We had sat down to dinner, yes in front of the TV, for pizza that we had warmed up in the oven. Our puppies, Sierra and Blazer, adore pizza crust so they were seated beside us begging. J reached down to pet Sierra because she was bugging him for pizza and when his hand came up it was covered in blood. He immediately got up and ran to get a flashlight while screaming at me that she had blood on her back. I called her to me and tried to find the wound. It was really large and while not bleeding profusely, it was in fact bleeding. We herded our other dog outside and called a vet hospital down the road to make sure they were open. We put the leash on her, stored the food so our cat wouldn't eat it and got on the road to the hospital. Thankfully, they were about 5 minutes away and pretty empty.
J carried Sierra inside, although she wasn't very happy about that, and a technician appeared immediately. They took Sierra to the back while we filled out paperwork and waited for the doctor to look at her. About 45 minutes later they called us back to a room to get her history and figure out what happened. We had no idea what had happened! The only thing we could figure out was that the dogs were playing and they got a little rough. The doctor finally came in and discussed what he wanted to do...put her under anesthesia to sew up the wound. It looked to be the size of 2 half-dollar coins, fur completely gone and really looking at her "meat" for lack of a better term. They brought us the proposed bill which wasn't cheap as you can imagine...about $1,000! But we didn't feel we had a choice...this is our wedding baby...our love bug. We agreed and they showed us where her kennel was. That was then I started to get teary eyed. She didn't want to go in the kennel and I felt like she thought we were giving her up.
Technically, we are Sierra's 2nd owners. We adopted her a couple days after we returned to Colorado after being married in Arizona in 2004 from the Dumb Friends League (essentially the Humane Society in Denver,CO) and the family who had taken her home for a very limited amount of time we were told said she was nipping and playing aggressively. We took her home and found her to be nothing but sweet and loving, and of course, a three month old puppy. However, we believe she still has some fears because of that situation. Whenever we pull out a broom to sweep, she heads for the hills. She also hates to be touched on her hind-quarters. When we go to the vet for her annual exam, getting her temperature takes 3 people! She also gets very upset when people speak Spanish around her. We have neighbors who are rarely home but when they are and they are outside talking in Spanish, she goes bonkers! When Sierra lived with J's parents while we searched for a home in Tucson, they reported the same thing about their neighbors speaking Spanish. But anyway, back to last night.
So we left her at the hospital overnight for her surgery and I was kind of a wreck. I didn't know if I would sleep, so I had a glass of wine to calm me down a bit as well as this stuff called Neuro Sleep that I found at Albertson's last week. It's a drink with Melatonin in it. It helps! J and I went to bed about 11 am after trying to calm down a bit.
We had asked that after the surgery they call us and let us know how Sierra was doing, so about 3 am, my phone rang and the doctor told me that she was fine and could be picked up anytime. I don't think I really had slept by that point, at least not well. So after I relayed the message to J, we both went back to sleep. However, I did wake up with puffy eyes this morning.
We picked Sierra up from the hospital this morning and the bite looks so very bad. My poor puppy!
She was in great spirits and so very happy to see us. The vet even said she was so cute and sweet and he loved working on her. I already knew that though! We brought her home and our other dog, Blazer, was happy to see her too. He was probably the one that did this to her, but there seemed to be no love lost between them. Sierra doesn't even act like she is in pain.
We were given antibiotics for her, as well as pain meds, so we gave those to her this morning with breakfast. Thankfully, the bite wasn't as bad as they thought (although it looks worse than J and I both thought it would) so we only had to pay about $850!
I am able to work from home so that is what I have been doing, somewhat this morning. I didn't have a lot of work, so am really keeping an eye on her and finishing up little things here and there. We had to put a t-shirt on her so that she wouldn't lick or scratch the wound, but thus far she hasn't really touched it. The only thing I did find her licking was her leg where they put in the IV. Here's our little girl in her new outfit.
Like I said, she doesn't seem in pain, but has been sleeping a lot with me in the office while I am on the computer.
We have to keep her inside for the next 14 days so she doesn't rip her stitches and doesn't play rough with Blazer while we aren't around. The dogs have crates that they sleep in, so she'll probably be left in hers while we're at work. Thankfully J doesn't work far from the house, so he can come home at lunch on days that I am at the office and let her outside supervised, then put her back in her crate until we both come home in the evening. Both dogs will hate it because they love being together, but we want to make sure she gets healthy.
So on top of all the shooting drama this weekend in Tucson, we've also been dealing with this. I'm glad she's home and on the mend, but last night wasn't really fun in our house.
Oh, and a few more tidbits. AF came on Saturday, making it "just that much more fun." And I learned this morning that CFP scores are being sent out this week! They mail them, and then next week update us online as to if we passed or not...shouldn't that be the other way around?! Anyway, I'm on edge about what that envelope will hold.
Pray for Tucson, pray for our puppy Sierra and pray that I passed CFP!
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