I have spent the day with Mollie on my knee, balancing my poor baby shi-tzu with post-op trauma on one arm, and typing with the other. (She had one huge stone removed from her bladder and many many small ones - her whole bladder was full, too late to try and dissolve them with a special diet).
She is so freaked out, all she does is hide in the cubby hole where we put our shoes, or under the chairs and table, or cower at my feet, waiting to be picked up. She's not allowed to lick her stitches, so she's a bit of a nervous wreck. The pain killer will do that too.
So I try and read her mind. Do you want food? uh uh. Do you want water. Nope. be picked up?
yes. No food all morning, however, I had to force some down her throat along with a few antibiotics and pain killer pills. Then I opened the fridge door for my own lunch and there it was...the answer to Mollie's low appetite....leftover chicken with cheese on top and rice. Cut up in tiny pieces, mixed with the vet's recovery food, all gone. But no way could I get her to drink water.
The day went by, me carrying Mollie and wishing I had a snuggly to put her in (she's only 10 pounds).
By suppertime, she had not had a bowel moment in 2 days, nor drank much, and the vet was wanting me to bring her in to put back on the IV ...but I was feeling resistant to turning her over to the Vet again. I sat down at the table with her, dog food in a spoon, and hand fed her. She licked the spoon, she ate some from my hand. (gawd, now we will have one spoiled Shi-tze on our hands.) We brought out the water bowl, and she drank!
you must think we are two addled middle-aged people, treating our dog like a baby....but I was never so happy to see a dog lap up a bit of water with her tongue.
My intuition to not bring her to the vet forced me to take her for a walk at 7:10, when I should have been getting into the car for our 7:30... but the walk was fruitful, let's put it that way.
Dear Mollie, you have tried to tell me with your big moist eyes that all you need is a bit of extra loving care, a bit of attention, some cuddling, some spoon feeding, and everything will be alright. Now I see it. What a day....
jenn
1 comment:
I also have a shi-tzu. Aren't they adorable? Mine is treated like a little baby, too. And she's typically a nervous wreck when any new curve is thrown her way. I just bought a new chair for my living room a week ago and she's just now beginning to be able to approach it without looking like she's afraid it might attack her!
Good job listening to your intuition.
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