Last Christmas, festivities ended for us when we came home from a family dinner and discovered Chloe, our 15-year-old puppy had thrown up and was acting lethargic. She is a tough as nails terrier mix so this was totally out of character.
We were at our vet first thing the next morning. Our vet ran blood work and found some of her scores were well above normal and her liver enzymes were so high their instruments could not measure them. Arrangements were made to have her seen by a specialist the following day. He did an ultrasound and found masses on her liver and pancreas. He took samples and we went home to wait for results. The passing days were excruciating. In reality, we thought we were bringing her home to die.
At the end of the week, we were told that no cancer cells or massive infection were detected. Next stage would be surgery to take bigger samples. There were no guarantees that anything we found would be treatable or even that she would survive the samples being taken considering her blood work.
Since then we have been afraid to leave her for more than a couple of hours. She has gotten all the attention she wanted, special food. She cried and whimpered at night and since she sleeps in our room, that was problematic for those who had to get up early and go to work.
So, Chloe and I became night owls. She slept peacefully in front of the fireplace until I made an attempt to go to bed. Then she was would waken and cry. As the weeks went on, she felt better, not crying as much. But still wanted our nightly routine. She would sleep but periodically raise up to make sure I was on the sofa and then go back to sleep. That progressed to me being able to go to bed at some point as long as the light was left on for her.
For the record, I can’t seem to catch up on sleep. I fall asleep if I close my eyes and sometimes even while I am talking. Concentration is nonexistent. But that’s okay. She’s worth it.
Last week we went back for lab work. Her tests we much improved, some were actually normal. She did have a UTI and was given antibiotic. She immediately perked up. She started playing with her toys. She steals things again, daring us to chase her and play tag. She sleeps through the night and no longer needs a light.
Often, we have medical decisions to make and don’t get to find out if we made the right choice. She still has one test that is too high and is not out of the woods. But for now, we have our puppy back. And we are grateful for every day.
