Keena has been really poorly :(

It's been an exhusting few days for me...

Keena was fine in the day time on Friday then Friday night she was sick at about 7pm, not much because it was long while after her breakfast, I thought it was a one off and just one of those things and cleaned up, gave her a bit of fuss and thought that would be the end of it...then she was again, a while after her dinner, then again about a half hour later...

I thought it was strange and felt sorry for her but I still thought it was going to be nothing to worry about. Then she went and layed upstairs and when I went to bed she looked looked a bit sorry for herself, I walked around my bed to draw the curtains and noticed she had been ill again, not too much because she had already gotten rid of her dinner so it was just kind of frothy water as you would expect when there is no food left. I began to get suspicious at this time but I still did not know things were going to get that bad. I bedded her down in my room and put newspaper down just incase. I realised she must have felt groggy much earlier in the day when I found the new chew bone that I had given her early that afternoon burried on my bed! and hidden away form Takoda but untouched, which is really strange for her since the arrival of Kody and the new competition for food and treats, normally she leaves nothing. I tried to keep her on the floor as I was worried about her being ill on the bed but she sat there with woe eyes and I let her up for a cuddle and she just lay her head over my shoulder and went to sleep. I was thinking that I must get her back down on the floor soon, just incase but then I drifted off only to be woken not long after by Keena leaping off the bed to stand over her paper (bless her) and heaving really hard, at this point I knew it was going to be a long night and got quite worried, but still I thought she would be fine by the morning....

Not so, she continued to be sick about each and every half and hour there after. Needless to say I was awake the whole night, laying more paper down and clearing up the old and reassuring her. My partner works over night so I was alone and didn't get any sleep at all...She hadn't stopped being sick by 9am ish and so When my partner got home I had them take her to the vets and I got a quick wash and change of clothes and fed Kody.

I was worried she might have had a blockage as she has been finding things in the forest and eating them. She had quite a bad week for eating nasty things, last Sunday she emerged with a deer stomach of all things...We couldn't get remotly close, she kept running off and eating it. Lovely! I thought that was going to make her ill for sure but that was a week ago, then we walked her on the beach and she was eating something so I went to go see and some people had eaten a whole BBQ chicken on the beach and left all the bones lying around. I was really cross. I pick up all of my dogs mess so it is safe for people on the beach and they leave rubbish lying about all over the place. That was the day after the gross deer stomach but still she was fine for a good few days after. Then in the forest again her and Takoda had found what looked to be deer vertibre and they were running around taking it off one another, Keena ended up with it a piece and swollwed it down and it was fairly big. This is why I thought she had a blockage because at the time I though 'oh shit, that wasn't good'...Then to cap it all off she went off and we noticed she was gone a few seconds longer than normal and I found where she was and she was gulping down something that I couldn't see because I couldn't get there fast enough. At this point I though 'for christ sake girl'!

Anyway at the vets she had xrays and their were suprisingly no blockages but obviously she was very poorly and the vet gave her an antibiotic injection and he gave us some antibiotic pills to start giving her the next day and some Lectade powder and protexin proffessional, both to mix in with water to keep her hydrated. He said if she continued to vomit she would need to come in and go on an I.V. as she hadn't had anything to eat which she kept down since the morning before and she had been ill so many times and she was unable to even keep water down, so if she couldn't keep this water solution down long enough she would dehydrate pritty bad and it would have become life threatening. Poor doggy she was so poorly but she still wagged her tail when my partner came home even though it was nothing on the usually over exhubarent greeting she normaly gives and she still tried to greet other dogs at the vets. When she got back home she just flaked out again and was exhausted. She is only 11 months old and is normally a whirlwind and it was frightening to see her this down.

Not long after we gave her water mixture to her she threw it back up again and then she began to have diarreoh as well. Because she was so empty it was pure water but I was horrified because it was like a burgandy red colour and I thought it was blood?? It was getting really scary by now and I was thinking the worse. Then she had a really long nap I kept checking her breathing because she was so still I thought she could just stop breathing without me noticing, I really thought she was going to die...Then she wasn't sick for a few hours and I thought things may be ok even though she did carry on with diarreoh and I was extreamly concerned about the colour of it. My partner went back off to work and not 15 minuets after Keena rushed to the backdoor and went out and was sick with diarreoh one after the other, then she peed and I noticed there was a spot of blood in that and I was terrified I checked her vomit which was just clear frothy fluid but I noticed there was alot of what looked like bits of membrane and pieces of stomach or intestinal lining, I really freaked out at that discovery went and checked where she had diorreah and it was just bright blood red and instantly I got a fair bit hysterical. I phoned my mum who did her best at being optimistic but I knew she was putting that on and I ended up just crying down the phone to her. Then I phoned my partner on the mobile who was still driving to work and I had to leave a message but I said to get staright back home and what I had seen. But because of being the only manager in over night they couldn't leave the building until the next manager was due in the a.m...

So I had the whole night alone fearing Keena was going to die and I was so distraught. I made up a comfortable bed consisting of a kingsize duvet folded up and blankets and put it in the kitchen. She normally sleeps upstairs in our room but she couldn't now because she was to poorly to get down the stairs without falling and would never have gotten down fast enough to get outside when she needed to. I put the bed under the kitchen table as she likes shelter when she doesn't feel right and I got Takoda a bed made up next to hers and we all stayed in the kitchen the whole night. I layed on the floor in my day clothes and a coat on a blanket just watching her. Takoda was so well behaved. He is still only 4 months and normally very boistrous but he kept so quiet for Keena and didn't mind being huddled up in the kitchen with us. I kept him in there because although he is fully house trained I still let him out once over night and have to keep an eye on him plus he was good company.

