Rough week :(

Wow, what a crappy last week we’ve had! Last Tuesday Bill swallowed a corn cob and by Wednesday he was skipping meals, Thursday he was off his feed completely and puking, and by Friday he was getting lethargic. Add to that a REALLY crappy situation at work AND our vet being out of town and you have, well…. Crap.

I took Bill to a different vet on Friday, where the vet looked at him, gave him a couple of shots, charged us a lot and sent us home, but thankfully our vet came back on Saturday and picked the wee Bill up. All this time I was playing nurse and syringing water down the poor dehydrated boy as well as trying a bit of yogurt. By the time our vet took him on Saturday he was thoroughly fed up with my “nursing” and was growling at me : ).

Now, if you know me or my family at all we are NOT vet people. We do as much treatment as we can ourselves, buy our vaccinations from the livestock supply store, and our pets seem to live forever. Heck, my parents have a BARN CAT who is 20 years old! So for me to be concerned enough to take my dog to the vet means that I was really convinced that it was beyond home health care. Not good :(

Bill was opened up on Sunday, after a night of close care and being on a drip to get hydrated, and the corn cob was nary to be found. He’s been diagnosed as simply having a viral infection, the poor babe, and his chances are about 50/50. You’d think that with five remaining dogs his absence wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but holy smokes is that wrong. We all really miss our little Billy! Even the other dogs do!

Digesting a corn cob and feeling sick :(

One of our last pictures of Bill, before he was admitted :(

Madea spent the night being his “nurse” and sleeping beside him. She came to wake me up once and I quickly checked to see if something was wrong with her patient. I mean, you read stories about that kind of stuff happening. Only nope, not with Madea- she just wanted up to sleep on my bed.

Sanyu taking refuge from my endless fussing over the patient

The little girl who couldn’t quit crying after her puppy was taken away , surrounded by her loving and caring Pack – who were taking full advantage of their chance to nap on the bed!

Last picture of a healthy, happy Bill :(

I found a bit of comfort in sticking Madea in a pillow case. Yes, I know that's strange.

Cat's have SUCH an ornery sense of humor. Bronco KNOWS that Ellie isn't exactly fond of him but look where he chooses to lay?

So, I try to be the calm and assertive Pack Leader. I really do. But I knew that my energy must really suck when I forgot to feed the kids breakfast (oops), my patient was growling at me, Bridger wouldn’t come inside, Sanyu spent her day in the bedroom on my bed and Madea was found sleeping in the bathroom (??? She’s blond, what can I say?). Ranger kept slurping up Bill’s hydration fluid so he felt great! And poor Ellie just kept wondering how in the heck she ended up in such a crazy Pack with a Leader who was giving off such weak energy.

We’re still praying that Bill pulls through and are keeping our fingers crossed. He’s not getting any worse (good) but he’s not getting any better either (bad). I simply can’t imagine how parents manage when their CHILDREN are in the hospital and are sick. I keep telling myself, “This is JUST A DOG – thank God it’s not one of the kids.” Can’t. Even. Imagine. So yeah, I feel a little stupid about getting so emotionally involved in a sick puppy when so many parents are watching their children die : ( Could be worse, Grace, could be SO much worse.

Ella and Ranger comparing heights. Ranger is slightly taller but he won't be for long!