Big Gold Dog..
Say a little prayer if you kindly would for Tres, The Big Gold Dog. He's resting now at Shannon Animal Hospital under the magnificent care of our friend and saint, Dr. Greg Adkins. This morning I had trouble rousing Tres to go outside. When I heard him get up and start for the door I walked from the kitchen into the living room and was horrified to see a large pool of blood where he stood. He went outside and immediately collapsed onto the front porch, where I could see yet more blood appearing. At this hour of the morning I had to wait for Greg to get to the clinic and then worry that Tres would even have the energy to get into the car, being far too large to lift by myself. Trooper that he is, however, he finally struggled into the car and we raced to the hospital.
Greg saw us immediatley and determined that the blood was coming not from his rear end as I had supposed but through his urinary tract. The large amount of blood I had seen was actually largely urine with blood in it. Not good none the less. Greg gave Tres intervenous fluids and analyzed the urine/blood sample, finding the white blood cell count to be good, which does not negate a tumor but makes it less likely. As things are now, Greg knows that there is a blockage but the cause could be an infection, a calcium deposit, a broken blood vessel or perhaps a tumor. Greg will be taking X-Rays and doing some other tests while I'm gone.
I'm going to check on the Big Guy at noon. I'll update when we know something more....thanks.
4:15 PM: The signs for Tres are encouraging later this afternoon. He is eating treats and drinking water and wanted to walk around. Good signs. Greg has X-Rayed him and saw nothing major, but noted a spot he could not identify. He's going to re x-ray and possibly keep Tres overnight.
7:15 PM: I spent an hour with the patient tonight. He's feeling better...if eating a can of dog food in 4 bites means anything. He'll stay overnight to see if he still has blood in his urine, and Dr. Greg still thinks he sees some sort of "lump" in his bladder. He'll do another x-ray tomorrow and possibly ultrasound. But Tres is definetly ready to come home. It broke my heart to leave him behind when I left.
Say a little prayer if you kindly would for Tres, The Big Gold Dog. He's resting now at Shannon Animal Hospital under the magnificent care of our friend and saint, Dr. Greg Adkins. This morning I had trouble rousing Tres to go outside. When I heard him get up and start for the door I walked from the kitchen into the living room and was horrified to see a large pool of blood where he stood. He went outside and immediately collapsed onto the front porch, where I could see yet more blood appearing. At this hour of the morning I had to wait for Greg to get to the clinic and then worry that Tres would even have the energy to get into the car, being far too large to lift by myself. Trooper that he is, however, he finally struggled into the car and we raced to the hospital.
Greg saw us immediatley and determined that the blood was coming not from his rear end as I had supposed but through his urinary tract. The large amount of blood I had seen was actually largely urine with blood in it. Not good none the less. Greg gave Tres intervenous fluids and analyzed the urine/blood sample, finding the white blood cell count to be good, which does not negate a tumor but makes it less likely. As things are now, Greg knows that there is a blockage but the cause could be an infection, a calcium deposit, a broken blood vessel or perhaps a tumor. Greg will be taking X-Rays and doing some other tests while I'm gone.
I'm going to check on the Big Guy at noon. I'll update when we know something more....thanks.
4:15 PM: The signs for Tres are encouraging later this afternoon. He is eating treats and drinking water and wanted to walk around. Good signs. Greg has X-Rayed him and saw nothing major, but noted a spot he could not identify. He's going to re x-ray and possibly keep Tres overnight.
7:15 PM: I spent an hour with the patient tonight. He's feeling better...if eating a can of dog food in 4 bites means anything. He'll stay overnight to see if he still has blood in his urine, and Dr. Greg still thinks he sees some sort of "lump" in his bladder. He'll do another x-ray tomorrow and possibly ultrasound. But Tres is definetly ready to come home. It broke my heart to leave him behind when I left.
