Porter went in mid-morning for surgery - didn't know what we'd find or if we could do anything about it, but it was our only chance at saving him. Was fairly convinced it wasn't going to be good, so I said my good-byes and held him as they administered the first round of sedatives. Not the easiest moment of the day.
I figured if I was going to get a call that my dog was dead, I'd better be in the woods. I came home and packed up my Vizsla and the double and headed to some good cover. A little ways into the trek, we bumped a big, red-phase grouse. The cover was thick, the leaves changed, but all still hanging to the trees and all I saw was the tail go up. The gun swung and went off where I thought the bird should be. Mr. T. ran in and we recovered the bird. A grouse, for Porter. I thought, given the poetry of the situation, that Porter was done for. About ten minutes later, the phone rang from the vet. I knelt with the gun, T at my side, and got some much needed good news.
What they found: two stomach ulcers, one healing, one actively bleeding. And big. This bigger, more problematic one was also in a hard to get to spot: the "back" of the stomach. While palpable, the ulcer could only be accessed by going into the stomach. But no cancer, no obstruction, no "whoknowswhat" that couldn't be addressed. Step one.
What they did: the smaller ulcer was left alone as it was mostly healed and looked good. To address the larger one, they cut into his stomach, cleaned out food, grass, and some clotted blood. Through the stomach, they were unable to "cut out" the ulcer, but instead, sutured it shut and covered with hemostatic (sp?) gauze. They sewed him up and woke him up.
How he reacted: His body temp was low following surgery so we spent a lot of time with a heating pad and blankets getting his temp up to normal. After his temp was up and he started to really wake up, he was groaning from the pain so pain meds were administered. This pretty much knocked him out and he slept, in and out, for 3 hours or so. He finally stood up, woke up (in that order), and pranced toward the door when asked "do you want to go outside?" Couldn't believe it. Got him some more pain meds and antibiotics before bringing him home. He walked out of the vets on his own and into the house although I lifted him in and out of the car.
Where we're headed: if all goes well, he'll sleep through the night with some pee breaks and perhaps a sip or two of water. If possible, I'll get some dissolved antacids into him. Tomorrow we head back to the vet for a check-up and likely IV. If we're on track, he should be on some bland, solid food tomorrow evening (boiled rice and venison). Fingers crossed. We're probably not out of the serious woods until 48hrs or so have passed and he is back on the solid food, drinking water, and having normal bowls, etc. We'll be staying close over the next couple days.
I'm 100% serious when I say this mojo stuff works. We were on a steady downhill beforehand. And regardless, it means a lot, for some odd reason, to know thoughts and positive energy are flowing. Thanks again. Hopefully, we'll continue down the road of recovery.
No comments:
Post a Comment