Vibes for Scooter please!

[bnwalker2]

Yesterday, I noticed that Scooter was acting a little lazy... I figured it was due to the heat... I feel awful when it's really hot out so I thought he may be feeling bad too. I gave him a bowl of food and he barely touched it... he nibbled at it, but eventually finished it. This morning, I found bloody diarrhea in his crate. He wouldn't touch food, not even a nice piece of roast beef... and wouldn't drink at all this morning. Of course, all vets are closed due to the holiday and the closest emergency vet is a long drive from here and has outrageous prices ($100 just for an exam). Right now he is sleeping, I got him to drink a little bit of water, but he is still having bloody diarrhea (although, the stool is not liquidy, just loose). He's been vaccinated, and never leaves our yard so I don't think it's Parvo. He had coccidia when I got him and was treated for that... that was 4 months ago. He hasn't had any contact with any other dogs other than ours. I really don't know what's going on but I'm very worried about him. Please send get well vibes for Scooter and hope we can find out whats wrong first thing tomorrow morning!

[Baxter'smybaby]

I hope you can get him checked out right away--I'm no vet, but that doesn't sound good! I am sending good vibes your way--let us know how the poor guy is doing!

[snorzzz]

Sending get well vibes to Scooter! This could be serious, so get to the vet's early. My Belle had that when she was a puppy. It turned out to be a really bad case of Ecoli. We never did find out how she got it. We suspect it might have been from drinking water out of the bird baths.

But the vet said bloody diarrhea is common in dogs, and usually runs it's course. But I knew it was something worse, and kept insisting my vet do more tests.

So, Scooters problem could be minor, or could be serious. Here's hoping it is minor! (((hugs)))

[DryCreek]

Even if a dog has been vaccinated against it, there is still a chance it is Parvo. I did have a dog that was fully vaccinated that died from Parvo. We originally thought it was poisoning but the necropsy results were Parvo.

Also, all it takes to bring this virus into your yard is to have an animal (cat, racoon etc) to carry it there on their feet and deposit it as they tour through your yard. You can even bring it into your house on your shoes after walking through contaminated soil.


I hope Scooter feels better soon, good luck at the Vets.

[Barb04]

I hope Scooter feels better. Let us know what the vet says.

[bubbatd]

Sending good vibes and anxious to hear of vet results .... be sure to take in a stool sample .

[bnwalker2]

Well, the vet can't get him in today until 6:45 this evening. They went ahead and took all of his history on the phone, so we can get in quicker. I wanted him to be seen sooner, but this is the first available appointment and he is the only vet in this area that I trust... I have at some point taken my animals to every other vet in the area and have had problems with all of them. This vet actually even charges the least amount of money, despite that he has a huge clinic and all of the high-tech equipment... plus he actually spends time with the animals instead of having the nurses do all the work.
Anyway, Scooter is up moving around a little more today and is drinking well but still won't eat. I had to give him a bath because he keeps having accidents in his crate, but he's still not smelling so great. The vet told me to bring in a stool sample when I come in, so hopefully I'll be able to get one.
I'll update again tonight when we get back.

[Denaluvscorgis]

I'm sending out thoughts, prayers and good vibes to Scooter. Let us know what is going on asap. (((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))

[snorzzz]

Does Scooter have any other symptoms? Like drooling more than normal, feverish, etc. ?

[bnwalker2]

Does Scooter have any other symptoms? Like drooling more than normal, feverish, etc. ?

I don't know if he has a fever... I wanted to take his temperature but he threw a fit. Mostly, he's just very lethargic, has the bloody diarrhea, and no appetite, not even for a little bit of hot dog and cottage cheese that I tried to bribe him with this morning. I noticed a little drooling earlier, but I noticed it literally for a second and haven't seen it again. He hasn't vomited either.
I took him outside earlier and he perked up a lot, he wanted to lay out in the sun. But my boyfriend's dad said to bring him in, because outside would make him worse. I know Scooter was feeling better in the sun, but I had to do what he said. :rolleyes:
We leave for the vet in about 2 hours. I'll let everyone know what the vet says.

