I think Zeke’s fans out there on the Interblogosphereical Highwaytopia could probably use a distraction. I know I could.
We’ve had a bit of a veterinary roller coaster here the last couple of weeks.
Zeke was on an antibiotic for his dog bite, and as he started that course of Clavamox we changed his arthritis medication to something a little stronger. And then he started barfing. Nothing serious, not for a dog anyway. Just one small, daily episode. He can keep food down just fine, but every morning, usually on the way back uphill from the park, up comes maybe a quarter cup of well you get the picture.
This is not a big deal for Zeke. Until we found the dry food he’s been eating for the last few years, he routinely ate each meal twice. Still, I thought I’d see whether we could discontinue the Clavamox, which had nausea as one of its untoward listed effects.
So I called the vet last week, and they agreed that if Zeke’s lacerated ear didn’t seem inflamed we could probably discontinue the antibiotic safely.
And then a couple hours later the vet called again. Zeke’s most recent blood work had shown an elevated Blood Urea Nitrogen level. Not too high, less than twice normal, well within the range a healthy dog might display were he slightly dehydrated. But a high BUN is also diagnostic of kidney failure, which also has nausea as a symptom, and could I bring him in ASAP for the techs to collect a urine sample?
I hung up. I was working at home Friday, so I had the dog right there. “Zeke, do you want to go get in the car? Go get in the car?” Works every time, even though it mainly ends up in a trip to the vet these days.
I lost my cat Zoom to kidney failure 20 years ago. He died the day after my 25th birthday. Kidney failure in a pet is not fun, involving forcing the animal to eat distasteful low-protein food when the animal doesn’t feel like eating to begin with. Zoom’s kidney failure was four months of finger-feeding of baby food and low-ash cat food, weekly vet visits, and increasingly frequent and finally daily administrations of subcutaneous fluids. Let me tell you, sticking a needle into your cat’s back every single damn day and expecting it to cooperate is no fun for either party. And Zoom felt like shit the whole time. It was a blessing when he died.
By the time kidney failure symptoms appear the damage cannot be reversed, and all you can do is delay the inevitable through strict diet and close attention.
On Tuesday we got the call, with news I halfway expected: Zeke’s kidneys were in perfect working order. Next on the list of potential elevated BUN level causes: bleeding ulcer. We’d seen no tinging in vomitus or stool, I explained, and the doctor said that while that was good news, some ulcers can be fairly cryptic. The good news was that they have an efficient, inexpensive test they can do on a stool sample to confirm an ulcer, and that ulcers are easily treatable these days.
“The thing is,” she said, “he can’t eat any meat for three days before the test.” No treats, no kibble with bone meal or chicken parts or whatever. Just grains, vegetables, and dairy.
Zeke is already a hellishly picky eater, unless you happen to have a slab of flesh of some sort. Or unless you’re eating something, in which case he wants it on general principle. The doctor mentioned a couple brands of vegetarian dog food, a product I never in my life expected to even think about buying. I imagined three days of increasing desperation on Zeke’s part, wondering why I was so cruelly forgetting to give him jerky and wining at the food bowl with the lentil crap in it, me hearing the squeak of nose on floor as he “buries” the vile stuff in the kitchen. The vets are on us about him losing weight because he won’t eat dog food that has the usual snouts and esophagi and unmentionable parts in it, and now he’s expected to eat dog food without those tasty items?
It’s the funniest thing. Turns out he really likes the lentil crap. We might just add it to his usual regimen, along with a big steak or two on Saturday afternoon.
Posted by: Chris Clarke
Categories:
Zeke
The Neighborhood
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