This is what Stella looks like today:
This is what Stella looked like at 10pm on Friday night:
(Please excuse the crappy picture quality; I took the picture with my phone to text to Shawn to convince him that I wasn't exaggerating, Stella really was swollen like a mothereffer.)
Friday evening I took Stella to get her annual vaccinations. We had plans to go out afterwards but I decided to stay home because Stel was acting a bit lethargic. I was hanging out with the pups when Stella started acting really strangely - madly scratching her face and dragging herself along the carpet on her back and groaning. In the matter of a few minutes, her face swelled up to the point where she could barely open one of her eyes.
I called Shawn and he was frustratingly calm. He told me to wait it out (!) or give Stella one of his allergy pills. Then I did some swearing and texted him the photo of Stella's poor swollen face. He got the phone number of the 24-hour vet from his mom and told me to meet him there. Because I am a grownup, I called my Dad and asked him to drive me to the vet so I didn't crash the car.
I snapped this photo right before the (awesome! lovely!) emergency vet gave Stel the antihistamine shots. She couldn't get her eyes open and she was gasping when she breathed.
One hour and two hundred dollars later, we were home.
I know that Stella is just a dog but she's my dog. I don't have babies or anyone relying on me for survival. Stella is my responsibility and I felt like I fucked it up. It was a horrible, helpless feeling, one that I hope to never feel again. I'm fairly certain that Stella is trying to send me to an early grave and I'm pretty sure that she is going to succeed.
You know, sometimes I think that pet emergencies are worse than human emergencies because pets are so much more helpless than we are (at least to us. They tend to be far more resilient and tough than we give them credit for).
ReplyDeleteI have tears streaming down my face right now because I have been through several awful pet scares and they SUCK. I also feel a kinship to your pups, especially Stella, because they are such a huge part of your blog and it's so obvious how much you love them!
Awww, poor girl :( I would be a hot mess of tears if that happened to my pup. I'm so glad she's feeling back to normal now.
ReplyDeleteI think we've both said all there is to say about these scenarios to each other NUMEROUS times. So again...fistbump for pet-stress.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you guys got her in and taken care of so quickly, you're rock star puppy parents! Animal emergencies are so brutal and she looks so sad! Thank goodness she has you two =)
ReplyDeleteYou did NOT fuck anything up. You're a fantastic Stellamama. You stayed home because she was acting lethargic and you caught her allergic reaction before it was a total crisis. You did good! Poor little puffy-faced Stella! Poor stressed out Hillary!
ReplyDeleteAw...poor Stella! Poor you!
ReplyDeleteYou did NOT mess up - you did what a good Mom does. You listened to your gut and stayed home and then sought medical attention when you were concerned.
Good job, Momma. xoxo
Oh my gosh I can totally empathise - my cat is my BABY and I would be in pieces if that happened to her. I'm so glad you got her taken care of!!
ReplyDeleteI love that you knew something was up with Stella enough to bail on your plans to go out. That's happened with us and our dog before, too. I think there is such a strong connection between dogs and their owners that mirrors parenthood a lot closer than some think. Glad to hear Stella is on the road to recovery.
ReplyDeleteOh my god, I would have had a heart attack. I'm so glad Stella is ok! What a good dog mommy you are :)
ReplyDeleteoh my goodness, you did exactly the OPPOSITE of fucking things up. you did everything right! you noticed she wasn't ok; you got concerned; you took action. i love lemon gloria's word: you're an excellent stellamama :-)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds horribly scary and I'm so glad Stella is OK. You did everything right.
ReplyDeleteIt's good you were home with her to notice those changes. You reacted fast and went with your gut knowing something was wrong.
ReplyDeleteAnd pet emergencies are horribly scary! Our doggy cut his leg open (and part of his leg muscle) we panicked and brought him to the dog ER and he ended up needing two sets of stitches! (I still feel horrible about it because he broke a flower pot in the back yard and cut himself on it) I promptly removed everything remotely glass in the back yard.
I'm so glad she's ok and that it was a simple fix. :)
Awwww, your poor baby! You're totally not a fuck up! She's so lucky that she has a mommy who is so on the ball and knew that something was off so fast! Don't feel bad, you did everything right :)
ReplyDeletePoor poor puppy!!!!!!! I ALWAYS worry about the kitties. I would feel so guilty if anything ever happened to them. They're so helpless- it's like having a baby all the time, that can never talk and tell you what's wrong. :-(
ReplyDeletePoor little darlin, so glad she is okay now. Stella is the cutest thing ever though, I might add. Just found your blog!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about my pets. Utterly helpless when they aren't well.
ReplyDeleteJust glad you had access to emergency care; back here, we don't have that luxury.
She's adorable, by the way.