Pyometra
We had quite a scare tonight. Tootsie had a very large and swollen tummy. She drank a lot of water and then urinated a bunch on her walk. Brian thought something was up but he kept trying to put it to the back of his mind and tried to make himself think that he was over reacting. Tootsie came in from her walk and was lying on the floor. Brian rubbed her tummy and heard a sound that was similar to Toots passing gas. He looked down and frantically called for me. Tootsie was bleeding from her woman parts. We started soaking up the blood with paper towels and Brian told me that he instantly knew it was pyometra. I had never heard of this and trying to think of a logical explanation that was not so fatal. Brian called his dad but his dad lives 2 hours away and we were going to wait for him to come. I called my mom and she came over. My mom was very calm and asked some questions about what was happening. We had already called our vet and left messages but they were not accepting emergencies tonight. I tried to stay calm and leave a message that they could understand but it was difficult as I was leaving a message for someone to get at 8:00 am the next morning when Brian and I knew that Tootsie might not be alive at 8:00 am the next morning unless someone did something. Thankfully Brian called a somewhat local vet that had late hours. It was 9:00 pm and they closed at 10:00 pm. We left the house immediately and made it to the vet about 9:30pm. The tech took one look at Toots and agreed with Brian about it being pyometra. They did an x-ray and ran some blood work. We got very scared when the vet told us that if the blood work showed that Toots' kidneys and liver were effected by the pyometra, surgery was not an option. That was the longest 5 minute blood test ever. The vet came back in and told us that Tootsie's white blood cells were elevated and her red blood cells were low. This was "normal" for pyometra and her liver and kidney tests were normal. We loved on Tootsie for what we thought could be the last time and watched her go behind a closed door for surgery. We were told that it would be one to two hours. We were so scared because Tootsie has never been under anesthesia before. We went to Steak and Shake because we didn't want to leave the town the vet was located in case we had to go quickly to say goodbye. Thankfully about one hour after leaving, we received a call to tell us that Tootsie was out of surgery and that she was waking up from anesthesia and moving her head. We can pick her up tomorrow. We have cried so many tears of worry and sorrow this evening and ended them with tears of joy in the Steak and Shake. I can't wait to have Tootsie home tomorrow.
Tootsie will be 12 in August and we are faced with her mortality every day. We experienced a horrible scare in which she could not urinate late one night and we rushed her to an emergency vet in Indianapolis, IN and we were met with thousands of dollars worth of tests. They were perfectly fine letting us believe it was bladder cancer. They wouldn't let us see her because it would "stress her out more". We took her from them without letting them run their thousands of dollars worth of tests on her and found a local vet that was open on Saturday morning. It was a simple bladder infection.
We love out Lady Toots as she is the first dog that my husband, Brian, and I owned as adults outside of our parent's home. She has a special place in our hearts and we are not ready to say goodbye. Thankfully that day has been postponed again.
I love you Tootsie and I can't wait to hold you tomorrow and kiss you and snuggle you!
Ella and Brian
Comment
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Comment by Emily Trupiano on May 6, 2013 at 12:15am
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Pyometra is extremely common among unspayed females. Unfortunately many people think they're saving money if they don't spay their dog, but it costs a lot to fix a Pyo dog. Some vets don't do a good job educating their clients about this. Glad you're dog is okay!
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Comment by Tracy & Sir Bentley on May 2, 2013 at 3:07pm
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Glad to hear about Tootsie's recovery. BTW, love the pictures on your page!
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Comment by Linda on April 30, 2013 at 11:03pm
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I am so happy to hear Tootsie is doing so great!!! Those cones are a hoot with stumpy legged dogs. I still have nicks in my woodwork when Arnie was in a cone. Please keep us posted on how she is progressing.
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Comment by Ella Tucker on April 30, 2013 at 10:40pm
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UPDATE: Tootsie is doing wonderful! She has finished her pain medication and is now only taking anti-biotics. She looks absolutely hilarious in her cone that prevents her from licking her incision. Tootsie's energy level is way higher than it used to be. We are realizing she was sick for a long time and we didn't know it because we just assumed she was getting older. We thought we were crazy but several people that have come to the house to see Tootsie have mentioned this so we think the following is true: Tootsie's eyes are more clear and her coat is a deeper, richer color. She literally looks years younger! She is in good spirits and is enjoying time laying around with me and the hubs. Thank you all for your comments and support!
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Comment by Sam Tsang on April 25, 2013 at 3:41pm
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So glad to hear that tootsie is going to be okay. Hugs to you all.
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Beth...that's what I read. As much as I love puppies and I've had my share helping to raise litters (2 planned and 1 unplanned) all my females have been spayed after the litter or as soon as they were old enough.
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Comment by Diane on April 25, 2013 at 10:55am
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Oh... how scary! I'm so glad she's going to be ok.
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Comment by Beth on April 25, 2013 at 10:14am
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I'm so glad your Tootsie is ok. How scary!!
Linda, spayed females can't get it which is one reason spaying is generally recommended if dogs won't be bred. It's a uterine issue.
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I checked into that. They said it was a problem for unspayed females as they get older? All mine have been spayed so maybe that's why I never heard of it.
I'm just glad she is ok.
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Comment by Jane Christensen on April 25, 2013 at 8:16am
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So sorry, I can't imagine how scary this was. Glad all turned out so well:)
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