Odin gave me quite the scare (and vet bill!) this week

[VomBlack]

Oh Odin..

Monday night he didn't seem to be feeling too great, woke me up at 1am on Tuesday morning really needing to go out.. had an upset stomach that I thought maybe was from the raw food or something that just didn't agree with him. Woke up to more of a mess Tuesday morning, but it seemed to be more or less okay by Wednesday morning.

Came home Wednesday afternoon to another series of accidents, and by wednesdsay night the vomiting and diarrhea got worse, he started retching this foul smelling liquid and whining, pacing and panting. His stomach felt tight. Fearing bloat we rushed to the emergency vet around 10pm. They ruled out bloat, but decided to sedate and do x-rays. The doctor pretty much told me he "didn't know", but that there were a few concerning areas on the rads where there was excess gas and fluid. Around 2am we decided to take him home for the night and go to the regular vet first thing in the morning (i'm really not a big fan of the E-vet). They gave him a liter of fluids and some anti-emetics and we went home.

He did okay through the night, but not his normal self.. still gurgling and retching on occasion. Took him in the next morning and the vet retook some x-rays and found his stomach was larger and more distended, so the decision was made to do an exploratory.. where an obstruction was found. Surgery went well and I brought a very groggy Odin home.

Couldn't get him to eat at all, and he was very uncomfortable all night.. I camped out downstairs with him for the night and frequently tried to coax him to eat without luck. with nothing in his stomach I couldn't give him his meds, and he went back to the vet the next morning to have an IV put back in so we could get everything into him that way and was sent home with fluids and injectable pain meds friday night.

So 29 staples later Odin is recovering and doing well.. his appetite is back and he's been driving me insane with his frisbee wanting to play, but the poor guy is on limited activity for a while until he fully heals. It's been a pretty nerve wracking couple of days, wasn't sure how sick he was exactly, or how he was going to handle the surgery and everything.. but when all has been said and done i'm just extremely grateful that he is okay and going to be good as new, I definitely couldn't put a price on that. Now I just need to keep him quiet, which should be an interesting task..

And a picture of Odin and his Christmas catheter, looking less than pleased:

[DharmasMom]

How scary!! I am so glad Odin is doing okay now and that everything turned out alright. Lots of positive and healing thoughts to Odin and hugs to you!!

Btw, the pics didn't show up.

[onyx'girl]

what was the obstruction? Glad you were proactive! I hope he heals with no ill effects...what a good owner you are! Hugs to Odin and you!!

[msvette2u]

I'm so glad he's okay! What was obstructing?

[jocoyn]

Glad you took him in and he is ok now.

I do not envy you keeping him calm for awhile. Been there done that. No fun but considering the alternative...

[VomBlack]

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

what was the obstruction?

Clumping cat litter! The litterbox is in a place where the dogs normally can't get to it.. so it was certainly a surprise.

[msvette2u]

Oh man that must have turned to cement in his belly! Poor guy!

[JakodaCD OA]

ee gads,,so glad he is ok, clumping kitty litter, wow..I can believe it tho, that stuff turns into solid bricks and just any kind of liquid on it like if he lapped it up and swallowed would be hard on the gut..glad he is on the mend

[doggiedad]

i'm glad your boy is feeling better. the photo
and the caption is really good.

[Daisy&Lucky's Mom]

Glad Odin is getting better. Sorry you guys had a rough holiday. I think his holiday bandage was cute but I understand his look.hope your New Year is uneventful!