Sick Baby

Apologies for those of you who follow me on twitter and already heard about this...

So when I wrote about Elle's bloody vagina on Wednesday, it was kind of funny. I wasn't really worried.
It's not so funny anymore.

She went to daycare on Thursday and they said she was fine... she came home and slept about 18 hours on Thursday night after daycare, but that's not unusual for post daycare. But last night when we went outside I noticed that she was limping. And moving EXTRA slow.  Now Elle Woods isn't exactly a fast mover... while she does run around like a wild banshee at the dog beach, in general she's pretty lethargic. But I could tell that she was being even MORE lethargic than usual. I also looked in her ears and noticed some bloody looking spots, similar to her bloody looking vagina. So I decided better safe than sorry, I'm taking her into the vet.

I had my alarm set early for this morning so I could call and make an appointment, but I was so tired and she wasn't up yet, so we just slept late. Then when we got up to go outside at noon and she was limping even worse than last night on her right foot/leg, and moving even slower than usual. So I grabbed my keys, got in the car, and started driving to the vet. Of course I called to let them know we were coming in.
The call went like this:

me: "Hi this is [Legally Fabulous]. My dog Elle Woods is dying, so I'm bringing her in."

Receptionist: "Oh, God. Okay, we'll get her in as quickly as possible when you get here!"

me: "K, see ya soon!"

Dramatic much? Whoops.

As we were checking out the receptionist was like "I got really worried when you said she was dying. And then when I got off the phone I was like 'Wow, that was the most upbeat 'my dog is dying' phone call I've ever gotten.'"  Ha.

Luckily they did get her in very quickly (if anyone in Chicago needs a vet I HIGHLY recommend Gold Coast Animal Hospital on Division. They are pricey but they are SO WONDERFUL) and looked at her.

The vet said that she didn't think Elle Woods was dying, but it's a good thing that I brought her in.
We ran through her symptoms - lethargy, bloody looking but not bloody vagina, limping on her front right leg, bloody looking spots in her ears, bruised looking spots on her side, etc.

Here are a couple of pics of her wounds for those of you who care (vag pic omitted, you're welcome)
inside of ear:

better view of inside of ear (usually it's just pink, no red spots!)

and this was on her side/tummy:

The vet also saw some spots on her gums that I hadn't noticed, since i had only checked to see that they were pink (dog owners - did you know this? If your dogs gums are white, it means they are sick sick sick. I think it usually indicates internal bleeding but can be indicative of a couple other serious sickies). (I tried to take a pic of her gums but none of the spots showed up so you'll have to trust me on this one).

They ran some initial bloodwork at the vet. Elle looked prettttyyyy pathetic while we were waiting on the results. :(

The vet said that initial results came back as her having low platelet counts and anemia. We're not sure of the cause just yet... could be something tic-borne, could be autoimmune. She is starting on a high dose of steroids and an antibiotic. She will have to take the steroids for the next 3-6 months.

And of course, like everything, the amount of medicine goes by weight, and they don't carry high dose pills because most dogs don't need them. So poor baby will be taking 7 pills twice a day for at least the next 3 weeks. And the steroids are likely to make her drink a lot of water and pee a lot. GRRREAT. Because ya know, living on the 52nd floor and all, it's super easy to just run outside for a potty break. Ugh.

I am just crossing my fingers that this works! They are sending her blood out to another lab for more tests and we should get those results back on Monday. Then Tuesday I have to take her back in again for more bloodwork to see if the steroids are working.

When we got home I had to ask a random man in the parking garage to help me lift her out of the car because she wouldn't get out (oh the joys of being a "single parent" to a 110 pound dog!). The only time she's done that before was when I brought her home from getting spayed, so I definitely know she is sick!

But for right now, she seems perfectly content just to be resting.

Oh, and how could I forget to mention?

Holy hell I need a job. Like NOW.