A Visit to the Emergency Vet...Twice!

We were supposed to go to see Brigid's Cross this afternoon at the food drive, so we didn't go to breakfast, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  We took Tessa for a walk, had lunch at home and were about to put her in her crate when she started coughing, like something was caught in her throat.  Then her breathing got more labored and sounded kind of like snoring.  We packed her into the truck and drove to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic on Murdock, 10 - 15 minutes away.  We called ahead, at Wendy's suggestion, and arrived about 1:00.  Of course, she seemed better once we arrived but they triaged her right away.  After determining that she wasn't critical, they asked us to wait in the truck.  

I'm not sure when they called us in but Dr. Amanda, who actually lives and works in Key West, was on duty and looked her over really well.  She noticed that Tessa's throat was a little red and possibly somewhat swollen.  She also felt that her breathing was all nasal and not lungs.  We talked about what might be wrong and treatment.  The vet was leaning toward a reaction to something, rather than something in her throat.  We agreed that we would give her an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory but wouldn't proceed unless she didn't improve.  Tessa was very patient while we waited.

We left around 4:00 with her medication and a bill totaling $167, headed over the bridge to see if we could still donate the food we had for the food drive but, alas, too late.  Once we got home, I gave her a treat and we had our coffees and read for awhile.  Then she vomits all over her bed, so I threw that in the wash and Bill noticed that her stomach was distended  Ugh!  What the hell? Sooooo, we loaded her up again and headed back.  She vomited again in the back seat.  Poor girl.  Again, they took her right in to make sure she wasn't suffering from bloat, which was what I was thinking.  

Thankfully, the staff works a 12 hour shift, so we saw the same tech and vet.  I noticed that she had a wattle under her neck and her eyes were red.  Dr. Amanda felt more confident that she was having a reaction to something, but what?  They gave her an anti-nausea shot to begin with.  She could have gotten into something in the yard, or eaten a spider or bug...  Her stomach wasn't distended but her mammary glands were swollen.  So weird.  We talked about next steps and agreed to have bloodwork done.  And we waited...

The results were pretty normal, nothing that the Dr. wouldn't expect with a reaction taking place.  She felt she was dehydrated, so they gave her some subQ fluids and suggested we add Benadryl to the other meds and feed her a bland diet for a couple of days.  It was well after dark when we left with another bill totaling $397.  We ordered a pizza from Hungry Howie's but stopped at CVS first to pick up the Benadryl.  It was 9:00 before we got home.  

We did not sleep very well as both of us were listening to her breathing but by the next morning she seemed somewhat better and after a couple of days, she was back to her normal self.  We still have no idea what the problem was but we're happy she's feeling better.  

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)