Sick Puppy

Hey everybody, this is going to be a quick post to tell you about my weekend. Saturday morning I woke Mom and Dad up at 5:30 a.m. with the noise all parents of pets dread - the Horka sound. Mom let me outside and went to start cleaning the carpet in the bedroom. She kept smelling a nasty smell in the kitchen but couldn't find the source so she thought I only did it in the bedroom. Mom can't see without her contacts in and she hates wearing her glasses but she finally decided to just deal with the glasses because she couldn't see me when she looked outside to check on me. After Mom cleaned up the mess in the bedroom, she came outside and sat with me! How many people do you know that would sit outside in the very early hours of the morning with their sick dog? It felt good to sit out in the cool night air. Finally I decided I was okay enough to go inside and Mom told me to get up in the bed. Usually if I lay right in the middle of her spot on the bed, I have to move but not that morning! Mom and Dad moved around to make sure I was comfortable. After a few minutes of laying in bed with Mom and Dad petting me and worrying about me, I had the feeling again so I stood up. Dad at first was trying to convince me to lay down, but Mom said NO! and her and I ran to the patio door again so I could go outside. Mom knew the signs and I made it outside in time. THEN Mom AND Dad came out and sat with me for a long time. When we went back inside Dad walked through the living room and found the source of the smells. Mom cleaned up those messes and Dad tried to make me comfortable.
Dad had to go to work so Mom and I spent most of the day on the couch together. Mom was really worried about me because usually when I get sick like that, I'm okay after a few minutes. I couldn't keep anything down all day long. Mom said it was really hard watching me go potty, too - we won't get into the details of why. Mom got some Saltine crackers out and gave me a couple and that seemed to help a little. She knew that all the advice people out there tell you not to give your dog food for 24 hours in this case, but watching me throw up clear liquid made Mom think about all the stomach issues she's had over the years and she knew I needed something in my tummy to help soak some of that up. I was glad she did because I started to feel better. I was drinking a little water, but not a lot so when Dad got home from work they went to the store and got me some of that Pedia-Lite stuff for human babies. I tried it, but it tasted NASTY! I knew Mom and dad really wanted me to drink it and I trust them so I kept trying but just couldn't do it. Dad tried it and here are his exact words: "THAT'S NASTY!!!! I'm pouring this crap out! There's no way I can force her to drink this crap!" So a little later Mom and Dad made a trip to the gas station for some Gatorade. That stuff is very yummy! I think Mom and Dad should keep that in the fridge all the time for me!
Mom called Aunt Gillian to see if she could come use her magic carpet cleaning thing because by the time Mom and Dad found my accidents in the living room, they had soaked in and Mom was having issues getting the stains and especially the smell out. She came and made the spots go away which also helped me. I feel so guilty when I have accidents and anytime someone would go mess with the spots or walk near them, I'd put my ears down and tuck my tail and look even more pathetic than I already was. Once the spots and the smell were gone, Mom and I felt a little better.
Mom made me a little bit of plain rice for dinner because I was hungry and she knew I better not tr my regular food, but the rice came back up a little later. That made Mom really worried that I was still throwing up so we curled up on the couch again and once she thought my tummy was settled a little, she brought the Saltines out again. The combination of the Gatorade and the Saltines made me feel really good. We were all really tired from being awake so early so Mom laid on one couch and Dad laid on the other and I curled up on blanket beside the couch Mom was on so Mom could rub my belly. Mom said when she was a little girl and had a tummy ache, she loved when her Mom rubbed her tummy. She knew exactly how to rub my tummy to make it feel even better.
We went to bed early Saturday night because Mom and Dad were supposed to go on a fishing trip the next day if I was feeling better. They both said they weren't going if I was still not doing good. Mom didn't sleep good at all because she had her Mom radar on high alert. She listened to all of us breathe all night long and was pretty sure she could hear Gunnar breathing in the other bedroom. She said I slept really good and in the morning we let Mom stay in bed for awhile while Dad gave me some more Gatorade and a few more Saltines for breakfast. Mom and Dad decided I was doing okay enough for them to go fishing for the morning and Grandma was staying home all day so she would check on me. Dad put a little food in my dish and told Grandma if I acted like I really wanted to eat, to go ahead and give me the little bit he put in my dish. If Mom and Dad had stayed home, I would have been trying to follow them like I do every Sunday so them leaving actually made me rest which was what I really needed. Grandma gave me my breakfast and I ate it and kept it down. She called Mom's cellphone to let her know and Mom said that made her relax more so she could enjoy their fishing trip. Mom caught 4 fish and Dad only caught 1 and they both had a lot of fun.
Mom wouldn't let me play fetch on Sunday and told me that I needed to relax instead. I was bored, but I really did feel like I needed to rest so I did what Mom said. She said I could play fetch as much as I wanted on Monday. Mom listened to me all night again Sunday night so she was really tired Monday morning. I laid out in the yard while Mom and Dad did some yard work and then we went inside to try to cool off. Mom was attacked by a horsefly while they were fishing so she was dealing with itchy legs all day. Mom says her left leg must taste better than her right leg because there's more bites on her left than her right leg. Her right foot is also all swollen from a huge bite so she thinks she must be a little allergic to horsefly bites.
Dad tried playing fetch with me, but I was still wasn't 100% yet so I would play a little and then go lay down. I was a lot better than I was on Saturday, but still needed to rest and drink Gatorade.
Mom told me I have to rest all day today and all day tomorrow because there are kids coming to visit this weekend! They are my mom's friend's kids and they are coming Thursday and Mom and Dad are taking them home on Sunday morning! Their Mom has to go somewhere and Mom and I are going to take care of them and then on Saturday we're going to take them for a ride in my Jeep!!!! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!
I'm feeling a ton better now and I have to thank my Mom for that! It's hard to take care of someone that can't tell you what is wrong or what they need and Mom did a great job watching for my "signs" and just knowing when I needed a tummy rub, an ear scratch or a kiss on my nose. Next time ANYBODY says anything about my mom's care taking skills that isn't good, I'm going to bite them!!! Or maybe Horka on them! LOL!! Mom went to Denver with Dad today for a meeting for Dad's work and then tomorrow I'm going to make sure Mom and I both get lots of rest so we'll be ready for the kids on Thursday. I might not be able to post again this week (I think I'm averaging 1 post a week anyway right now) so have a good weekend everybody! Hopefully I'll have some fun stories to share with you next week about taking the kids for a ride in my Jeep!