My dog's emergency surgery

Since my cervix decided to shorten and my OB put me on bedrest for the rest of my pregnancy, my dog has become my best bedrest buddy. We have always been close, but now that I don't leave the house we spend almost every moment from early morning until bedtime together. Her favorite game is to steal my pillow when I get up to go to the bathroom or to grab something to eat from the kitchen. I can't really blame her, it's a very comfortable pillow from Scandinavian Down that my husband got me as part of my birthday present last year. Here's how it usually goes down, I finally caught her on camera the other day.





Well yesterday I noticed that she was getting sicker and sicker as the day went, out of the blue. Normally spunky and bouncing off the walls (when she's not stealing my pillow) she was lethargic, hadn't gone to the bathroom all day and was having trouble jumping up or off the couch. When I tried to pet her throughout the day she would just yelp in pain if it was near her back end. Midday she started trembling and shaking that wouldn't stop. By now I had phoned my husband and told him I was making an urgent vet appointment for as soon as he could get home.

Since I had been a obedient patient and had not budged off the couch all day, I decided to venture with my husband to the vets office (that would be about 10% activity - 90% bedrest, right?) An hour later we left the vet's office without our little furchild. Dr. McVet said that she had a extreme case of a plugged anal gland that had turned into an abcess (gross I know). He needed to keep her overnight, put her to sleep and open up the gland to irrigate and drain things (doggie I & D for all you medical people out there). I asked him how this had come on so quickly and he said that with small dogs things go from minor to major fast and because they hide things so well. He said that there are no external signs or symptoms except tenderness to touch, which is why they hide it so well. Dr. McVet also said that this can happen even with having anal glands expressed at groomers, and that she would just need to come in once a month from now on for a more involved expressing at their office, and that she shouldn't have this problem again. Luckily our doghter (as we call her instead of our daughter) did great and is back home with me again. She is just doped up on some doggie pain medicine three times a day and antibiotics, and has a follow up appointment next week.

I think things like this are harder on us dog parents than the actual furry children. On the way home from the vet I cried, and my husband said, "Don't worry, she'll be fine. This is a smaller procedure than having a dog fixed, no big deal." I knew it was no big deal, but maybe it's all the darn pregnancy hormones. Regardless, if I feel this way about our dog, I dread the day our little Spot that we have on the way needs their first surgery or emergency. I pity the poor pediatricians or surgeons who have to witness my first child related future meltdowns :-) So on the way home yesterday we hit a drive thru ice cream shop and I treated myself to one of my old favorites - an oreo milkshake - and yes I ordered a large one. Suddenly things didn't seem so bad!

A little downside of my escapade outside to the vet, was some decent abdominal cramping that followed. It was enough I guess I'll have to mention it to my OB, and enough to make me not want to venture out too much in the next couple of days. Here is a picture of how my dog and I spent today, the day after her surgery last night. I'm glad we're back to our normal position as couch potatoes. Life is once again just how it's meant to be. All is right in the universe for now - at least in our little universe.