Much Needed Update
*forgive the cross-posting everywhere. i wanted to make sure i reached everyone*
lemme start out by giving a small back story. last year jammie became VERY sick with very little notice. after many weeks and different things, the vet did an "exploratory surgery" on her tummie to find out what was going on. while the vet was in there, she ended up doing a MAJOR surgery. removing most of jammie's lower intestine. it took WEEKS of recovery and several scares of possibly having to put her down before jammie started getting better. with that said, the vet informed me that it was a possibility she wasn't able to safely cut away all the "infected" intestine and i would need to keep an eye on her for awhile. she also told me it was possible that jammie could get sick again. but we were both positive that she would bounce back and be the energetic, fun-loving JRT we all know she can be.
about a month ago, jammie started "not feeling well". she just wasn't as happy as she had been. i figured she was just bored but kept an eye on her. then she started being picky about eating. she was excited about the food, but she didn't really want to eat. and if she did eat, she never ate everything (and she only gets 1/4 cup of food when i feed her). she was still drinking water and going potty but my concern grew. then on the 6th of this month, she gave me the biggest scare. she didn't want to eat, drink, move, play, or go outside. all she would do is lay on my bed and shake. i called the vet close to home (she doesn't have a regular vets out here yet). they told me that there would be an exam fee and then a blood panel and possible x-rays. i was looking at anywhere from $150 to $250 (not including any kind of treatment) and they don't take payments. I could afford the exam fee, but not everything else right away. I called my mother, upset and trying not to cry. I wanted her opinion and advice. she was very brave for me, but i knew her heart was breaking just as much as mine. she finally told me to call the vet in AZ that had done jammie's surgery and see what she might have to say. so i did. doctor blackwell is amazing. she was patient with me while i tearfully explained what was going on with jammie and was very gentle in delivering her news. she informed me that, unfortunately, if it was needed, jammie could not go through the same surgery again. she told me that it would be just as harmful to jammie to try and remove any more intestine. she also told me that she would be willing to talk to any vet i found out here and explain exactly what she did last year.
when i got off the phone with doctor blakcwell, i cried. i just knew that i was going to have to put jammie down and it was breaking my heart. so i called the vet here in OR back and explained to them what was going on and they proceeded to tell me that the vet would have to do an exam (standard on all dogs apparently) but that they wouldn't help in euthanizing my dog with out a full examination (remember anywhere from $150 to $250) and the vet reports from her surgery last year. they gave me the number of an emergency clinic that might be able to help. when i called them, they basically told me the same thing, only they also have an $80 "emergency" fee. they too, gave me a number for "low income" households. unfortunately when i called them, they told me they didn't do euthanization. i called my mom back just absolutely heartbroken, here is my dog, hurt, sick, pretty much wasting away, and i can't even help ease her pain. mom asked me if i still had any pain meds from her surgery last year. fortunately i did, so i was able to give her one and help a little there. then mom helped me look up the information for the local humane society out here. they have a clinic! and exam fees are only $10. to bad they aren't open on thursdays! i started to calm down a little. i was able to help jammie's pain, and mom told me to try and ground beef and rice mixture for jammie.
soon after giving jammie the pain pill, her shaking slowed and eventually stopped. she still didn't want to get up or play but she was doing a little better. i made the rice and beef mix and put some on a plate. jammie seemed interested in it and actually ate some. my heart was still hurting, but i was doing better. justin and i decided to stay home instead of going out and just watch movies. the clinic opened on friday and i was going to be there when they opened. that day/night jammie ate 2 more times, actually moved around the house, and wanted to go outside. when i took her to the clinic, they told me that they wouldn't put her to sleep with out last years reports and an exam of their own. but they were actually looking at her and giving me advice on things to try. i could have had them do a blood panel and x-rays but if i couldn't pay the bill, i would have to sign jammie over to them. they would then, either put her sleep (if that was the best option), or fix whatever was wrong with her and then adopt her out to a "good home". well, that was out of the question. they told me if she got worse to bring her in, but if she stayed about the same or got better, i could wait for the blood panel and x-rays. they did tell me that, even if i didn't go through them, i would want to get all that stuff done soon, just for precautionary reasons.
