Marley -n- Me

May 1, 2017 Marley had FHO surgery with Dr. W.

We picked her up same day and boy did she struggle.  She laid on her dog bed crying, drooling, wouldn’t eat, would only minimally drink and overall was very uncomfortable.  I knew I had made a mistake bringing her home after such an invasive surgery.  So I spoke to the Emergency Clinic and had her hospitalized overnight to keep her on fluids and more comfortable.  The next morning I was told she could come home.  I was a bit leary that she had perked up overnight so well.  I asked that she stay hospitalized and the afternoon Vet whom I knew and he also knew Marley take a look at her to release her later.  That evening, I received a call from the tech that she was ready to go home!  Still leary, I asked if Marley had eaten and she said that Marley had eaten like a horse.  I was pleasantly surprised and headed out to go pick Marley up.

At pickup Marley was happy to see us but still very out of it.  I stopped at the first McDonald’s to grab her some chicken nuggets and a burger to see if she would eat…things she would never normally refuse.  I offered a small bite of each to her and she turned her head and laid it down in the dog bed.  I knew she was not right still.

That night we had experienced more of the same…whining, drooling, wouldn’t eat and she refused to take any water.  I called back up to the Emergency Clinic at 2AM, honestly, pissed off.  I asked what Marley had eaten, at what times, how much and who had monitored her.  The woman came back on the phone after pulling her file and stammered that she didn’t quite know the details but that she ate probably 1/3 – 1/2 can of wet food twice.  I told the tech that I didn’t believe her and to have the Internist call me in the morning.  I sat up the rest of the night sitting next to Marley petting her, dozing on and off with my head on the couch…trying to comfort my gal.

Now concerned that it was May 3rd and my dog had not eaten for almost four days (had to fast the night before surgery), I left the next morning as soon as Petco opened and bought Castor and Pollux canned food, milk replacement and some syringes.  I came home and made her a canned food milkshake.  Marley refused to eat so I slowly syringe fed about 2CC’s of wet gruel into her mouth.  10 minutes later she vomited and then she urinated herself in her bed.  This was NOT my dog.  She needed hospitalization now.

Back up to the Emergency Clinic we went.

Taking Marley Back to the Emergency Vet with Her Boy May 3, 2017

That night she wasn’t much better.

The next morning, I visited her and she was even more despondent and would barely walk.  I spoke to the Specialist Internist who was convinced she had an infection at the FHO surgical leg.  She said she would speak to Dr. W. to see what he wanted to do.  Marley’s WBC had doubled and then doubled again from last night to this morning.  I asked if we should be doing X-rays, Ultrasounds, Urinalysis, etc to see if there were any other causes and the Internist said no.  I left with a tearful Goodbye to my gal and went back to work.

That evening, I went back to see Marley with her Aunt Kelly.  So let me tell you about Aunt Kelly for a moment.  Kelly has been my best friend since I was 15 years old.  She walked into my HIgh School one day and all the girls hated her because she was confident, outgoing, said what was on her mind and beautiful.  I knew she would be my best friend from the moment I met her.  And now, 22 years later, she is still my best friend.  She has celebrated me at my best and she has picked me back up (or kicked me in my behind) at my worst.  It is our little joke that my husband is also Kelly’s husband, as she is still single and looking for that right partner in life.  And Marley is, of course, our baby.  This dog is not just mine…Marley is just as much Kelly’s.  OK, back to the story.  🙂

I had gotten off of work late and couldn’t get up there til 11PM.  The internist never called me before she left.  The tech came out front and said “Marley won’t walk anymore.  Want to come back to the treatment area to see her?”  Umm, duh.  Yeah of course we do.

What I walked back to, I wasn’t prepared for.

Aunt Kelly Giving Marley Good Wishes May 4, 2017

Marley couldn’t stand up.  Her face had sunken in.  She wouldn’t hold her head up.  I was watching my dog die in front of my eyes.  And nobody seemed to be terribly concerned about it.

I walked up to the front counter and told them to prepare discharge paperwork and get a traveling IV ready because we were leaving.

And out the door I carried my baby, my world, my pitbull.