Ranger is Sick - A Very Bad Day

Ranger has a tendency to eat things he shouldn't, like National Geographic magazines, socks, towels or stuffed animals - which is why we have to be VERY careful about things we leave out. Ranger will eat them...and inevitably things get stuck. Many trips to the vet later it usually passes.

Thursday night Ranger started vomiting. Given the fact he does this frequently I didn't worry until he continued vomiting Friday well into the day. Friday evening he refused to eat his dinner, had quit drinking & was obviously in pain. We took him into the emergency hospital at 10PM.

They did x-rays and saw his stomach & upper GI was empty but did not see a pattern to suggest he had a blockage. He was not running any type of a fever. Other than being slightly dehydrated we chose to bring him home and give him Carafate for nausea and pepcid for acid. They gave him a pain killing injection to ease any pain he may be in. Our hope were that what ever he has blocking him up would pass on its own - which has worked in the past.

This morning he drank a lot of water but was not interested in his food. I went herding at Fido's. John stayed with Ranger. When I got home Ranger was completely lethargic. He doesn't want to get up or even move.

We are going back to the vet this afternoon. Our appt is at 3:20.

I am worried sick. My poor husband is at his wits end. He just found out this morning his 84 y/o mother (who has been in a nursing home for years due to Parkinsons) is in the ICU is dying and hospice is being called in. She has maybe a week - 10 days left.

Sometimes things just suck...Please say a couple of quick prayers for our Family and Ranger...thanks.

Update: When we got to the vet Ranger wouldn't walk. I had to carry him in the door and to the room. He was clearly 'out of it'. Ranger has been admitted for IV fluids & observation. They ran another set of xrays and dd not see anything clearly indicating a blockage - but the vet was quick to point out that fabric or cloth won't show on an xray and it can still be working it's way through. He also doesn't seem to have any abdominal tenderness when palpated by the vet.

The CBC and Chem panel were unremarkable other than some liver enzymes that are slightly elevated everything else is WNL. His WBC is normal, RBC is a bit high but that can come with dehydration, Na (sodium) was low also indicating dehydration. No signs of infection or pacreatitis either.

So the sum of it...we have to wait and see. If he isn't improving by tomorrow we are going to consider an ultrasound. They are going to do the barium study as a last resort, because if they do have to do surgery they do not want to have to deal with barium in the intestines - makes for a bit of a complication they would rather avoid.

All I can think of right now...Thank G_d for Visa and low interest rates.