December 3, 2015

White Dog and the rest of the Army swarmed nervously around me as Steve carried Ferguson out to the car and drove off. Our boy had spent the night with intestinal issues that turned bloody. We were devastated when we called to discover BOTH Dr. Julia and her Number One gone from the office for the rest of the week, but Lisa took all of the facts, asked a few questions, and promised to get a hold of our vet and talk to her personally.

The medication, Piroxicam is rough on the stomach and Ferguson had been taking Pepcid to counteract its affect but we feared that it was too strong a medication for his system to handle. "We are going to take him off it," we both decided and waited to hear from our vet.

We are blessed that we can call and even on her day off our wonderful vet will have her techs pull the file and conduct a phone review. Lisa called me back in less than 15 minutes. "The doctor wants you to bring Ferguson in for IV fluids and to do a CBC blood panel," she told us. Steve had a meeting he could not rearrange for late in the afternoon but we all agreed that Ferguson would benefit from the four hours available on fluids today and that we would drop him off again on Friday for a full day of intervention.

Steve carried our boy into the house mid afternoon, looking exhausted and droopy. He went right into our oxygen kennel. Steve sat down with the White Dog Army around him. "He has colitis. That is what the blood work showed. He is off the piroxicam and on the same colitis med Storm used to take." We all sighed.

Shortly after, Steve left for work and I went into the office where Ferguson rested. After just a few minutes of company he pushed his way out of the unlocked door and strolled past me...wobbly but walking. I walked with him to watch him take a long drink of water and then settle into his usual spot in the kitchen. Later, he even followed Candace outside for a break and ate most of his dinner.

It is a known side effect of the medication that in those with a predisposition for digestive issues ulcerative colitis can rapidly develop. We hope that tomorrow's time getting extra fluids will put us in good stead for the weekend and we know Dr. Julia will want to see him first thing Monday. But he WILL be home to welcome the new girls to the pack...an event he has excitedly been looking forward to.

We will drop him off at the vet, then head up to the Colorado border to pick up Pearl and Opal then hurry back to reclaim our Fergus, Lover of Life and to begin the celebration.

Pearl

Opal