It's been a harrowing life, and a particularly harrowing week.
Introducing: Inspector Noodles
One of my two adopted pugs; He just turned 6 years old.
Last week he had trouble peeing. He was eating and drinking normally, but for whatever reason he just couldn’t go. At night it was a little hard to tell if he went or not because of rain or dew on the grass, but the following day (Wednesday) he was noticeably bloated. That night we took him to the emergency room at the animal hospital nearby.
They couldn’t do all the tests they wanted to do because you need to pay out of pocket for these things, and I only had so much. My whole family is living paycheck to paycheck and with a close member of the family suffering with a life threatening illness over the past year, we are very financially strapped.
That being said, I used my own money that I had set aside for my own health (needed medications) to pay for Noodles tests, as much as I could anyhow, I emptied my bank acct.
The vet said that he had a bladder stone (or several) and that he needed emergency surgery that cost $3,000. {Insert crying family here}. The vet first said that she would attempt to administer a catheter. That might buy us some time if she can empty his bladder, but she wasn’t able to get much out because poor Noodles was too restless. Things were very grim. {insert more crying}. She then said that she would give him a strong sedative and try again while he was relaxed… 1 hour… 2 hours… 3 hours… (Finally she said that she was able to drain him completely, emptying 600ml of urine! However, she said that the stone was blocking the path and she was unable to push the stone back into his bladder (which may have given us a week or so. In his state, she said he had less than 24 hours).
The vet even went as far as to say that they might have to euthanize him… a barely 6 year old pug that still thinks he's a puppy!
That night, Noodles was too out of it to be walked, plus he was empty anyhow. The following morning, he was playful and wanted attention like he usually does, but he didn’t pee… I walked him twice in the afternoon (after he’d had a little water and food) and he tried to go, but nothing came out. Throughout the day I had contacted many organizations (Pug rescues etc…) to try and find some people that might donate to help save his life, and amazingly… News spread far and wide and people started calling from all over the country wanting to help, asking us our paypal acct info or if we had set up a chip in acct etc… even news channel 10 stepped in.
One of the people we spoke with is a former veterinarian and owner of a holistic pet food store close by. He told us to switch his food to raw food. (Raw meat and veggies etc…) processed of course but with no added preservatives or garbage that they put in dog food. We figured, what can it hurt? And bought him 2 weeks’ worth and started him on it immediately.
Unfortunately, he didn’t pee that night, nor did he the next day… That night… we were on our way to take him back to the ER to have the surgery, on the way to the car, Miraculously… he peed… and again, and again… he completely emptied himself, never crying, no whimpering… and he was so pleased, you could tell.
This bought us another day.
He did pee the following morning, but were going to take him to a different vet that was contacted by the pug rescue to help us.
He scoffed at the report from the other animal hospital, shocked that they wanted to euthanize him instead of help him.
Personally I see life as invaluable; it’s nauseating to hear someone else say to you that your dog’s life is worth $3,000. Are you a vet because you love animals or for the paycheck?
An x-ray was taken which showed no bladder stones, no blockage or any problem in the bladder at all. Did he pass the stone? No one knows. He never cried or whimpered. Was it the food? Could it be that effective, that quickly? Even the gentleman who sold it to us said that it would take some time and that Inspector Noodles would likely need another catheter or two. (Thinking that the raw food diet would break up the stone(s) regardless of their chemical makeup). This current vet even told us that he thinks the former vet may not have known how to properly administer a catheter, and that maybe that was why she struggled to get it through. That's disturbing in itself.
Two very conflicting reports certainly doesn't ease up on our stress.
A defined anomaly did however show up on the x ray, but it was by the ureter. There was also blood in his urine, but the cause is still unknown. Whatever happens, whatever the problem is… hopefully we’ll have enough through charitable donations to pay for whatever he needs. The raw food diet is an additional $60 / month expense but it’s so much healthier for him and after being educated on what the true meaning of the ingredients are on dog food labels… that’s one thing we are definitely going to stick with. Dogs used to live much longer when they were fed a raw food diet, the average dog lifespan is about 10 years shorter now than before the cereal companies invented kibble.
UPDATE: The vet, Dr. Zwilling just called me. He found crystals in his urine, but no stones (not yet anyhow) however we need to take him back there to have an ultrasound done to determine what the spot on the x-ray is. This may be on Saturday, just fyi. Thank you to those offering their help and support. I'm a giver by nature, my whole family is that way, so it's not easy for me to receive anything, but knowing that Inspector Noodles will have a fighting chance means more to me (to us) than you'll ever know.
It’s been a very difficult and emotional week, not just for us, but for his older brother of one year as well. "Sir Puddlesworth" knows that something is wrong and refuses to leave Noodles side when he's home.
I’ve had dogs and cats (other pets) my whole life, but I’ve never had a dog as lovable, well mannered, patient and deserving as my little Inspector Noodles.
Please say a prayer for my little guy, my pugs are the best parts of me.
