On Monday when the vet came out and we were out with the horses our healthy nine year old (er young) dog Missy had a panic attack and ate the corner of a thin table runner rug.
She didn't eat a lot of the rug it was just a little off of the corner. We contacted our old vet office in Denver and they said that we could give her something to induce vomiting but they recommended bringing her in and letting them do it or to not do anything and just watch her. We decided since not that much of the rug was chewed and since it's so thin that maybe it would be best to watch her.
She vomited a little within the hour after she ate it. No rug came up. Then she seemed fine and even ate a little and drank a little. We all went to bed.
At 4:00AM Tuesday mom and dad were woken up to Missy getting sick. Around 8:00 when most offices open mom called a few vets to see if we could bring Missy in to have someone look at her. Our normal vet (who came out with the horses) doesn't have an x-ray machine so he suggested a different vet. We ended up making an appointment for Missy with a vet in Pelican about 20 to 30 minutes away.
We drove to the vet, they took her in the back and took an x-ray of her, then they brought her back to the waiting room and told us what a sweet wonderful dog she is and how much they loved her, then they brought us into the back to look at the x-ray. They pointed out the stomach and that they could only see half of it because of her rib cage but that it showed something in it. They said it could be the grass that she had eaten or a little bit of the rug that she ate. They sent her home with orders for us to watch her and wanted us to bring her back in the morning for another x-ray to see where everything was at.
We left the vet and decided to drop by a friends house for a minute to say hello. On the way to his house Missy got sick in the car. We changed our mind about seeing our friend and decided to just take her home. On the drive back to the house we called the vet. They said to just keep and eye on her. She got sick throughout the day and night every 2 to 3 hours. We called the vets office again. I described to the tech everything that had happened with Missy, how often she was getting sick, what was in it, and how weak she was getting. The tech called the vet (who was on her way home) and said she'd call me back. They called back and said to just keep an eye on her, not give her anything to eat or drink tonight, and to bring her in first thing in the morning when they opened.
At around 8:00PM Tuesday night she vomited up the rug. It was a lot more than we thought that she had eaten. We kept watching her and checking on her and she didn't get sick any more. Every time we went in with her she seemed more alert and like she was feeling better. We even got some tail wagging and a roll over for a tummy rub.
At 4:00AM Wednesday morning Missy got sick again. That was the last time. Mom sat with her for a while after that. When I got up I helped bring her outside and she was so weak she'd take a step and then lay down. I went in the house to get a couple of bath towels to put around her waist and behind her front legs to help support her so that she could go potty. She didn't do anything. I carried her back in the house and watched her. She acted like she was going to get sick again so I carried her back outside. She didn't do anything just layed down. Now we waited for time to pass so we could bring her to the vet.
At 7:30 I carried her to the car and shimmied inside with her. Mom and I sat in the back so that we could both watch her and help if she got sick. She settled down and slept almost the entire way to the vet.
We pulled up to the vet and I carried her inside. The staff was shocked that she was being carried in. I sat her on the floor when my arms got weak from holding her (50 something pounds) and she layed down. The vet had us bring her into a room and was shocked by how fast she had gone downhill. She took her temperature and the thermometer came out bloody. She informed us that we may have to do surgery. She took Missy into the back and had a tech bring us papers to sign to authorize surgery. They told us that they would give us a call around late morning to let us know how she was doing and let us know when they would be doing the surgery.
They called mid morning and said they were about to begin the emergency surgery and that she was going downhill fast and that she was going into shock. We were all devastated to hear the news. They started the two hour surgery around 11:30. By 2:00 we still hadn't heard anything. But no news is good news... so we talked about calling to find out then decided to wait.
One minute after we decided not to call, the vet called us. She told us that she made it out of surgery and that they removed a lot of rug and bile from her stomach. She apologized about taking so long to call but they had been watching Missy and she was taking a long time to wake up from the anaesthesia. She said that during the surgery her vitals and breathing stayed normal through out.
We went to visit Missy about 15 minutes till 5:00 before they closed. She was in a sitting position but she was still out of it. Her eyes were glazed and when she tried to focus the poor thing went cross eyed. They said that she is not out of the woods yet-- now we have to watch for infection. We sat with Missy and talked to her and the vet tech until they were ready to close. They told us how during surgery they keep a dog under the anaesthesia at a 2. They had to keep Missy at a half. She said that normally before a surgery they draw blood and do blood work to check and make sure all of the organs are okay. We told them to draw the blood and run the tests while she is there so that we know how everything is. It was time to go so we said our goodbyes and they said the morning vet would call between 8:00 and 9:00 to let us know how she is doing.
They called before 9:00 this morning and said that she is doing great! They said she is a lot more perky and that she went outside and went potty on her own this morning. They are very happy with where she is at. We are going to go and see her again in an hour or two and the vet is going to let us know how the blood test turned out.
As long as everything keeps going well Missy should be able to come home tomorrow.
As a word of advice to anyone who has a dog or cat who may eat carpet, a rug, a sock, a coat, a net, anything that can get blocked or wrapped around something be sure to take them in to a vet as soon as you realize what they ate. Don't assume that it was a small amount that will pass. Let a vet be the one to tell you that. The sooner you get them in the less they may have to do to save them and the less serious the condition may be. I guarantee that we have learned our lesson and we will not be taking any chances again.
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