boy do I feel good

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Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
2,064
Location
Central NJ
this is going to be long Last Sat. evening I got a call from a good friend who has chins (she used to breed but now has them pair up with same sex ( those who would pair up) and she takes in rescues and rehomes). Any way, she was just leaving on vacation when she did a last check on her chins. She noticed one had only a couple of poops in his cage and they were wet and had a little mucus in it. She said the day before his poops were fine. She asked what I thought. I told her I really didn't like the sound of it and to bring him over to my house so I could monitor him. She had a person taking care of her animals but I thought this person probably wouldn't recognize a problem until it was to late. Well Sunday, Louie (the chin) had not pooped and was not eating - so I started hand feeding and give him gas drops, I called my vet on her cell phone and told her I was bringing him in first thing in the morning. Monday he still hadn't pooped so I brought him in. Then I went to work. Janice (Dr. Goode) did blood work and x-rays. She found that he had severe gas. She gave him a shot of reglan. She sent me home with metcam and tri-meth. She also had phone in rx for reglan drops and cisapride (they had to be compounded) . She also told me to give him .2 cc of Mylanta or gas-x twice a day. I got him home, hand fed him and got it his meds. He did not look good. The next day he looked even worse. Gave me his meds. , tried to get him to eat . At work, Dr Goode called and said the blood work said he has some kind of internal infection going on. She then called a exotic spec. she knows about what to do, She called me back and had me go get Louie and bring him into the office. She give him a shot of reglan and a shot of baytril and fluids. She sent me home with more injections of reglan and baytril and fluids to give to him twice a say (sub q). Wedn. he looked horrible. I gave him his meds./fluids and could not get any food in him. He just held it in his mouth and I could not get him to swallow. I am pretty good in making a chin swallow by putting a small syringe tip on the tongue and wiggling it to make them swallow but this did not work. Just before leaving for work he was lying on his back. I thought he will be dead when I get home from work. However, he wasn't dead when I got home and he seemed a little more active. Gave him his meds. and force him to run a little in my kitchen. Oh, by the way all this time I was rubbing his belly every chance I got. His poor belly is naked with all the rubbing. He wouldn't eat much however. So I figured the next morning he would be dead. That would be at least 4 1/2 days without pooping. Well MIRACLES happen. He wasn't dead and when I picked him up, he had the longest, biggest, hardest poop hanging from his rectum. I pulled it out and all kinds of fluids came flowing out, I could almost see him go - aaah. As I was giving him his meds. it sounded like he was farting and each time more fluids came out. By the time I left for work, the fluids were dark brown and had more consitency. I called Dr. Goode and she had me cut back a little on the reglan and cisapride. I told her about the passing of gas. She said that had a lot to do with the Mylanta. She said Mylanta surrounds the gas so it could pass in 'clumps' out the anus.
Today his poops are more formed , squishy, but formed. I feel soo good, I was afraid with all the work I did I was going to lose him. He is such a sweet chin and would hate that. God it feels great. Had to share
 
she is - definately - I have been in contact with her by email She and her family are in Maine and they check the email once in the morn. and once in the even. I had emailed her when I thought Louie would be dead by the time I got home. She was soo thankful when he wasn't and when I told her about the 'break thru' on thursday , She emailed me in capital letters. 'I am speechless and so thankful'
 
That is because you rock Barb.........and because you are compassionate and loving and an over all wonderful person!
btw.......did dr goode do the xrays?? is she doing them now? that would be great!
 
Fantastic! Makes me think of the song "Miracles Happen" =D
 
Thank you for sharing that, and not giving up on him. It's really nice to hear a tummy issue like that have a happy ending! :D
 
Boy do I feel good reading a happy ending. Great job in saving and not giving up on this little guy. Thanks for giving the details as well, god forbid anything would go wrong with my boys but its info I need.
 
Michele she (Dr. Goode) always did have x-rays for the body. I had thought she did, but wasn't sure. You misunderstood. She doesn't have the equipment for jaw x-rays. That was what she wanted you to get. Unfortunately what you had done at the other vet. hosp. is what she could have done. I had discussed this with her when I brought Louie in and she said she was going to x-ray his belly.
 
I'm real glad it worked out pretty easily! Congrats for finding the right cure early!!
 
oooohhhhhh...............well that was a $700 misunderstanding. lol!!
i am going to take richie there in the next week or so. that way she can check his teeth and view the x-ray. so glad louie is doing well. its all that practice handfeeding with rachael!! :)
 
It wasn't just Rachel - I have been breeding since 1994 and I have had a few during the years that I have had to hand feed for one reason or the other. Once they get depressed over anything, they seem to stop eating and you have to hand feed them to get them going. I have had leg amputes, eye injuries, pregnancies gone wrong and so forth, that required hand feeding after the incident
 
by the way, it wasn't so much the hand feeding as the meds. and fluids. That was very important. The decision to use reglan shots was good because Dr. Goode thought that very little of the drops were getting where they needed to go because of the blockage. And of course, the sub q fluids give 2 a day was very helpful, plus the use of the mylanta (which has the same ingred. as the baby gas drops only more concentrated)
 
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