So, we could use some good vibes tonight. Shadow started vomiting in the middle of the night Friday into Saturday, and when I took her to the vet yesterday morning, we all thought it was just some stomach upset. Flash forward to today, she was getting worse, refusing food, and had had a seizure early this morning. So, I took her to the E-Vet, and they believe based on symptoms and X-rays that it's a blockage. Blockages are scary enough for normal dogs, but dogs with hydrocephalus don't tolerate anesthesia well. I'll keep everyone posted, she's in surgery right now.

Keeping her and you guys in my thoughts. Hoping everything goes smoothly.

Prayers coming your way; fingers, toes and paws crossed!!

Prayers, best wishes, four leaf clovers, and fingers crossed. Hope Shadow will be okay.

So, finally heard from the surgeon. Shadow came through surgery with no complications, and they were able to get the blockage out. Looked like part of a rope toy, we think we know the offending toy and have already thrown it away. Hope it's a smooth recovery from here on.

I'm glad to hear this Mer, been gone all day and just read this.....Please give extra hugs and kisses from me to Shadow, you know I have a deep connection to that beautiful little(er big,lol) girl. Please keep us posted. You guys are a tough, strong family, hang in there.


Best wishes,

Renee

SO glad she came through with no complications! She is a strong girl!
(So are you guys!)

The dread of waiting for a response from the surgeon. Glad the news was good news!

Get well quick, Shadow!!!

Feel better Shadow!

Glad to hear Shadow is ok - hoping for an uneventful recovery!

been following on FB, hoping she has a speedy recovery and has no more issues eating things!
these damn dogs....but we love them any ways

I got to visit Shadow this morning before work. She looks really pathetic here because they'd just given her some pretty powerful pain meds, and trust me she was feeling no pain when I was there (the song Comfortably Numb comes to mind), but she's doing very well. They said prior to the meds she had been very alert, had walked outside and gone potty with no problems, and was showing no signs of neuro deficit or seizure activity

They showed me the chunk of rope they pulled out, and it definitely was from the toy we thought after the surgeon described it last night. I wish we'd realized sooner that it had become a problem, but you can bet your ass we won't have any more toys like that in the house. I'll probably run back up there after work this afternoon, and hopefully she won't be drugged out of her little mind for me this time.

Wow! That incision is huge! But she's looking at you like, "woah, hey ma, you've gotta try some of this stuff... i feel sooo greaaat..." Hope she perks up for you later!

Poor Shadow! Glad that the surgery is over and hope she gets better quick.

wpskier222 wrote:

Wow! That incision is huge!

I was thinking the same thing, they must have had to roll out most of her G.I. to get to the offending piece of rope. Still find it had to believe, or ironic maybe, that "Shadow the S****er" was blocked up! Does look good though, pink belly and all.

Ha! Yeah, Shadow the Shitter finally met her match

They did inspect the bowel, as well as her other organs. With the phenobarbital, we have to really carefully monitor for liver damage and they decided to take a good look at her liver while they were in there. Everything looked good, and although it was definitely inflamed the section of bowel where the blockage was looked healthy.

I visited her again this afternoon after work, and although she hadn't been interested in her kibble, we gave her some chicken and baby food mixed together and she choked down. That was a huge milestone for her and hopefully we're still on track for a discharge tomorrow

I'm glad this worked out Ok for everyone! Weve been gone since last thurs camping so I just saw it tonight.She's gonna have a bald belly for a while !

I updated the hijack this afternoon as I was leaving work, but Shadow was doing well enough this afternoon that she was released. I think she's happy to be home, but it's pretty obvious she's uncomfortable. Poor girl, they did send us home with codeine though so hopefully that's helping her. She did spike a fever last night and has some fluid in her belly, so they are having us monitor closely and take her back for a follow up ultrasound tomorrow morning. They aspirated some fluid today and it didn't have any evidence of infection, so they think it's just inflammation from surgery trauma.

She's sacked out on her bed by the TV, and thankfully Ghost is being really good with her

Hey, if someone had cut me open from my breastbone down to my ... er, um, whatever, I think I'd be "uncomfortable"too, to say the least!! Good to hear that she's home, resting and Ghost isn't wanting to play!

Glad to hear Shadow is doing good and at home.

Meredith, you have been through the wringer with Shadow.
I hope she knows how much she is loved by her humans and all of us out here in IAHT cyberspace.
I'm glad she is doing better.

Hey I have been keeping an eye on this thread and I am happy to hear Shadow is doing so well.

Sigh. Never ends.

I posted a little in the hijack earlier, but she's back in the hospital tonight. I brought her back this morning for another ultrasound to check the fluid in her belly, and she was acting really weird. Turns out she was running a fever again. They did the ultrasound and found that there was still a small pocket of fluid, so they aspirated some and looked at it under the microscope. The fluid wasn't really indicative of bowel leakage, but the doctor does think there's an infection starting up in the incision. He and I discussed it, and we both felt that it was wise to go ahead and admit her for the night. He called a little while ago to let me know that the fever was going back up and he wanted to start in IV, but did say she seemed a little more alert than she had been earlier this evening. Aaron and I are really scared at this point, and I really hope she's able to turn the corner quickly.

Prayers for you and Shadow. Stay strong.

Keeping you all in our thoughts throught the night. Love you guys, hang in there! She is a tough cookie and will make it