I monitered Keena's water intake, making sure she got a drink little and often, but not to much at a time as it made her instantly hurl, she chocked everytime she drank even a small amount but she was so thirsty and I felt mean not letting her have as much as she wanted. Keena was having alternate vomiting or diarreoh every half an hour again, sometimes less...I just didn't know how she could carry on with it. She was an angel, no fuss, and got up to be let out even as weak as she had become. Even the time between her being ill again I didn't try to sleep, I just lay watching her and stroking her with tears in my eyes. When my partner came home I was so glad, it had been such a long night, I was really tired by now and hungry because when I was half way through my dinner the night before she got bad again and I left it and never went back to it, I just forgot about me and went tunnel visioned about looking after her and never ate a thing, just took a drink of water sometimes.

Keena again greeted my partner to my amazment I just didn't think she could but it resulted in her falling back on to her bed exhausted, she was sick a couple more times and we called the vet again. He said if she was sick even just one more time she would need to go in and on an I.V. She carried on having diarreoh after this time (we asked the vet about the peices in both vomit and diarreoh and he said it could be possibly that in severe cases of gastro enteritus, sorry about the spelling) that the stomach lining can shed away and that is what it could be, he thought the blood coloured water she was passing as diarreoh was a result of that also, but it still scared the hell out of me seeing it each time I saw it) anyway she finally stopped vomiting but she wouldn't drink her special water solution at all only fresh water but this wasn't enough, she needed the stuff to rehydrate her more than water could alone, we ended up trying to pour it inside the side of her mouth but she was not swallowing it. mid morning we tried to give her antibiotic pill to her but try as we might with every trick in the book she wouldn't take it. She was in no way ready to eat yet but the only way to give it would be to make it into a powder and disguise it in food so we made a little scrambled egg with it in. She wouldn't eat it at all. Later on we decided to cook chicken as she would never turn that down and we were going to have to have her on chicken and rice when she was ready to eat anyway...She ate the chicken and took the pill that way finally. Then we tried her on a little more chicken that she ate. I thought she would be instantly sick but thank god she kept it down a while. She carried on having diarreoh but the vet said as long as we can keep her from being sick again that things were looking better.

She remained so exhausted and slept and slept, still in the kitchen, still with me and Kody penned up with her watching her but this time with my partner, we just layed on the floor with her and I eventually fell asleep for about 45mins after fighting it because I didn't want to take my eye's off her but I felt safer in doing so now we wasn't alone. I woke back up and we pritty much spent all day in the kitchen with her taking care of her. We ended up having to pour the water solution into her mouth every 15 minuets to keep her hydrated enough. All day long we didn't move from her and poor kody went without his walk but still remained quiet for Keena. On a normal day he would bounce off the walls if he doesn't go out. Bless him, he dangled a tug toy above Keena's head to try to play and as if to say 'are you better yet?' when she didn't respond he set it down and just layed next to her.

That night we all slept in the kitchen again although this time I was more comfortable because unlike the night before when I didn't even want to leave Keena for 5 minuets to get anything soft to lay on, my partner went and got our sleeping bags and cushions etc, which although on a normal night would be really uncomfortable being on the kitchen floor and all, it seemed like luxuary after the night before. I actually slept a while after being without any sleep at all since Thursday night, it was now Sunday night. Keena had had a few bouts of diarreoh throughout the night but no vomiting so we began to feel a little more hopefull. It was still an awful red colour and so I remaned worried all the same But at least it was an an improvement. She had a little more chicken in small amounts with a little rice and this afternoon we picked up a syringe to give her water solution for easily.

She is still just very drowsey as I write, but not half as bad as she was. She has been moving about the house a bit today, Takoda couldn't keep at being quiet for too much longer, noticed she was up and tried to go play with her a little rough but it was obviously to much and she just layed back down and looked at him woefully, so he knew he has to wait longer and he went back to being quiet again.

I am hoping she is going to gradually improve by the morning and get better bit by bit but I know after how bad she was it will take some days yet but that is ok so long as I know she is ok and I think she will be now. At times I thought we were so close to losing her and I am so thankfull that we seem to be getting her through this.

I am tired and exhausted but feeling more optimistic at least

Oh Mys

I'm so sorry to hear Keena's being ill. I hope she'll improve quickly poor little thing.

Poor Keena I hope she is feeling better soon. It sounds like a nightmare weekend you had.

Sounds like a terrible time you and Keena have had
Hope she is better soon.

Hope she gets better soon and I hope you are alright as well

You must have been so frightened when Kenna was at her worst, well done for nursing her through this you must have been exhausted.

Hope she gets back to her usual self soon.

blimey i feel terrible now with all my fretting about max pacing after his op. you poor poor thing sounds like you have had a terribly exhausting and emotional few days. hopefully keena has turned a corner now and will keep improving. i will keep her in my thoughts and pray she gets better wuickly now.

I really hope she gets better soon ,It must have been so scary at first and even now ,poor girl and well done to Takoda for letting her rest
hopefully she will continue to get better every day

Hope she gets better soon ((((((((((hugs))))))))))
Mary

Hope she is doing better now....((((((xx))))))