so jammie came home with me. we continued with the rice and beef mixture, lots of water and love. after a couple days of the food she started acting more like herself, but still not 100%, so i decided to start mixing in her dry food. unfortunately, she would eat around it. literally! even if she managed to pick one up, she would spit it out. so i changed her dog food. still no eating. i knew she couldn't live off rice and beef forever. she was already to thin (she dropped to 8.4 pounds. she started at 10.6. last year she weighed 12.8) so i enlisted the help of my mother once again. her solution...canned dog food! i felt so dumb, not thinking of it myself. so i picked up a couple different cans and came home with a mission, to get jammie to eat dog food! so i took a spoonful of the wet food and 5 pieces of her kibble and mixed it all together. SUCCESS! she ate it all. she picked around the kibble a little, but i had mixed it so well that she couldn't eat the wet w/o getting the dry.
today is day three of eating the wet/dry mixture and jammie is doing great. i still know that she is "off" but the biggest worries are over. i also know that, just because she is eating and feeling better, she could still be sick. i will be getting her for all the necessary exams as soon as i can. if she truly is sick and they tell me it's only a matter of time, i will keep her happy for as long as i can. i will let her tell me when it's time. if they tell me it's something else that's fixable, i'll do what needs to be done to make her better. after all, she's only 8. she still has 6-7 years left :)
now, after all that, i will be quick about the other things going on. Justin still hasn't been able to find a job, but he continues looking. i know he'll be able to find something and have much faith in him. my work is going good. a CSM position opened up that i am interested in. i know there are SEVERAL other people interested as well, but i am hopeful. and if it doesn't happen this time, i'll just keep doing what i'm doing and wait for a better position to open up again. the household is moving along swiftly. i think we're all pretty adjusted to everyone living here and the routines we all have. we aren't a well oiled machine, but i kinda like it that way. justin and i are on the road to happiness. lines of communication were re-opened, long talks were had, many things were discussed, and issues were resolved. i'm pretty happy with my life right now and even have some future goals!
lemme start out by giving a small back story. last year jammie became VERY sick with very little notice. after many weeks and different things, the vet did an "exploratory surgery" on her tummie to find out what was going on. while the vet was in there, she ended up doing a MAJOR surgery. removing most of jammie's lower intestine. it took WEEKS of recovery and several scares of possibly having to put her down before jammie started getting better. with that said, the vet informed me that it was a possibility she wasn't able to safely cut away all the "infected" intestine and i would need to keep an eye on her for awhile. she also told me it was possible that jammie could get sick again. but we were both positive that she would bounce back and be the energetic, fun-loving JRT we all know she can be.
about a month ago, jammie started "not feeling well". she just wasn't as happy as she had been. i figured she was just bored but kept an eye on her. then she started being picky about eating. she was excited about the food, but she didn't really want to eat. and if she did eat, she never ate everything (and she only gets 1/4 cup of food when i feed her). she was still drinking water and going potty but my concern grew. then on the 6th of this month, she gave me the biggest scare. she didn't want to eat, drink, move, play, or go outside. all she would do is lay on my bed and shake. i called the vet close to home (she doesn't have a regular vets out here yet). they told me that there would be an exam fee and then a blood panel and possible x-rays. i was looking at anywhere from $150 to $250 (not including any kind of treatment) and they don't take payments. I could afford the exam fee, but not everything else right away. I called my mother, upset and trying not to cry. I wanted her opinion and advice. she was very brave for me, but i knew her heart was breaking just as much as mine. she finally told me to call the vet in AZ that had done jammie's surgery and see what she might have to say. so i did. doctor blackwell is amazing. she was patient with me while i tearfully explained what was going on with jammie and was very gentle in delivering her news. she informed me that, unfortunately, if it was needed, jammie could not go through the same surgery again. she told me that it would be just as harmful to jammie to try and remove any more intestine. she also told me that she would be willing to talk to any vet i found out here and explain exactly what she did last year.
