I Almost Lost My Dog Wednesday Night

[JewelFreak]

Whew! Buck is 13, doing pretty well but a bit rickety due to age. Like all Siberians, he is an independent thinker determined to do it his way -- which almost killed him Wed. night. Dumb cluck snatched a bamboo skewer w/chicken off a plate I put on the table while I got some lemonade, 20 seconds at most -- with my husband sitting right there! As I tried to pry open his jaws, he was swallowing the whole schmoo as hard & fast as he could. I felt the skewer end w/my fingers far down his throat but couldn't grab to pull it out.

So to the vet, who sent us on to the Critical Care Hosp. Those skewers have a very sharp end that can poke into tissue; inducing vomiting was dangerous. It would need an endoscopy or surgery. Off we toddled in a blinding rainstorm, sheets of rain slashing at car & road, a night so dark you could barely see your hand. The clinic is, of course, on the other side of the city! These things never happen on a sunny weekday afternoon -- part of the Dog Code of Ethics.

The immediate danger was that the sharp end could penetrate the esophagus & migrate to the lungs or could puncture anywhere inside. Long wait while they took x-rays & emailed them to radiologist at home for reading, then for the endoscopy guy on call to arrive (who was probably watching tv in his t-shirt on the couch in perfect comfort on a rainy night). They sent me home around 9:30. I was very concerned that anesthetic, in addition to the procedure or surgery, could be the end of the old boy, love of my life.

Late that night they called with the great news that they got it out w/the scope, not necessary to open him up. Half was indeed poked into the esophagus; they retrieved the other half from his stomach. Next morning before I picked him up (& paid practically next year's income -- ain't gonna be buying that tourmaline I've had my eye on real soon), he ate, hung out, happily wagging, in the surgery suite. Slept it off yesterday all day like a fuzzy dishrag. I'd strangle him but I have too much invested in him by now! As a friend w/ 50 years in the breed said, "These damn Siberians, running away or eating stuff they shouldn't have, drive you to drink or broke." Yep. But you can't help loving 'em madly.

--- Laurie

Recent photos of the idiot (who is the sweetest soul on earth!):

 

[Loves Vintage]

JF- I'm so glad everything turned out ok!!! That is quite the story. Thank goodness you have such excellent veterinary care nearby, though I know how expensive it can be. And, just look at his face!!

 

[JewelFreak]

Oh, he's very proud of himself, LV! Vet expenses are incredible, especially at the specialty clinics -- wish I could include him on my insurance as my 13-yr-old son.

--- Laurie

 

[AGBF]

I am so glad he is OK, JewelFreak! My Golden once ate a glass object wrapped in a paper towel! Luckily in her case, the vet was able to give her some stuff that was soft and sticky to eat that picked up all the glass shards inside her. I was bowled over by the technology of that! I am sorry you had such a rough go of it!

BTW, he looks very pleased with himself in the pictures. He may be planning another attack on a skewer of chicken the next time it is served. Handsome boy!!!

Hugs,
Deb

 

[oranges]

Thank god he's okay! Vet expenses are insanely expensive, I have a very sick dog and we have spent thousands and thousands on her treatment...worth every penny.

 

[missy]

Awww, he is so beautiful! I am so glad that he is OK. He is super lucky to have you guys as parents!!

 

[Allison D.]

JF, I feel your pain firsthand.

Two years ago, my then 8-year-old Sheltie, Nicky, decided it would be fun to tip over the trash can while we were at work. When we got home that night, he kept moving around and looked generally uncomfortable lying down. Because there was almost nothing in the can, we were able to retrace what we had done since it was emptied and deduced that he had eaten CORN COBS! Yikes.

This prompted a trip to the emergency vet at 9:30 at night (as you mentioned, Dog Code of Ethics requires it to be after hours), where they x-rayed his stomach and found it jam packed full. We had to leave him overnight, and when they weren't able to get it moving successful with fluids, he went in for surgery. I was so just heartsick with worry.

Thankfully, the little bugger pulled through just fine. Of course, we could have purchased dog 2.0, 3.0 and part of 4.0 for the cost of his surgery, but we also feel he was worth every penny.

However, we have wryly noted that was THE most expensive corn on the cob we'd ever eaten - $2200 for 2 ears!

Here's the little devil.

 

[dragonfly411]

He looks much younger than his age! Thank GOODNESS he came out ok! He looks so smug lol. Gotta love em.

 

[dragonfly411]

JF, I feel your pain firsthand.

Two years ago, my then 8-year-old Sheltie, Nicky, decided it would be fun to tip over the trash can while we were at work. When we got home that night, he kept moving around and looked generally uncomfortable lying down. Because there was almost nothing in the can, we were able to retrace what we had done since it was emptied and deduced that he had eaten CORN COBS! Yikes.

This prompted a trip to the emergency vet at 9:30 at night (as you mentioned, Dog Code of Ethics requires it to be after hours), where they x-rayed his stomach and found it jam packed full. We had to leave him overnight, and when they weren't able to get it moving successful with fluids, he went in for surgery. I was so just heartsick with worry.

