I actually sent the kids to visit their older siblings in Tulsa at the beginning of the week, and thought I might relax with a few movies, some popcorn, pizza and other terrible foods I don’t let them have, and just enjoy some solitude. Of course, we’ve all heard about the best laid plans of mice and men. And as Slartybartfast would say, “I don’t see what men have to do with it.”
Sunday night seemed normal enough. Monday was spent picking out the movies I’d like as well as the junk food. Watched “Nights in Rodanthe” (less than epic, but tolerable) and “16 Blocks” (pretty good flick), then brought the dog, Ruby – black lab mix, in to go to bed as we do every night. She had been up at the pen still, so I went to fetch her. Odd, she was laying in a place she never lays, and didn’t really want to get up to come to me. She took her time getting to the house, unlike her usual hyper self. When she reached the patio, I knew something was up. She took the first two steps gingerly, then just hopped over the last too, and limped with her right back leg into the house. She went directly to bed, and didn’t get up at all. That too was unusual.
I didn’t sleep well that night. Something was obviously wrong, but no sign of injury. The next morning, she woudn’t even get off the bed. I picked her up and set her on the floor. She fell over and just laid there. I told her to just stay there (silly I know, she obviously couldn't walk), and went out to care for the rest of the animals. When I got up to the dog pen and saw Ruby hadn’t eaten the day before.
Due to a rash of escapes, the goldens were on chains in the their pen. They couldn’t reach her food to eat it, which they could have the days before. So, I wasn’t sure how many days Ruby hadn’t been eating, but it was obvious that she hadn’t yesterday. I called my favorite vet, who told me to take her to the vet hospital for x-rays and blood work. Tick born disease was her guess.
Ruby still wanted to drink, so I gave her a drink of water and then picked her off the floor and loaded her in the car. We drove the 30 minutes to the vet hospital, and then the fun began. They took her temp – 104°. Her eyes had started gooping the night before; they were all runny and green, a clue. She wouldn’t lift her head for the vet even. He was concerned; she was a pretty sick dog.
They asked her age, which I could only guess was around 10. I told them if they looked, the last time she was in was for mange when she was a puppy. That would give us a good idea; it was 1998. So, she was 11! Pretty old, but usually pretty chipper and healthy. I remembered to tell them I thought she was suffering from a bit of arthritis, since for the last month or so she had a hard time getting off her couch at night. She has a couch she sleeps on just outside the back door until we let her in for bed at night.
The vet took the blood, and it showed low platelets, but not high white cells, which should be for an infection. All the rest looked good, not even that dehydrated. Now, he seemed much more concerned than I was. He suspected tick born illness too, but she got so sick so fast, and her blood work didn’t look bad. I told him I’d leave her for IV through the day, then would check back before 5:30 to see how she was.
We got back at 5:00, and he seemed more concerned. They hadn’t force fed her yet; she hadn’t drunk, and they had an IV drip going. The first antibiotics she had thrown up, so none had gotten in her system yet, and they were out of injectable. The decision was to leave her over night to be monitored. They could make sure she kept some antibiotics down, and see how she felt in the morning. If she still was vomiting, the injectable ab would be there by then.
We went back at noon the next day, and she looked happy to see us, lifter her head and wagged her tail. The vet thought she looked worse, but I assured him she looked better. They had her on a second IV bag. We tried force feeding her some wet food, and she was more than happy to eat it from a tongue depressor. The kids and I went to lunch to see if she was going to keep the food down and let the IV bag finish.
When we got back, the vet reported she had kept the food down, and she was free to go home since he’d done all he could. I felt bad for him though. He really had hoped she would stand up. They took another blood sample to send off for a tick borne illness screening. We scooped her off the floor, loaded her in the car, and drove her home.
When we got home, knowing she had been in a cement run for 24 hours without opportunity to go to the bathroom, I set her on the grass in case she needed to go. Well, she stood. She actually didn’t want to not stand. So, I let her stand a bit, until she decided to sit, then scooped her back up and brought her back to the bedroom where she sleeps. We set up a bed with her favorite blanket and some of those training pads, in case she needed to go.
We left her there to rest and within seconds heard that familiar click-clack of her claws on the hard surface floors. She walked from the bedroom to the cat dishes and drank most of their water. Then, she went and laid back down. I called the vet right away to let him know she was up and walking. He was relieved. It was now Friday. We would have to wait until Monday to hear about the tick screen.
Monday came, the vet called, and it was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever for sure. By now, Ruby was feeling much like her old self, though eating her dry dog food was still a chore, so we were supplementing with wet. She would have to take the antibiotics for a total of 14 days.
In the end, I learned that I very much would miss this specific dog were anything to happen to her. She is the one who lets us know when predators of the animal or human kind are in the yard. She keeps us safe through all things, and we keep her safe through thunderstorms. I told the vet she is hyper, but not very bright. I still stand by that statement, but will add that she is bright when it counts, and a bright spot in our lives.
In total, we have now had three animals with tick borne illnesses. All were nursed back to health with antibiotics and force feedings.
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