Greetings and Happy Monday! I hope you had a nice weekend! We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and got lots of yard work done. We also kept a close eye on Lacey. She had an emergency vet visit on Friday and we wanted to make sure she was getting better….
From the beginning, on Thursday evening after dinner my husband and I went outside to spread our seasonal fertilizer and weed killer. We use Dimension from Lawn Depot. We’ve used this for YEARS and never had a problem. Because the instructions say not to allow your pets on the grass during the application, we kept her inside. Shortly afterward it started to sprinkle, so we thought to ourselves, “perfect timing”!
Before we went to bed that night I let Lacey out back to go potty before bedtime as always. I didn’t go with her since our backyard is fenced in and I didn’t think to watch her. This is our regular routine and by then I had forgotten about putting down the fertilizer. We suspect she ate some grass with the fertilizer on it because when we woke up the next morning she had gotten sick. Twice.
As I was cleaning up the vomit (sorry for the gross nature but people with kids and pets won’t mind) I noticed traces of blood. I showed it to my husband and he agreed that’s what it looked like. Naturally I panicked, like I always did when my boys got sick. The very sign of a fever and they were AT the doctor’s office. So I called Lacey’s vet right away. Unfortunately her vet was out of the country until next week. They referred us to the Emergency Vet Clinic in Levittown, PA. I decided to watch her to see if it was a passing tummy ache. Well, she got sick again so off we went to the Emergency Clinic.
The Clinic is called Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center and is located at 301 Veterans Highway in Levittown, PA. I must say I was very impressed. As soon as we walked in I explained the situation and they took Lacey straight back for an immediate exam. They checked her vitals and then brought her back to me. The Vet Tech said she seemed very anxious so rather than put her in a crate, they brought her to me and put us both in a private glass room where we could be together and I could call Poison Control. This made both of us more comfortable because Lacey HATES being in a crate.
I made a phone call to poison control and explained what we think happened. We knew she didn’t ingest much fertilizer because we spread it evenly and there were no clumps anywhere that she could have gotten into. She is notorious for eating grass so we figured that was the likely culprit. In case you need the number for poison control it’s 1-800-548-2423. They were really nice but there is a charge of $65 payable at the time of the call. They gave us a case number for the vet and the vet called and spoke with them about what to do relating to the type of poison. Once you have a case number you can call back with further questions for no extra fee. (If the vet calls poison control for you there is an extra charge.)
So, based on their conversation with Poison Control and the exam they gave Lacey a shot of Cerenia. This injection prevents nausea in animals due to vomiting and motion sickness. The vet said it was very strong and should prevent her from getting sick in the next 24 hours. And because Lacey had been so sick, they wanted her stomach to rest completely so they didn’t want her to have any food or water until the next day.
To prevent dehydration, they gave her fluids subcutaneously. (which I’d never heard of.) They injected fluids like the ones in an IV under the skin on the back of her neck. The loose skin that dogs have there is perfect. It looked like a huge lump behind her collar. Their body naturally absorbs the fluids preventing dehydration. Once I got her back in the car I took off her collar so it wasn’t too tight. I also found out there is a product called Dog Sure. Sort of like Ensure but for pets. Who knew?
Once we got home Lacey and I snuggled up on the couch and she was out. I think she was so stressed out from the trauma of the new vet and the exams that she was exhausted. I imagine the doctor would have recommended a sedative for Momma too, so a few glasses of wine certainly helped!
Over the weekend we kept a close eye on Lacey. She was able to hold down her food and water and by Saturday evening she was frisky and playing with her toys. We were SO relieved! This really taught us a lesson about the dangers of fertilizers and weed killers. I guess because Lacey is 6 years old and this has never happened we were lax about the process. From now on we will be extra diligent about when we fertilize the yard. Next time we will do it right before we go to the lake and that way, it will be long gone by the time we get back.
The Emergency Clinic gave me a copy of the evaluation chart they did on Lacey. They noted that she seemed anxious and was panting. I think they should probably just pre-print that on every dog’s chart. What dog enjoys going to the vet? Also, they gave her weight in kilograms. It sounds much nicer that way. She is only 37.3 kilograms! Practically skin and bones. I looked it up and she actually weighs 82+ pounds. I think I will start reporting my weight in kilograms too. And they gave her a 7/9 in body condition. I was a little offended by that. I think she is a 9/9. Otherwise all was good.
So, today my girl scarfed down her breakfast and is begging for treats. I would say Lacey is 100% better and back to her charming spunky self. Thank Heaven! So, please be extra cautious with your pets this time of year. If not your yard, your neighbor’s yard may have harsh chemicals that can have a harmful reaction in your precious fur babies. I hope you have a great day! Thank you for stopping by! xoxo Dell & Lacey