[Baxter'smybaby]

?update??

[bnwalker2]

The vet decided to keep him overnight. He had a temperature of 106, the vet said he has no parasites of any kind, but other than that he has no clue what's going on, but is leaning towards Parvo. They're hooking him up to IVs and a catheter... he said they'll run every blood test they've got, get his temperature down, and start him on broad spectrum antibiotics to see if anything helps. He just said to call in the morning, and we'll just hope he makes it through the night. :(

[Barb04]

How is Scooter doing this morning. I'm praying you get good results from the vet.

[bnwalker2]

I called the vet as soon as they opened. The vet was in with a client, and the receptionist didn't know much. She said he did make it through the night though, yay! The vet is supposed to call me as soon as he's not busy but she said not to expect it to be any time soon because he'll be in surgery until 5 p.m.

[snorzzz]

bnwalker2, sending you and Scooter some ((((hugs))))

I don't know if you can do this, but if you can, go visit Scooter every chance you get. When my Belle was a puppy, she had a horrible case of Ecoli and was on an IV at the vet's for over 2 weeks. I went to visit her every day. I would open her cage door, and sit on the edge of the cage. I would gently pet her and talk to her. She seemed to be comforted by my visits.

Sending out healing thoughts to Scooter.

[bnwalker2]

I wish I could go visit him a lot, but the vet is about an hour away and I don't have a vehicle during the day... I have to wait until John gets home from work to go anywhere.
I still haven't heard anything from the vet, so I called again a few minutes ago. They said he's still hanging in there, but refused to tell me anything more. The nurse said that the vet is still in surgery and will call me later whenever he gets a chance. I asked if she could at least tell me what they found wrong, but she said only the vet could talk to me about it. I have no clue why and it's very frustrating, I just want to know what's going on.

[snorzzz]

I can certainly understand your frustration. "Not knowing" is a stressful situation to be in. And the waiting......is so difficult. You have done all you can do, and you have done the best thing by getting Scooter to the vet. Try to be comforted by knowing they are taking good care of him. But I know, it's hard. :(

[bnwalker2]

The vet finally called me this evening. The vet said he's still fighting. Scooter's white blood count is excellent... he does not have Parvo. Which is good news, but the vet still doesn't have a clue what's wrong. He said two of his levels are a little high and he's concerned about that but for the most part his blood chemistry came back excellent. He said he's still on IVs for fluids and meds, they went ahead and wormed him just to be on the safe side. He's keeping him at least tonight and has no clue how many more nights they'll have to keep him. He says it's a pretty serious infection that's attacking him, but he can't figure it out.
And asked him if he could go ahead and give me an estimate on the bill so we can be prepared. He said that the majority of the money has already been spent, they may add a little more on to it... but the bill stands at $150 at the moment which is an ENORMOUS relief!! I was seriously expecting $500+, it may top out at about $200, which really isn't bad.
Keep sending those vibes for Scooter please! We greatly appreciate them!

[bubbatd]

So anxious to hear of prognosis ....your bill almost sounds too cheap !! I hope they're checking all they can . He and you are in my thoughts tonight ((( Hugs ))).

[Baxter'smybaby]

am still sending good vibes your way--keep us updated!

[snorzzz]

I'm so glad it's not Parvo! YaaaaY! :hail:


Whatever it is, it sounds like Scooter is in good hands, and they are being careful to do everything they can do for him. I hope they have him on antibiotics in the IV?

Try not to worry too much about the vet bill. Get Scooter well first. That's enough worry for one day. One worry at a time. :)

[bnwalker2]

Just called the vet. They said that Scooter is starting to improve, and *might* get to come home tomorrow evening. They said they're going to take another complete blood count and run a bunch more tests today.

[bnwalker2]

I hope they have him on antibiotics in the IV?

They do, I can't remember what the vet said it was though, I think it started with a P.

[Denaluvscorgis]

Sending Scooter healing vibes. ((((HUGS))))

[bnwalker2]

I called the vet again tonight, I couldn't talk to the vet but talked to a nurse. She explained more than the woman this morning did. She said that Scooter vomited once last night but hasn't vomited at all today. He's had a little bit of diarrhea today but she said he's a lot spunkier than yesterday. I'll call and talk to the vet in the morning and fingers crossed he'll get to come home tomorrow evening.

