Off we went to the Vet and as we were waiting to be seen poor little Sirius started drip dropping urine everywhere, incontinence had set in. Our vet, Dr.Mauldin, wasn't seeing patients that day so Sirius was seen by their newest vet and she told us her hunch was that he might have stones and probably an obstructed urethra. X-rays confirmed 3 stones, 2 in his bladder and one stuck in his urethra. First order of business was to sedate the poor pup and insert a catheter to push the stone back into his bladder and then drain it. Once that was done he was brought back to us, high as a kite, and we were informed that the stones would have to be surgically removed because 1) they were the kind that don't dissolve and 2) they were entirely too big to pass, obviously. So we scheduled surgery for Monday with Dr.Mauldin and took our drugged up Blubbers home with antibiotics and pain meds.
Unfortunately, by nightfall Sirius was back to straining and dribbling. We talked to the vet and she asked us to bring him back in the next morning where it was confirmed by a 2nd x-ray that he had become obstructed again. This time she said surgery couldn't wait any longer, so he stayed behind and had surgery that morning. The original plan was to have him back home by night, but due to the 2nd obstruction and the extra trauma it caused, she decided to keep him overnight. That was hard for me, I was a wreck all day and night. Dr.Mauldin called Ben on Monday after he'd looked him over and said that Sirius could come home that afternoon/evening. Hooray!!! I don't do very well when my buddy is sick/hurting... much less when he's away from me and I can't comfort him... so yeah, those were 2 rough days!
The next few days/nights were pretty bad too, especially the nights. Sirius has had some temporary incontinence and has had to empty his bladder about every hour or so. His urine for the first couple of days looked like straight blood, so we lay piddle pads alllllll over the house, especially upstairs in our room and bathroom. I have also been getting up with him every 1-2 hours every night so that his bladder won't get overly distended. Poor guy can't pee it all out in one go, so emptying completely takes him about 10 minutes. Throw in work and school every day this week and you've got one tired Alex. Ben's been working from home so he watches him during the day and I take the night shift... Lucky me =)
(This is what he has been doing most of the time this week. Thank goodness for pain meds!)
He's doing better every day though and his stitches should come out sometime next week. His poor little belly is still swollen and bruised and his incision looks awful (not infected... just painful and ugly) but it will get better. The biggest challenges right now are his incontinence spells (we're seriously considering doggie diapers!) and keeping him from ripping his incision open by jumping on the couch...the bed...the stairs, etc.
Oh and the stones? The vet saved them for us, so we'll get to see the suckers next week when we take him in for his post-op appointment! =)
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