May 07, 2016
Not a good day at all
Caeli had Colin up several times throughout the night, somehow I managed to keep sleeping. Her bladder infection is back. Colin left at 5:15AM for some early morning shots. I tried to doze but Caeli had me up shortly thereafter as she had to pee. You can just picture me outside in my long nightie wearing my hat as the sun was up running behind Caeli with a long handled spoon trying to catch her urine. I finally did and sadly it was brightly tinged with blood. No one told me to get the sample but long time experience told me what had to be done.
We already had a 10AM appointment with the vet to check her lip stitch which turns out to be just fine. Our 15 minute appointment ran to a full hour before we were done. The urine we brought in showed that it was full of bacteria and possibly struvites ( stone material ). The urine sample I had brought in on Thursday morning was clear of bacteria but did have extra white blood cells in it. Partway through our appointment Caeli started to moan and whimper. I asked for pain medication which they agreed with but at my third request they realized that I wanted it now. Then the vet wanted to to inject a needle to get a sterile sample of urine, I said no. Enough was enough. Eventually we compromised and cleaned her ‘parts’ and took her out to pee. That sample will be cultured to see if she is resistant to certain antibiotics and which would be best for her. Meanwhile we have resumed the same antibiotic that she was on last week as is did help her within 24 hours.
Much discussion about what is causing this problem. It could be as simple as stones or as severe as cancer. Caeli is booked for an ultrasound at 1PM Monday, hopefully we will get some important information once it is completed. She has the symptoms for it all. The vet wanted me to hydrate her with lots of fluids and only feed her wet food. She also wanted me to feed her chicken broth so she would drink a lot. So while Colin went into the liquor store which just happened to be next to the vet office to buy me wine I trotted off to the nearby grocer. Once home I knew what to do with the wine but not the chicken breasts. We don’t eat meat nor fowl. Google told me what to do. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3-4 hours. Okay, wine in the fridge and chicken breasts on the simmer.
Then the window guy arrived 24 hours late. Somehow 2 hours went past before I entered the kitchen. Dang 😥 The pot was 50% empty. So I just added more water and simmered for another hour. Hopefully I hadn’t lost all the flavor. Once it cooled Caeli ( and Cameh of course ) lapped up quite a bit.
The windows look fabulous and the price is the same that I have been paying since we moved here, certainly worth hiring someone to do the job. Colin spent the time trying to sort out a problem with a lens. I spent those two hours reading Suzanne’s fascinating blog posts from 2012 and 2013. If you want to travel somewhere just check out her blog as she has likely been there and has some great info and photos on the place.
So the window cleaner left, Colin took Carmeh for her first walk of the day at 4:40PM while I threw together an early dinner. I had also given the girls some broth to lap up which they loved. Poor Caeli, I think that she was on liquid overload as she was incontinent just a wee bit. Later after Colin left for work, I went to tuck Caeli in with a small dog blanket and realized that it was very wet. Now I know why she slept during the entire time the window cleaner was here. My poor sweet baby.
So Colin just called and had to abort his shoot. The clouds are coming over the mountains, he requires perfect conditions for three nights in a row to get the shots he needs. The clouds were forecast for midnight. It is only 7:10PM. We are well aware that our business many be severely affected by the forest fires so we are doing the best to get the jobs done.
The good news, my scabs are all gone so now I can start to use the wonder creme I posted about a while back, the kitchen is clean and dishes either washed by hand or are in the dishwasher, I have a bottle of Painted Turtle Pinot Grigio open and at my elbow, the girls are asleep, my blog is almost complete leaving me 10 minutes to read before Colin gets home. Oh and Monday is my last vein injection day 😀
Oops, Colin just pulled in……..
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Oh, I have been eagerly awaiting the outcome of your visit! Poor little Caeli, she must be getting tired of being poked and prodded! Not to mention the spoon routine! It’s a wonder she can go at all. Well, at least she got some meds. And nothing makes one feel better than Mom’s homemade chicken soup. 😉
Thanks for the nice complement on the blog, BTW. That was a lot of blog posts!
Glad things are coming together, Chicken broth is very good for dogs, and even people. As you probably know I usually make mine from leftover chicken bones a very tasty broth for my soups.
I’ve had experience with cancer and bladder stones in different basset hounds. It just really sad to see our beloved hounds go through all of that pain. Good luck on Monday, as I will be thinking of you guys.
I know I keep posting about the AB fires but haven’t forgotten about our own here in BC. I just hope that the weather starts to cooperate, that is likely the only thing that will tame them. So much devastation. I hope they sort out the bladder infection, so painful for such a tiny dog. Glad to hear you are healing up. I look like the crazy lady in my back yard every day with the dog (minus the spoon lol) hair 8 directions in my red bathrobe 🙂 trying to pick up the doggie doo as soon as it is deposited.