The Toughest Dog I Know

Well, Bella came home today! The difference from Monday evening to today is phenomenal. We thought she might not make it, but now we are very hopeful. Her creatinine levels continued to fall from 3.8 yesterday to 2.5 today (1.6 is normal) and her BUN levels (I think they measure dehydration) had fallen from 60 yesterday to 23 today (25 is normal). Things definitely seem to be headed in the right direction.

Of course, keep in mind that today is the first day off her iv fluids too, so we have to keep a sharp (read: paranoid) eye on her over the next several days to make sure that she is still producing plenty of urine. So far, she is a champ at that. She is having trouble holding it, in fact. That will certainly be an unpleasant challenge, but hopefully it will be temporary. We just don't know yet.

We left the vet's office with two medications for her stomach (she has been bleeding some) and we still need to pick up one other medication for her kidneys which had to be ordered. We have special prescription diet food and more tests to be done on Monday to recheck kidney functions. All in all, she's home and we're happy and very paranoid.

Bella has definitely earned the title of "Toughest Dog I Know". She could have given up and we could have given up on her. The numbers certainly were not at all in her favor, especially the longer we went, but we all kept fighting and praying and loving her, and with the help and care of the vet and her staff, we still have our Bella girl.

And now, the pictures. The first one was taken on my cell phone on Saturday morning, less than 24 hours after she ate the Ibuprofen. She was laying on the floor of the emergency clinic because she couldn't stand for more than a minute or two. She couldn't even hold her head up or keep her tongue in her mouth. She was basically heavily intoxicated and nearly dead.

The picture below is from tonight. She is calmer than usual and pretty worn out. She definitely doesn't have the same energy level she used to, but we are seeing sparks of that old dog every so often. She even sparred with Puma the cat this evening.

Bella seems very hungry. She doesn't really like her new diet, but she's going to have to learn. She's been searching for other food all night, which worries me, since that's how she got into this predicament in the first place!

Here are the shaved spots on her two front legs from where the iv catheter was placed. Her paws are no longer swollen at all, but it's going to take a while for all the hair to grow back. This, oddly enough, is what concerned Emily the most, I suppose because she could actually see the damage.

Loving on my Bella girl...she's enjoying lots of attention, a new bed, many kisses and even a few gentle belly rubs (she still wants them, apparently!)

Bella, saying...."Enough with the camera, mom!"

Welcome home, sweet girl!