Heart attack by puppy

After having an awful week being sick and an exhausting Friday just from going back to work for a half day, I was looking forward to a quiet, restful, early night.  I popped out of the house to swing by the library and pick Stuart up from the C-train station.  When we got home, Stuart and Ursa went out to shovel yet more snow off of the walks.  I was downstairs when they came inside and Stuart hollered down the stairs, "Something is wrong with the puppy.  She's stumbling and she just laid in the snow outside."

I went upstairs and started feeling her over, looking for swelling or sore spots.  It was as I was doing this that I looked over and saw the container of Spry lozenges that Dad had given us.  God damn.  They are made with zylitol, which is great for humans, but not so much for dogs.  Call the vet, which had closed early due to the Okotoks Christmas Light Turning On event, but I got a nurse.  She gave me the number for the Fish Creek emergency vet.  I called them and was told to bring Ursa in right away.

By that point, Stuart was getting a little freaked out and Ursa didn't want to move.  Before I could stop him, Stuart had scooped her up (all 112lbs) and started heading for the car.  Traffic heading south was barely moving, so we cut north instead and went to the C.A.R.E. Emergency Center at Deerfoot Meadows.  I called ahead (thank god for cell phones) so they were ready for us as soon as we arrived.  She was going into hypoglycaemic shock, so the first thing they did was start a dextrose push and when they had her somewhat stabilized, they induced vomiting and then gave her charcoal.  Yum!  Within about an hour and a half, we were able to go in and see her.  Even then she was already looking perkier.

It turns out that xylitol in dogs can cause: hypoglycaemia, liver damage/necrosis and impede blood clotting factors.  Yikes!  The silver lining is that in most cases, dogs get either the hypoglycaemia or the liver damage.  So, we were concerned and not happy last night, but we kind of managed to get some sleep and the phone didn't ring at 4am.  They did a blood test last night and they'll do another tonight and then Monday morning to monitor her liver enzymes.

We went back last night to tuck her and bring them some of her food and treats.  Then this morning we went for a visit.  The vet told us several times that her blood sugar levels had continued to fluctuate throughout the night and they'd had to increase the dextrose push a couple of times.  I wasn't surprised by that - I doubt very much that all the xylitol was out yet and once you give a system like that a shove, it's gonna bounce a bit.  I wasn't too impressed with the vet though, who seemed to have trouble grasping these concepts.

After this morning's visit, we went to see Megamind, since it had been on our list and neither of us was really in shape for anything ambitious.  We got groceries and then went by the hospital once more for the day.  Poor puppy.  The fluctuations aren't gone, but their severity is reducing, so I'm happy - it just needs some patience.  Ursa is too big for their kennels, so she's living in one of the larger emergency treatment cubicles.  But it's still barely more floor space than her kennel at home and she's been in there for a while.  She gets walks for bathrooms breaks and to clean up all the water she spills, but that's about it.  She's gonna be one stir-crazy puppy dog when she gets home.

And we are gonna be broke-r than before.  How the hell can sugar water cost so much??  Oh well, it's only money.  She may have to wait a bit longer than anticipated to get a sister though.  I'll post again as things progress.