[Barb04]

How is Scooter doing today?

[bnwalker2]

Just called the vet, they said he's doing MUCH better, he's eating well, very active, and is not vomiting or anything anymore. But I keep hearing, "well, he *might* get to come home tomorrow"... that's what they told me yesterday, and that's what they told me again today. John feels that since he's eating, and is active, and is doing better, that he wants me to call the vet back in a little while and tell them that we're coming to get him today. If he's better, we want to bring him home, there's no reason for him to stay at the vet if nothing is wrong with him anymore.

[bnwalker2]

Well after hearing for two days that he *might* get to come home, I called the vet this morning and I'm told: "he's doing great, he's eating, drinking, no vomiting, no diarrhea, he's active, we have stopped the catheter and the IVs... but I think we're going to keep him the rest of the weekend". I said I absolutely do not think so, he's coming home today, regardless of what they say. They're not keeping him for any reason, and the vet closes early this afternoon and no one goes into the office until Monday morning at all. He's not going to sit there for that long with no care. So the tech said she'd try to get a hold of the vet and see what he wants to do and call me back, I'm going to give her about 20 more minutes and then I'm calling back. Do you all think I'm wrong?

[bubbatd]

I hope he can come home ... I'd sure hate to leave him alone over the weekend .

[katt223]

I would want my pup back if he was doing well too!! Tell them just to give you instructions of anything special you need to do, I would just go in and pick him up.

[bnwalker2]

HE'S HOME!!!! We just went and picked him up about 2 hours ago. He's acting great, playing a ton, eating and drinking well. He was sent home with three medications... one he'll take for 4 days, one for 8 days, and the other for 9 days. We REALLY lucked out though, when I picked him up I went ahead and added flea preventative for all the dogs and cats... the total bill was $330! Thanks for all the vibes everyone, they really helped him out!

[Baxter'smybaby]

wow--so happy to hear that he is home, and feeling better!

[Buddy'sParents]

I'm so glad that he pulled through okay. :)

I would seriously look into another vet, though. They had no diagnosis but sounds as if he were treated for parvo -or something very similar. That's odd. :confused:

Anyways- keep a close eye on him the next 24-48 hours. I sure hope he gets over whatever this was 100%. :D

[bnwalker2]

They had no diagnosis but sounds as if he were treated for parvo -or something very similar. That's odd. :confused:


That's exactly what I was thinking... after talking to the vet two days ago or whenever it was, he told me it absolutely could NOT have been Parvo, that Scooter's white blood count was too high to even consider Parvo... but yet, the break down on the bill is as follows:

*office visit
*fecal float - negative
*hospital check-in
*IV cath
*3 liters of IV fluids
*CBC/Chem profile (151 to CVL)
*Ivomec Injection/CC (the vet said he wormed him just to be on the safe side)
*Reglan injection
*Cefazolin injection
*4 day hospitalization for PARVO :confused:
and these pills came home with him:
*Metronidazole Tab 250 mg
*Cephalexin Tab 250 mg
*Metoclopramide Tab 5mg


and they sent him home with an information pamphlet on Parvo... and that's what all the nurses kept saying it was. Unfortunately the vet was not in when I picked him up, so I couldn't talk to him about it, I was just happy to get Scooter out of there.

Since he's been home, he's eaten his evening meal, drank a bowl of water, and had two solid bowel movements... I'm very happy that he's doing so well.

[Barb04]

I'm happy Scooter is home and getting better.

[drmom777]

Well, I don't know what they were treating, but you meds are as follows:

Reglan and metaclopramide are the same thing, it speeds up stomach emptying, thus preventing vomiting and increasing appetite.

Metronidazole is the same as Flagyl, it is an antibiotic used to treat various infections. It works on Giardia and other protozoa.

Your third med is a cephalosporin antibiotic, in the same family as Keflex. It treats bacterial infections.

I hope this helps and I'm glad your puppy is getting better.