C: Scout Gets Sick—For the First Time in Her Life

My faithful lDSCN1075ittle Sheltie, Scout, is  now twelve years old.  The past couple weeks, MIL and I have noticed her having an occasional cough and it seems to take her longer to get from MIL’s to my house each evening.
Scout is a near-perfect dog.  She is smart, attentive and willing.  MIL and I are central to both my dogs’ lives—their routine revolves around us, and we appreciate that.
Scout is hardy.  She has only been to the vet for well-checks her entire life.  We had a Sheltie, “Gus,” at the time we got her and had planned to have puppies, but she never conceived.  She has lived all her years(save the first eight weeks!) here with me in the country.  She is an outside dog in the day (unless she cons MIL into letting her in, which happens frequently) and spends her nights in with me (occasionally staying the night with MIL).
She is a peaceful soul who occasionally goes out on the back porch to visit Kitty Sasha with me—unlike Chili, who gets a predatory gleam in his eye when he sees Sasha through the window.
Yesterday I began to get really concerned.  She would not eat and seemed a bit listless.  I made a mental note to watch her and consider taking her to the vet.450
This morning, about 7:30, she plumb fell over.  Right there in the living room as I wrapped the last few gifts, she just plopped over and could not seem to get up for a minute.  I was still in pajamas and called Son.  By the time he got downstairs, she was up and moving around but when I told him what happened, Son scooped her up and took her to our local vet.
$200+ worth of lab work and prescriptions later, here’s what we found:  She’s lost weight and is anemic.  He does not know why.  The blood work shows no sign of heartworms or other parasites which could be making her ill.  The vet gave her a Vitamin B shot with a steroid.  We have a prescription for the anemia to give her daily until it is gone. 
She actually seems to have perked up this afternoon and ate some canned chicken.  Maybe she’s afraid we’ll take her back to the vet if she doesn’t!
M215IL and I will be off to the store to buy richer dog food and, who knows? We may come back with chicken livers or other iron-rich foods to tempt her into building her blood back up.
The couple hours that Son was gone with her were long for me.   The $200 was hard on the budget this time of year, but I was so glad to see that she got to come home, that I was glad to pay it. 
It is amazing how close we can get to our animals.   I know that Scout is getting older now.  I’m just not real prepared to let her go…will keep you posted.  C

Comments

Vee said…
Hope that Scout rebounds with no ill effects whatsoever. Anemia can be a bugger. She looks pretty chipper in her last photo.
kath001 said…
Get well! Get well, Scout! We want you to get well!
Vickie said…
Aww it is so true animals become family members..I sure hope Scout continues to pick up..cheers Vickie
I love Scout--she is so gentle and DEVOTED. Praying she gets well and strong soon!
V
Ayak said…
Well I swear by chicken livers. My dogs live on them...mainly because they are cheap..but they are very healthy.
Dog lovers will always find the money for vet bills...we wouldn't be without our loyal friends would we?
I hope she recovers well xxx
Liver is good for them, it usually is frozen in the store and cheap:) we gave our older dog that to help built its blood count up:) I know what you mean, not ready to let go, hope Scout stays as healthy as always!!
Joy said…
Oh, I hope Scout will be okay. I so want a dog, but we know that we cannot afford vet emergencies such as yours. I keep thinking that if God wants me to have a dog, one will appear on my doorstep, and then He will provide for vet needs. Until then, I have to love other's pets. We just don't fee that we should take on the expense of a pet when we need the money for other necessities. Give Scout a warm hug from me. I can see from her photos that she is very sweet.
happyone said…
I will pray that Scout gets better and is herself soon again. Our pets are part of our family and we love them.
(my granddaughter who is 7 is named Scout :-) after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird.)
I'm off to check out those donation gifts. I like the book one.
Roeshel said…
I'm a new follower and I know your post is from a few weeks ago. Scout is in my thoughts and prayers. Wishing her a speedy recovery. We're heartbroken over the loss of our doxie last month and so I understand your concern and worry - they are family.

Take care. Thinking of you.
Roeshel

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