Apollo is very sick.
This past week he has seemed to be slowing down, less energetic, but on Saturday morning I woke up to find that he had thrown up on the kitchen floor, and was extremely lethargic. We took him to the vet, who thought it might have been due to an antibiotic he was taking for a foot infection, so we switched antibiotics and took him back home.
Today he seemed even worse. He couldn’t keep even a swallow of water down for more than a few minutes, and could barely stand. So this evening we took him in to a 24-hour emergency pet hospital. His temperature was 105 (normal is about 102). They did x-rays and blood analysis. The x-rays showed that his stomach was distended and filled with fluid, but his intestines looked normal. The x-rays didn’t show anything else clearly, but the symptoms are consistent with some kind of blockage, preventing food from exiting the stomach. Maybe he swallowed something that is blocking the passage from the stomach to the small intestine.
They kept him overnight and in the morning they will do an ultrasound, which will often show blockages better than x-rays. If they find something, it may mean (hopefully) an endoscopic procedure to remove the blocking item, or worst case surgery.
If they don’t find anything, then it’s a puzzle why he is so sick.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Heather // Jul 9, 2012 at 7:29 am
I am so sorry to hear Apollo is sick. I hope things are cleared up and easily fixed today. Please keep us posted.
2 Richard // Jul 9, 2012 at 8:29 am
I know about blockages. They hurt!
I sure hope they figure it out quickly.
3 Daryl // Jul 9, 2012 at 10:48 am
The pet hospital just called. He has severe pancreatitis. He has to stay in the hospital for a few days, with IVs, shots and more tests to make sure he stays stable.
This is one expensive puppy!
4 Donna // Jul 9, 2012 at 11:00 am
Poor Apollo! It’s very hard to see your animals suffer. I’ve been watching Hope go downhill more and more, and I suspect she is in her last weeks. Hope Apollo is on the mend quickly.
5 Daryl // Jul 9, 2012 at 4:49 pm
He looked a little better when we went to see him this morning, he walked around outside and emptied his bladder, but the hospital just called and he is worse this afternoon. There are signs of sepsis. I just gave approval for a plasma transfusion.
6 Don // Jul 9, 2012 at 8:20 pm
I hate it when the pets are sick. I hope he gets to feeling better soon.
We are currently petless and will probably stay that way. We still have a corner of the living room that smells like cat urine.
Hopefully Romeny will pass a bill so that pets can get free health care. 😉
7 Donna // Jul 9, 2012 at 9:15 pm
I hope he makes it. I read the link you gave and Pancreatitis is very serious in dogs. Poor Apollo.
8 Mom // Jul 9, 2012 at 10:29 pm
I read this just before going to bed. Now I know I won’t sleep well.` It makes me remember Please’s last night, at Apache Lake. Poor Apollo, for as wonderful a dog as he is, has surely had many problems.;
9 Daryl // Jul 10, 2012 at 9:26 am
I talked with the ICU tech this morning, and Apollo is doing “much better” today. In fact, he improved a lot last night right after the plasma transfusion.
Waiting to hear from the vet for an updated prognosis.