when i got off the phone with doctor blakcwell, i cried. i just knew that i was going to have to put jammie down and it was breaking my heart. so i called the vet here in OR back and explained to them what was going on and they proceeded to tell me that the vet would have to do an exam (standard on all dogs apparently) but that they wouldn't help in euthanizing my dog with out a full examination (remember anywhere from $150 to $250) and the vet reports from her surgery last year. they gave me the number of an emergency clinic that might be able to help. when i called them, they basically told me the same thing, only they also have an $80 "emergency" fee. they too, gave me a number for "low income" households. unfortunately when i called them, they told me they didn't do euthanization. i called my mom back just absolutely heartbroken, here is my dog, hurt, sick, pretty much wasting away, and i can't even help ease her pain. mom asked me if i still had any pain meds from her surgery last year. fortunately i did, so i was able to give her one and help a little there. then mom helped me look up the information for the local humane society out here. they have a clinic! and exam fees are only $10. to bad they aren't open on thursdays! i started to calm down a little. i was able to help jammie's pain, and mom told me to try and ground beef and rice mixture for jammie.
soon after giving jammie the pain pill, her shaking slowed and eventually stopped. she still didn't want to get up or play but she was doing a little better. i made the rice and beef mix and put some on a plate. jammie seemed interested in it and actually ate some. my heart was still hurting, but i was doing better. justin and i decided to stay home instead of going out and just watch movies. the clinic opened on friday and i was going to be there when they opened. that day/night jammie ate 2 more times, actually moved around the house, and wanted to go outside. when i took her to the clinic, they told me that they wouldn't put her to sleep with out last years reports and an exam of their own. but they were actually looking at her and giving me advice on things to try. i could have had them do a blood panel and x-rays but if i couldn't pay the bill, i would have to sign jammie over to them. they would then, either put her sleep (if that was the best option), or fix whatever was wrong with her and then adopt her out to a "good home". well, that was out of the question. they told me if she got worse to bring her in, but if she stayed about the same or got better, i could wait for the blood panel and x-rays. they did tell me that, even if i didn't go through them, i would want to get all that stuff done soon, just for precautionary reasons.
so jammie came home with me. we continued with the rice and beef mixture, lots of water and love. after a couple days of the food she started acting more like herself, but still not 100%, so i decided to start mixing in her dry food. unfortunately, she would eat around it. literally! even if she managed to pick one up, she would spit it out. so i changed her dog food. still no eating. i knew she couldn't live off rice and beef forever. she was already to thin (she dropped to 8.4 pounds. she started at 10.6. last year she weighed 12.8) so i enlisted the help of my mother once again. her solution...canned dog food! i felt so dumb, not thinking of it myself. so i picked up a couple different cans and came home with a mission, to get jammie to eat dog food! so i took a spoonful of the wet food and 5 pieces of her kibble and mixed it all together. SUCCESS! she ate it all. she picked around the kibble a little, but i had mixed it so well that she couldn't eat the wet w/o getting the dry.
today is day three of eating the wet/dry mixture and jammie is doing great. i still know that she is "off" but the biggest worries are over. i also know that, just because she is eating and feeling better, she could still be sick. i will be getting her for all the necessary exams as soon as i can. if she truly is sick and they tell me it's only a matter of time, i will keep her happy for as long as i can. i will let her tell me when it's time. if they tell me it's something else that's fixable, i'll do what needs to be done to make her better. after all, she's only 8. she still has 6-7 years left :)
now, after all that, i will be quick about the other things going on. Justin still hasn't been able to find a job, but he continues looking. i know he'll be able to find something and have much faith in him. my work is going good. a CSM position opened up that i am interested in. i know there are SEVERAL other people interested as well, but i am hopeful. and if it doesn't happen this time, i'll just keep doing what i'm doing and wait for a better position to open up again. the household is moving along swiftly. i think we're all pretty adjusted to everyone living here and the routines we all have. we aren't a well oiled machine, but i kinda like it that way. justin and i are on the road to happiness. lines of communication were re-opened, long talks were had, many things were discussed, and issues were resolved. i'm pretty happy with my life right now and even have some future goals!