What A Week — What Happened to Evie?
Hey, loves! I figured I don’t really need to label every Thoughtful Thursday post on here, so just know that I share in the blog every Thursday. I’ve made it a thing. It’s happening.
So this week something terrible happened, but I think I need to back up and explain a little about my doggos in order for you to understand why we weren’t too worried initially.
We have two dogs, Evie and Pear who are both three. Evie is an Italian greyhound and whippet mix and Pear who is a pit bull boxer mix.
Evie has always been the most energetic dog in the room when there are guests, but the sleepiest and most reclusive when there are not. If left to her own devices on a normal day, she would curl up in a room under the covers and be happy as a clam. Occasionally, she may come out for a rowdy sock shaking session followed by fervent begs for scraps, but other than that, she’s asleep somewhere
Pear is the opposite. Never naps! She literally follows me and the babies around all day long. ALL DAY LONG. It can definitely be annoying at times when I trip or she knocks Phoenix over, but I know it’s also my favorite characteristic of hers.
As far as appetite goes, both love any dog-friendly scraps but where they differ is kibble preference. Pear will always eat any kibble she’s given, whereas Evie couldn’t care less. She’s NEVER been into dog food, though she did eat a few bowls of vegetarian before turning her nose up. I mean dry food is kind of yuck, I get it.
Naturally, last Thursday evening I wasn’t too concerned with Evie not getting out of bed when I poured her food in the other room. As a matter of fact, we’ve moved the food bowls out of Phoenix’s reach so many times that I just assume they don’t know where their bowls are gonna be! Collin was out with a friend and Phoenix was long asleep when I went into our guest room where the girls sleep and noticed Evie was a little shaky. The weather was chillier that day so I just assumed it was from that (common for her). When Collin got home I pointed it out and he wasn’t really worried either and we decided to just see how she felt in the morning.
Friday morning she was just acting really tired; wouldn’t take her favorite treats and didn’t have a ton of interest in going outside. We ended up calling the vet to see what they recommend and they said as long as she’s pooping and peeing and not throwing up then it will probably pass.
She was taking little drinks and little sips here and there but just acting so weird on Saturday. My stepdad came into town that day and she perked WAY up. I thought maybe she had a bout of doggie depression or something!
Sunday is when she threw up. Everything she ate or drank came back up, and I was totally losing my mind. I had been so beyond stressed about her all weekend, even though my family thought maybe it would just pass and the emergency vet bill wouldn’t be worth it.
I woke Collin up on Monday and he took her to the vet straight away. He was the first one in the door so Evie was seen promptly. Even the vet just mentioned it was common with her breed to have excess stomach acid and that was probably her issue — she didn’t eat, therefore her stomach had extra acid and she couldn’t eat BECAUSE her stomach had extra acid. Classic.
He decided to take blood and urine tests just as a precaution. When the results came back, he was shocked!
He announced to Collin that Evie’s kidneys were starting to fail and quizzed him on a list of things she could’ve invested including anti-freeze and NSAIDs. Collin reported that we don’t take pain relievers and all of our home products are green and totally nontoxic. I should also add that Evie isn’t interested in eating ANY bugs or anything at all. She doesn’t get into anything.
The vet said it didn’t look acute (meaning something that happened as a direct response to poison) but that it had been happening over time. They decided to keep her their overnight, give her fluids to replenish those she refused, give her a pill for her stomach, feed her, and check her again in the morning.
After all of that news I was a wreck! Crying all day long, looking at pictures and videos of Evie, regretting not taking her in sooner, etc. I basically googled myself into a frenzy and decided maybe she would be okay. I couldn’t think about the alternative!
Collin went in Tuesday morning and The vet reported flawless kidneys. Amazing! He did note that there was glucose and white blood cells in her urine noting an infection. She was put on antibiotics and a stomach acid reducer and sent home.
Initially, she wouldn’t eat much, but I was able to hand-feed her some water, rice, and her medicine. She was peeing normally but still acting so so sad. I was still so worried.
By then I received so many suggestions and recounts from other pet owners of their babies’ own stories, and I was worried about Lyme disease and a myriad of other autoimmune illnesses.
Yesterday (Wednesday), she took several trips to the water bowl, ate sweet potatoes, her meds, and a little bit of dog food! She played around and got rowdy with Pear, and my heart soared. We took her into the vet again and he took out her hep-lock, noting that she was acting like a new dog and to just keep giving her anything she will eat.
Last night I snuggled her in my bed and told her lots of positive affirmations to keep her spirits up. This morning, I’m not sure how she’s doing, but she did run up to both of us with a wagging tail! I would like her to eat and drink more, but the vet says it will take time and a few more days on her meds for the infection to subside.
Anyway, this has been taking up 100% of my brainpower this week and I needed to share these updates with you all! As you know, I like to call on my readers and internet friends to help me out with peace of mind in times of crisis (lol), and y’all have been a major help. I think she’ll be okay, but I’m still super paranoid it was a misdiagnosis and were missing something!
Maybe I watch too much TV or maybe a few DMs have me tripping. Either way, we have a supportive vet who will be there for us!