Doodle’s in Distress

On the morning of Saturday July 1st our basset hound, Maggie Lynn, showed zero interest in her breakfast.

From a dog who usually comes running to your side at any hint of food, we knew something was wrong. Sunday morning after she turned her head away from 3 consecutive meals and not getting up from the couch in two days, we decided it was time to contact our local emergency vet and get her in for an exam.

After blood work coming back within normal ranges, no audible distress in her stomach, and her ability to keep water down the emergency vet recommended we take her home for further observation and provided us a prescription for an appetite stimulant.

Four more days went by and she still had not eaten. We tried plain rice, boiled chicken, scrambled egg, pumpkin purée, dog treats, and wet food! Heaven on a plate for this dog on any other day, but at each attempt she would turn her head away and go back to sleep.

We were fortunate enough to get her in for observation at our personal vet on Thursday July 6th, who conducted more blood tests and an x-ray. Again, blood work came back within normal range and the x-ray did not indicate any obvious signs of a blockage. They encouraged us to take her home for further observation and were hopeful it was just an upset GI Tract that would resolve itself.

Morning of Friday July 7th, Maggie Lynn threw up, was heavily drooling, and actively trying to hide in our couch. Indicators to us that this was likely a blockage.

We immediately called our vet and they were able to get her in for a more intensive set of X-rays with barium. At first things were moving along great, until they weren’t.

One of the x-rays came back with indication of a blockage. We are still waiting on confirmation from the radiologist, but it is likely she will be heading in tonight for emergency surgery.

UPDATE: Friday 7/7 @ 6:30pm - Radiologist came back and reports no evidence of a mechanical obstruction or foreign body. She is back home with us tonight where we will monitor her and give her ongoing medication (and love) over the weekend to keep her stable. We will be reporting back to our vet Monday morning with any updates and for further examination(s) as needed.

As of now, we still do not have answers but are hopeful that whatever is causing the issue will resolve itself in the coming days. Vet and radiologist believe it could be ulcers, gastritis, or enteritis.

UPDATE: Tuesday 7/11 @ 10:00am - Maggie Lynn successfully kept down around 4tsp of both wet food and goats milk yesterday! We did have to syringe feed her, but we'll take every little victory. Yesterday she also voluntarily ate small portions of her treats and even gobbled down some boiled chicken. She has started to pick up her toys again and parade them around the house, encouraging her puppy brother to play along.

At this point, we are relieved to see some progress and feel more comfortable continuing her medications and caring for her at home. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful team of vets at Look Ahead Veterinary who stayed in touch with us all weekend despite being closed to help monitor her progress and provide us words of encouragement.

Although we do not know what caused such a quick and scary decline, we are happy to have our sassy doodle dog back in action.

While it is beyond awkward to ask for help, we are desperate and any little bit would be such a gift.

Thank you for reading! Doodle sends her most slobbery of puppy kisses.