Kirby's Emergency *UPDATE*

I'm worried sick. I was going to catch up on my blog and talk about the great weekend we had up at my husband's parents' 50th wedding anniversary. I was going to talk about how Kirby had his first introduction to a toddler and a 3-year-old and how he got over his initial fear of the little girl's swirling purple tutu.

But instead I'm writing today about little Kirby who is at this very moment at the veterinary clinic taking IV fluids and, I hope, getting his pulse rate down. He was absolutely normal when we got up this morning. Romped down the stairs for his morning outing. Ate a bit of breakfast. Bounced at the door when my husband took Kirby and Bax for a little walk. Everything came out normally.

Suddenly, shortly after they got back from their walk, Kirby started to throw up. He lost his breakfast. Soon he was on his side, listless and looking like he was in a lot of pain as his stomach contracted. Things started coming out of the other end. He couldn't get up. We called the vet and carried him out to the car. He managed to hold everything until we got to the vet's parking lot. The minute his little feet touched the ground, all hell broke loose. Diarrhea, dry heaves.

The vet did some x-rays and blood tests. It doesn't appear to be a blockage. But the blood test showed his liver chems to be very high, which indicates that he ingested something that's making him sick. They just don't know. Now he's there resting (as much as Kirby can rest in a strange place) and they have him on IV fluids. We'll go back later this afternoon, at which point they'll decide whether he should go to the emergency clinic for all-night care. The rest of his labs will be back tomorrow.

The poor little guy is scared. His heart was racing when we brought him in. His glucose levels were up (also a sign of stress, the vet said).

We can't believe it. We didn't see it coming at all. One minute he was romping around the house and the next minute he was so very, very sick.

I'm on pins and needles. Not hearing the phone ring is a good thing, but I want to know how he's doing every minute. And I'm worried about Baxter. Baxter's the dog who is much more likely to eat whatever he finds. Kirby tends to be more finicky. So if If Kirby somehow got into something, I pray Baxter isn't going to have a delayed reaction due to his size, age and slower digestive tract.

I guess time will tell. But if you're reading this, please send a little get well soon wish to Kirby for us. He needs all the help he can get right now.

*UPDATE* - We went in to see Kirby late this afternoon. He had thrown up again in the afternoon and his urine indicated that he was still pretty dehydrated, so the vet recommended we transfer him to the all-night emergency clinic so that he could continue with his IV fluids and meds. He was so happy to see us, his little tail wagged and he seemed so much better than this morning. His eyes were brighter, and while he certainly wasn't his full-throttle self, he did manage to pull on the leash when we took him outside with Baxter for a little walk before going into the emergency clinic.

He seemed so good we just wanted to take him home. But the emergency vet reiterated what our vet told us, but that if he continued to remain as stable as he seemed when we brought him in, we could probably take him home in the morning. Our vet said she'd like to see him again tomorrow before discharging him officially, so we'll make the trek back to the regular clinic.

It was quite a relief to see his eyes looking brighter again. And while it's great having Baxter sleeping quietly at my feet this evening, I think we're all missing Kirby's playful energy. I hope the little guy is resting quietly and trusting that we'll be back for him soon.