Rescue Journal

i have been doing this odd sleeping thing the last few days...

Carol  ·  Dec. 16, 2012

falling asleep really early..like 7 pm, waking up every few hours because of various things..have to pee...have to check to make sure smokey is safe on his bed and not stuck in a hole..have to yell at jelly to shut the hell up, benny is actually allowed to eat out of her bowl! and when i am up for 15 or 20 minutes each time..i have a look at the horses thru the cameras..maybe check my email....clean up any poop or pee that i find and then head right back to sleep.

this morning i slept in til 0730 which is like 12 hours of interrupted sleep...not bad. i woke up tho because phoebe was hysterically barking..her blanket had fallen off and she was cold and wanted it wrapped around her again.

i somewhat resent this..i might have been able to grab 13.5 hours of interrupted sleep if she wasn't such a big baby popsicle princess. i haven't slept in til 9am in such a very long time..i think it would have been kind of nice.

more vet updates...

i talked to the vet last night..bru went home with some flagyl and should be good in a couple of days. it is probably an intermittent colitis...bru is quite old now and his GI tract is sensitive. chilko had to stay in on IV's, she was dehydrated. he pulled some blood and sent it off and the results should be back some time later today. she is young and healthy (except for her hips) so she should bounce back fairly quickly.

this is probably a good time to remind everyone about when it is time to get our animals into the vets because this has come up several times before...
..the general time line rule with vomitting and/or diarrhea is....on elderly animals with multiple episodes of vomitting and or/diarrhea is 12-24 hours max, sooner than later if they have stopped eating or drinking and are not replacing the fluids they lose, they need to be seen by a vet asap.
with younger and generally healthy animals, the time frame can be extended to 24-48 hours as long as they are still eating and drinking well and replacing the fluid loss. if they are not, then their fluid balance will drop quickly too and they too need to be seen asap.

every animal periodically gets GI tract upsets..so if someone barfs or has loose watery stools once or twice and then completely settles out..they most likely are fine. but it is the ongoing issues of continued fluid loss that can really cause major life threatening issues.

if an animal has a GI trct upset..there are a few things that can be done at home while still within the safe time line...you can take them off their regular feed and just give them boiled chicken and rice to give their GI tract a chance to rest. if you are busy and do not cook like me...you can purchase a gastro canned food from the vet instead. you keep them off their regular diets until 48 hours post no further problems, then you slowly add back in their regular diet. you need to watch carefully, how much they are eating and drinking but also that they have really stopped the diarrhea and vomitting.

caring for animals is not much different then caring for kids..there are times that things can be safely managed at home and times when they need medical assistence.
the trick is figuring out which is which.

if anyone ever has concerns or just isn't sure..feel free to email or call me. all fosters should be talking to me if their foster animal is not well. but the bottom line with our animals always is...better safe than sorry so if you can't get hold of me and you are worried, take them in.
i would rather pay an unnecessary vet bill then miss something really important.

Comments

Penny

I agree with you, Lynne. The killings in the States are on my mind a lot, too. You're not a whoos - everyone I speak with is feeling the same way too. I went to see my grandchildren yesterday (it was my grand-daughter's birthday)and I couldn't wait to give them both a big hug. All we can do is spread as much love as we can within our family and friends, and let them know how much we appreciate them, because life is fragile and we never know how long someone is going to be with us. I'm sure your sister has found peace, and I'm sure she stays close to you still.

lynne

i just find this day to be a sad one for me. the overwhelming tragedy of the killings in the states, am i a whoos or what , i cant seem to stop shedding my tears when i think of all the lives lost. i guess i think of my grandkids who are the same age and it totally breaks my heart. also my sister passed away 2 years ago on this day, and she was one courageous woman who battled sickness and poverty her whole life. she was my big sister who i miss every day and hope at last she has found peace where she is. she was a great believer in her angels and i hope they are with her now. rip my beautiful sister.