  isn’t.  This is:  How lucky we are, to have a facility like Angell, this close to us.  A state of the art hospital, and a no kill shelter.  It is comforting to know, they are available 24/7, for situations that your personal Vet is unable to handle.

I will update you on Rodie’s progress later on today. Keep your fingers crossed.