A Trip To the Emergency Dog Hospital

Out of our three dogs, Chevy has been bullet proof.  He's healthy, happy, and fit as a fiddle.  So it was with some alarm when he was lethargic when we got up this morning.  We opened the door for the dogs to go out and Chevy didn't go with Ruby and Olivia.  He didn't eat.  He just laid there.  Pam, the vet tech, looked him over and checked his gums and ears.  White.  Chevy was extremely anemic.  She called Matt Long, our vet, who had the 4th of July weekend off.  His answering service picked up.  Within minutes, Matt was on the phone.  Pam described the symptoms, and Matt said to get him to an emergency hospital, either South Glens Falls or Latham.  We chose South Glens Falls.

I won't bore you with the details, but these are the highlights.

• We arrived at 10:30 AM and were there until an astounding 4 PM
• They ran a myriad of tests, but not the most basic one they should have.  A stool test for parasites.
• Chevy's red cell counts were low (20) and his white cell count was high
• They tried to rack up the bill with unnecessary tests.
• The veterinarian was young and just out of school and had no "bedside manner".
• The vet wanted to keep Chevy in the hospital and give him blood transfusions.
• Pam called Matt, whose bullshit meter was pegged, and said to get him out of there.
• The bill was $767, and the vet had no idea what was going on with Chevy.

So Chevy has perked up a bit.  We'll watch him closely.  If he goes downhill over the weekend, we'll take him to Matt's home for treatment.  Otherwise, we'll take him to Matt's office on Monday to be checked out.

It was a long, long day, and expensive.  But Chevy is family, and  as such deserves proper care.  He had a tough life until we got him.  We suspect he was a bait dog in a dog fighting ring.  He seems to appreciate being with a loving family.  He loves us to death.  The least we can do is love him back.