Also: ridiculous.
It's been a long week.
Wednesday was my day off. I took Alex to work and then went grocery shopping because food is important. I was home for maybe half an hour before it was time to have lunch with one of my coworkers (Lena, who has watched Honey every time we go out of town). I put Honey in her crate and went to Waffle House.
When I got home, less than half an hour later, she had torn off and chewed up a good chunk of one corner of her crate, and yanked on the rest hard enough to create a large Y-shaped crack. I couldn't put her back in it because of the jagged edges, and what would be the point? The integrity of the crate was compromised, and we didn't have time to buy a replacement bottom.
So, the next day we just left her out. What's the worst that could happen? We put our shoes away along with other things we thought she might chew. She's a very good girl, but she's chewed through a harness, chewed up one of my belts, my slippers and one of Lena's dog's collar. Looking at that list, we should have known better.
Alex reported that she was fine all Thursday morning, but when we got home after work, her leash and harness were missing from the table and lying on the floor were two plastic buckles and the D-ring from the harness still clipped to the leash hook. Someone
ate her leash and harness. Baaad girl. She also rummaged through the recycling a little and chewed up a shoe, but it was only a couple things and the shoe was undamaged. I was just glad that she hadn't destroyed the front door or eaten the futon or a throw pillow.
Success!
She was acting like she had a tummy ache, though, and after a night of restless sleep, she finally threw up her dinner at 5 AM. We made it to the bathroom in time, though, and I let the vet tech at work know when I saw her the next morning. The resident DVMs were on a plane on their way to a conference, but the tech emailed them and waited for a response.
Around 4:10 I was told to go get the dog
immediately, so Lena drove me home, I grabbed the dog, and we returned to work (house in perfect order, btw). The tech immediately handed the dog over to an ACO and (to my surprise) they immediately left for the emergency vet. The doctor was supposed to arrive at 6 PM. I didn't hear any news until 8:30:
"They're still trying to get all the harness and leash out. She ate five buckles too :( They couldn't get her to throw them all up and they may have to do exploratory surgery if they can't get it out with the scope."
At 10:45, we were told that they had gotten one out and were still searching for the other one.
We learned the next day that they did an x-ray, saw all the nylon and 5 bits of metal and induced vomiting. Then they scoped one out but couldn't find the final piece. Another x-ray revealed that, while vomiting, one piece had gone up into her nasal cavity.
My poor, poor baby.
Needless to say, her throat hurts. She was very happy to see her mommy this morning, and I'm sad we couldn't bring her home. She threw up her breakfast but I think she immediately ate it again. They said that as soon as she can keep her food down, they'll send her home while we wait for another vet to look at her. I'm going to check on her in the morning and hopefully she can at least spend the day at home.
We spent a good deal of time trying to figure out what "buckles" were in her since she didn't eat the plastic buckles or metal clip. Thankfully, they saved the vomit! Turns out it was the metal pieces that let you adjust the size of the harness, though that still leaves one piece unaccounted for. They didn't save the scoped stuff, which I think would be the most interesting.
We ordered distractions for her the evening she ate her stuff, and it arrived the same day she went to the emergency vet. An antler, which I've heard don't break and splinter like bones, and a bone (
only when supervised). Today, from the donation pile, I got some calming treats with chamomile and tryptophan. We're also going to feed her three times a day instead of twice, hoping that lunch will tide her over and she won't be as peckish in the afternoon. If all else fails, then we'll try the calming treats.
She's a good girl, and I'm hoping this is a one-time thing. Shame on us for leaving her leash and harness where she could get it. Shame.
So another night without our girl. It's lonely, but I must admit that I slept like a baby last night (once I got to sleep). I go into Mommy Mode whenever I have a pet around and wake up at every fart and snore, especially when baby has eaten a few feet of nylon and has been threatening me with vomit all evening.
Our futon is vacant. And, since we have an unknown, un-crated canine quantity, we will not be purchasing a real couch in the near future. Sad. But totally okay. Some things are more important.
