Tag Archives: dog anxiety

SITTING UP WITH THE FUR BABY

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So I’m sitting up with Sheba tonight. She’s been through a lot the last 2 days. Sunday morning we noticed her left ear was swollen like a perogy. We took her in to the ER at the Veterinary College. She was diagnosed with an aural hematoma. They drained 21 cc of bloody fluid from her ear under sedation. She was a very sleepy dog after. Though she walked out to the reception area under her own steam, her legs gave out right after. She sank to the floor in a puddle. She had to be carried out to the truck and then into the house.

I thought for sure she would have a speedy recovery, that it would not recur so soon. I was wrong! Though her ear was tightly bandaged and she was so sleepy, somehow she managed to worked her ear out by morning. And she was still pretty groggy, plastered to the floor in the hallway. To our dismay her earlobe looked full again though not quite as bad as before. So after hemming, hawing and talking to the vet clinic, we took her back in late afternoon. They drained 11 cc this time without sedation. We were happy that she was not so zonked but now I’m not sure. A tad sleepy would be ok.

I’m not complaining. It’s possible that she got whacked in the ear by my twirling hula hoop. I couldn’t see. She was behind me but I heard a thump. I don’t know where she got hit. I was surprised that she would get so close to a moving thing. Usually she is afraid of strange moving objects. Ear infections could also cause hematomas but her ears are clear and clean. So I do feel responsible. My poor baby.

She’s finally laid down on her fat pillow with her chin resting on her cone. I’m holding my breath as I sit beside her tap, tapping on the keyboard. Maybe I can make a quiet trip to the bathroom, lay down, turn out the lights and get some shut eye.

It was about 40 minutes of sleep for her. I almost got off to zzz. That’s when I heard the bang of her cone on the floor. Oh well, it was enough to ease the tension between my brows. Good enough! I got up and gave her a couple of spoonfuls of rice, hoping some carbs would mellow her out. It worked the last time. I had some toasted sourdough bread. I shared some crumbs with her. I cannot insist and force how she, a dog should be. It would only stress both of us out. So I let her just wander and bang about, making sure she does not hurt herself. She will get tired again and have another lay down.

Patience, I tell myself.  I can be calm. She can see that I’m here and everything is ok. I thought about giving her something for pain but googling tells me human painkillers are no no for dogs. It’s so typical that we caretakers are left up the creek without a paddle. When I asked the vet doctor about something pain, she said to call first. In the middle of the night that I would go to the vet pharmacy? Situations don’t change for human or canine patients.

I just have to suck it up and accept the situation. Tomorrow will be better. Sheba’s ear will feel better. The bandage and cone will not bug her as much. She won’t be so pissed off. I’m just pulling a night shift, sitting with my child who has a head injury. Once in awhile we go out for ‘potty’ , stretch our legs and a change of scene. It will wear off some of her anxiety. It’s the afternoon walk we never got the last two days. She’s getting good at navigating the deck stairs with that thing on her head.

I’m off to make myself a cup of tea and maybe a bit more sourdough toast. It’ll be breakfast. Maybe Sheba will get another mouthful of rice and fall asleep. I’m not in any rush. I have nothing to do. I have nowhere to go. We can sleep in the morning. It’s not long off.

 

TWISTS AND TURNS

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I had my passport photos done this morning. Hallelujah! “Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There’s a crack, a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.” Forgive my little outburst of Leonard Cohen’s verse from Anthem. How could I help it? Such perfect lines. I want to be the author.

I am one step closer to getting my passport and to travelling to a foreign country if the desire or need comes up. I’m surprised that starting this process does stir up the juices. I am no longer feeling lazy and as complacent with my status quo. My interest is peaked and my vitality increased. I’ve gone as far as to visiting and talking with a travel agent.

So that was Friday. Was that only yesterday? Seemed so long ago. So many twists and turns to the day(s). I just have to twist, turn and sometimes shout with them. Sheba is in one of her moods. She is pacing here and there, wants to go out, then wants to come in, yips and cries. It is hard to tell if it is anxiety or something else. If only dogs can talk. I hope she will settle down soon. I hope she will let me sleep tonight.

It is like tending a baby or a patient. They’re fussing because they are uncomfortable. I will have to do the best I can. I remember having such a patient. It had to be on a night shift when staff was minimal. The patient was a young 30ish woman with lupus. She was having an anxiety attack and wanted me to sit with her for awhile. And so I did but I could only do it for a short time. I had a patient load of 12 patients. She got more stressed and distressed as soon as I left. Of course, her blood pressure and other symptoms escalated. I phoned the resident on call. He came, read her chart, but did not go to see the patient.

This went on and on. The patient called her mother in to sit with her. I felt very bad and helpless. I told the resident that it wasn’t right for him to just read her chart. He needed to have hands on. His story was that he was advised by a colleague to be careful that this patient’s needs and demands doesn’t eat him alive. True, we have to have boundaries but this was poorly handled. I felt that if he had spent some time with her, it would have saved a lot of chaos for all of us. She got herself so worked up that I had to move her into the Observation Unit.

I’m remembering all this with Sheba now. So here I am, tapping by candlelight (joking). It soothes me. It must soothe her, too. She’s laying quietly on her pillow beside me. I will stay up awhile longer. Let her relax a bit. If need, I guess I can sleep on the Lazy Boy or loveseat. I hate to move and get her all antsy again. She and I had been sleepless for one week one time. We both don’t want a repeat performance. So TLC with firmness.

This is for day 12 and 13 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge. I wanted to do better but too many twists and turns. Oops, Sheba just got up. I hope she’s ready for bed and not fussing.

IF ONLY DOGS CAN TALK

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How are you today? I’m none the worse for wear. In some ways I feel better than yesterday. In other ways, I’m worse. I should not have talked about Sheba’s past anxiety issues. It was begging for trouble. It came last night. It’s a good thing I went to bed early. I got a good first two hours of sleep. I don’t know if Sheba and I woke up simultaneously or if her whimpering woke me. I thought it must be close to 6 am but it was only a little after midnight. She sounded like she had to do ‘potty’ so I let her out. The only trouble was that sometimes it takes awhile to get her to come back in. She is a barker and I have troublesome neighbours.

I can entice her in with treats sometimes. Other times I have to scout her out in the dark. It is not easy. She is black. But I know where her favourite spot is – in the flowerbed by the sunroom. Sure enough, I found her there – a black blob curled up in the black dirt she had hollowed out. I should have left her there. She looked content. But you know how mothers worry about their fur babies. I roused and chased her back inside.

I really should have left her there because she fussed, whimpered and kept me up for hours. In the end I had to let her out again. She was anxious. Something was bothering her. If only she could talk and tell me what it was. She can’t. I had to figure it out as best as I can. I was not going to let her anxiety go on for weeks on end like the last time. We were both sleepless for that long together. I was determined that it was not going to happen again.

I was happy she found comfort in her flowerbed outside. It was probably very grounding nesting in the dirt. She was quiet out there and I finally got another couple hours of sleep. She barked to get in at 6 am. It was her breakfast time. She was back to her normal self again. In the morning light I could see that she had tracked in all the dirt from her hole in the ground. It’s no wonder. The ground is still wet from all the rain we’ve had.

I’m hoping for a more peaceful night. I could stand some sleep. My head is not working too well today. I’m probably babbling incoherently. Oh well….