Dusty Dog

I don't think I have ever mentioned our dog Dusty on my blog.

Dusty has been around most of our married life. We bought our first home when we had been married a year and Dusty came seven months after that. Dusty is a girl and I know her name is more of a boy name, but my husband WOULD NOT let me name her Daisy, and I figured that at least me let me HAVE a dog, the least I could do was let him name her--I would have more leverage in kids names anyways. She looked like a little dustball when she was a puppy anyways, so I figured why not?

Dusty is the daughter of my parents dog Poppie. It must be in their bloodlines to be the best dogs ever. Dusty has quite a bit of Pomeranian in her, and just a touch of Lhasa-apso.

Dusty has been such a good dog. The worst thing she does is bark when the doorbell rings. We call it the "herd" that runs to the door...Dusty barking, both girls squealing, and me following and saying "Only grown-ups can get the door."

About a week ago, Dusty stopped barking at the door. I didn't notice it at first until my husband and I started seeing the blood on the carpet. Then he mentioned that Dusty hasn't been eating. We watched her go to the bathroom and realized that it is just puss and blood. We started to pay closer attention. She is in heat, but blood isn't just coming from that. Then I noticed that she just lies there when the door bell rings. No more barking.

I am scared. Her mom died when she was seven years old...two years ago. The same age Dusty is now. She walks like she hurts. She is only awake about an hour of the day and now the blood. We felt her this afternoon. Dusty has been about three pounds overweight due to cleaning up after two toddlers. That is a lot of extra weight when your ideal weight is seven pounds. She isn't overweight anymore. We can feel her ribs. We are going to give it until Thursday to see if she perks up and then if she doesn't, we will go to the vet. Hopefully it is nothing that antibiotics won't fix. She seemed a little more lively tonight, but I don't know if it was because she really was or if it was our wishful thinking.

I am so afraid to lose this companion that I have had for most of my marriage. She has been through everything with us. I know that she is "just a dog," but she has become such an everyday part of our lives. She is my little friend.

Tonight I took some pictures of my little girls with her. IF something were to happen, I couldn't imagine not having some sort of memento. I will be devastated if she isn't in our family picture this Christmas. It just won't be the same without her.

******Edited******

Dusty is now at the Doggie Hospital. They are keeping her overnight for feeding and observation. They are going to give her anti-vomiting meds and syringe feeding her to see if she keeps anything down. It is one of two things. First is a gastrointestinal virus. We are hoping for that. Second is an infected uterus. We didn't have her spayed because up until she was five, we had planned on breeding her. It didn't work. And we just never thought about it again. We are crossing our fingers it isn't that because with that there are two options. First is a hysterectomy; second is putting her down because her body will have gone toxic.

******Second Edit******

I just got off the phone with the Vet. She couldn't be optimistic, you know, false hopes and sue happy people, but they did give me her status. They gave her some anti-viral injections and she started to perk up. They thought they would have to syringe feed her but she ate normal dog food just fine. They said that she wanted to eat more but they are waiting to make sure that she doesn't start vomiting(big BAD sign if that happens) and they also want her to have at least one BM while she is there. They said that if all goes well, I can get her tonight.

You are all the best! I will keep you all posted on her.

*****Last Edit********

Our soap opera day is over. I am so grateful for all of your kind remarks and prayers. I know it sounds silly to be so gushy over a dog. Really, she is one of the best dogs out there. If you knew what a great pet she has been, you would be mushy too.

The vet office gave her some anti-viral shots. They said that they have seen a pretty nasty gastrointestinal virus in dogs in the last month or so. Once the drug had been in her system for a half an hour, they said she perked right up. They have her on a strict diet of CANNED dog food. The girl has never had it so good. I have to feed her a pill with each meal. They told me when I picked her up to feed her as soon as we got home. She snarfed the entire thing down. I am still waiting for her to have to go to the bathroom. They said it may take until tomorrow afternoon for that to happen. Her little body is so starved for nutrients that it is probably just absorbing everything she eats right now.

The only residual is that since Dusty had a finicky stomach to begin with, that she may have to be on canned dog food for the rest of her life.

You know what, she is worth it.