Thankfully, the little bugger pulled through just fine. Of course, we could have purchased dog 2.0, 3.0 and part of 4.0 for the cost of his surgery, but we also feel he was worth every penny.

However, we have wryly noted that was THE most expensive corn on the cob we'd ever eaten - $2200 for 2 ears!

Here's the little devil.

Allison - Your post brought back bittersweet memories of my sheltie Bixby. We adopted him, and he was such a quiet sweet dog. He loved to chase thunder (yes, chase the thunder). He became very ill in his old age, and we basically had to keep him as comfortable as possible in his last week, as we didn't want to transport him. The vets gave us everything they could to help him. He was terrified of cars, and of being left without us somewhere. As long as he was home, he was fine alone. His face was almost exactly the same, but with a bit more black. I miss him.

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

So glad that he is okay!!! Dogs are expensive, and I know that owners' opinions vary when it comes to expensive animal care, but if I was in a similar situation i'd be listing my organs on e-bay to cover my pup's surgery (if need be). As you certainly know, no gorgeous gemstone comes close to the satisfaction one gets from puppy kisses and snuggles.

What a rascal you have! He's a gorgeous, gorgeous dog. Maybe he can recoup your lost funds by modeling for a dog magazine?

Will his punctured esophagus heal itself over time?

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Gorgeous dogs JewelFreak and Allison! JF, I love huskies - they're so regal and beautiful.

I'm so glad to hear that both guys pulled through ok - you guys must've been so terrified. Hopefully the dogs learned their lesson and won't steal food anymore!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Oh my gosh, I'm so glad Buck is better--as soon as I read the word "skewer" my stomach sank. I love that he's so feisty at his age, but his antics are enough to give anybody a heart attack!

And Allison, I literally laughed out loud when you said "2 ears of corn for $2,200".

What's funny is that I decided to check PS before we left for our vet appt. this afternoon

ETA: I love the name Buck. Buck from Jack London's The Call of the Wild is one of my favorite literary characters of all time.

 

[Autumnovember]

Ahh our dogs sound so similar....thieves!

My dog is dumb at times too and does plenty of thing she should not be doing (like destroying a 10,000$ couch ) but I can't help but love her!


Your dog is so beautiful I'm glad he is ok!

 

[JewelFreak]

ETA: I love the name Buck. Buck from Jack London's The Call of the Wild is one of my favorite literary characters of all time.

Everyone thinks we named him after that, NewEnglandLady, but I've never read it -- cannot read animal stories that end sadly, they haunt me.

I love his name -- he came from breeder friends in Colorado & is a silver-ish color, so I named him formally after Colorado's historic Silver Dollar Mine, in the 19th century the largest silver mine in the world. He's registered as Silver Dollar. What would we call him but Buck?

Allison, your Nicky is just lovely -- and I see that independent intelligence (you can call that MISCHIEF!) in his face. Yeah, gold-plated corn cobs, huh? He looks like a great pal and a handful -- just like Bucky.

AGBF, I wonder what they gave your golden? What a fascinating thing, never heard of it. Fortunately, haven't needed to, though my younger Siberian, when a puppy, ate most of a pair of glasses (plastic lenses came out the other end) & part of a flashlight, half a tube of wallpaper paste ($50 calling the Poison Hotline on that one), 20 million buttons ripped off shirts & the upholstery on several chairs & I don't remember what else, but plenty. I don't know how she's still alive 7 yrs later!

Buck is ok, on horrible medication that gives him diarrhea but will prevent bleeding from nicks in the stomach by the skewer & stricture of the esophagus, ditto. Other than the trots, seems to feel good. Sigh, stratospheric vet bills are worth every cent when you look into those beautiful soft eyes!

--- Laurie

 

[yssie]

Oh my goodness, I'm so glad he's okay!! He's a beauty

 

[JewelFreak]

PilsnPinkysMom, he did model once! He was in a calendar when he was about one year old. Here is his centerfold photo:

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

What a stud Thanks for sharing! I knew he was model-material!

 

[Karl_K]

glad he is ok!!!

reminds me of my dog Tiger when he was alive.
He was always eating everything in site.
He once ate an entire pair of size 48 jeans except for the zipper in one night.
Another time he ate a 6 foot extension cord.
He ate one of my dads hearing aids.
chewed several broom and rake handles in 2
the list goes on and on.......

 

[Gothgrrl]

Oh my. I'm so glad he's alright. That must have been very scary for you. He is a very handsome dog.

 

[LGK]

Gah animals really do like to drive you batty with the weird and dangerous things they down, huh? I'm so glad he's OK!

My girl cat gnarfed down a thumbtack in about 2 seconds flat- long enough for me to register the clinking on the floor and her *intentness*, then over she rolled and swallowed fast and looked kinda crosseyed afterwards. Awesome. Vet told me to feed her hydrogen peroxide and shake her- haha! What a joke. Here Sonar, have some peroxide to drink... no, not happening.

Luckily they got her to puke it up after hours of feeding her various emetics that didn't do anything at all. So I am the proud owner of a $200 thumb tack. (I saved it.)

Did you get to keep the Ill-Fated Skewer? I also kept the bullet that my orange cat had grown into his neck, when the vet finally cut it out.