A new threat....

One thing about life in a veterinary clinic is that everyday you learn about a new and different way you can get sick. On the one paw, I happily wag my tail for each day that Bea and I are healthy, and can chase each other around the house. On the other paw, I can’t help but worry about what’s going to get me next; attack by Rottweiler, worms living in my heart, my tongue growing purple and lumpy? Today, just gave me another reason to worry. It’s in the water. Not the cool water that mother puts in our bowl everyday but the warm, murky brown water that fills all the holes outside after a rain; the water that calls to me, the water in which I must splash, and drink and enjoy. I don’t think there’s one fun thing left that can’t hurt you some how or other. So, as the story goes, something called Leap Toe Spirosis waits for you in the puddles. If it gets inside you it makes you sick, sick, sick.

I first learned about this problem from the Dents family: two mean little Lhasa dogs and their even meaner parents. This family all looked alike: flat frowny little faces that would try to bite you when you weren’t looking, and dogs weren’t much better. Mrs. Dents was certain that her precious puppies, Freddie and Frannie had been poisoned. “Their not eating and their losing weight”, Mrs. Dents exclaimed “they’re getting dehydrated and are going to need fluids.” Mother had the worried look, unsure if Mrs. Dents was just a special brand of crazy, or if the dogs were really sick. It took some convincing, and two separate visits, but then Mrs. Dents finally agreed to let mother take some red syrup and yellow marking liquid and run some tests. Shortly after that, mother announced, “You were right, not only are they dehydrated but their kidneys are not working properly. Freddie’s situation is so serious that he needs to stay in the hospital!” Satisfied, but starting to smell of fear, Mrs. Dents started to bark on about new concerns, “Was it poison? How are you going to fix it? We can’t spend too much money if they’re not going to make it? Why didn’t you run these tests a few days ago?” After lots of minutes in the exam room, mother came back out with Freddie. He had to stay to get the fluid tubes put in to his arm. He was so ornery that he had to wear a white room on his head just to keep him from biting everyone. It never ceases to amaze me how some dogs won’t even let you try to help them, and others like Fluffy who have every reason to be angry, never even lift a lip!

So that’s how the Dents’ dog came to stay at our clinic. Of course, at this point no one knew why his kidneys had stopped working. We wouldn’t find that out for a few days.

To be continued tomorrow……