A harrowing 24 hours, but I'm 110% now!

Well, once again it has taken mommy way too long to update my diary. I am really going to have to stay on her about this. Anyway, I have had a whirlwind two weeks...

On the afternoon of Friday, July 24, daddy called mommy at work in a panic! I had a messy accident in my crate and had vomited stomach acid. Mommy jumped into action and called my doctor to tell them that daddy was racing me over to their office immediately. Everyone was terribly worried about me and the doctors insisted that I be hospitalized immediately.

Within the first few hours at the hospital, the doctors did a lot of scary things to me like take x-rays (looking for a possible obstruction), give me shots (anti-biotic and anti-emetic), take blood (checking levels, liver and kidney functions), give me an IV (for rehydration) and a catheter (No one, I mean NO ONE should ever have to experience having a catheter -- YUCK!). And they put one of those stupid looking E-collars on me. How totally degrading.

In the meantime, mommy's wonderful boss had sent her home early via taxi, but due to an overturned tractor trailer on the GWB, she was stuck in horrible traffic. Mommy telephoned everyone while sitting in that cab -- from Grandma to daddy to the hospital to my breeder, Dana! She was so terribly upset and worried. And then another bad thing happened -- her cell phone battery died! The doctors were supposed to telephone her around 6 p.m. and she wouldn't be able to receive their call. She was at wits end!

Mommy finally arrived home a little after 6 p.m., ran into the apartment, plugged her cell phone into it's charger and checked her voicemail. No message! Argh! Mommy called the emergency doctor's number and left a message. The emergency doctor, Dr. Siebert, telephoned mommy around 7 p.m. to get the scoop on what had happened to me. Mommy filled him in and he promised that the other doctors were doing everything they could to help me get better and that someone would check in with me throughout the night. If there were any changes for the worse, they would telephone mommy immediately.

Finally! Around 7:30 p.m., Dr. Depauw called mommy to tell her that all of the tests had come back negative and that it appeared that I had a severe case of gastroenteritis. I was still a very sick puppy and not yet out of the woods. While mommy was happy to hear that I didn't seem to have anything fatal, those were not the very encouraging words she wanted to hear. Mommy and daddy spent a horrible night at home without me. They both cried and couldn't eat dinner. Friends and family telephoned all night to see if there were any status updates.

The next morning, mommy telephoned the hospital to see how I was doing. I had made a miraculous recovery! Lauren, the friendly receptionist, told mommy that I was doing so much better and that while she couldn't speak for the doctor, she thought I would be able to come home soon. While waiting for the doctor to telephone with word of my release, mommy rant to the store to buy me some unflavored Pedialyte. She was going to do everything possible to keep me hydrated after my ordeal. My vet tech friend, Senta, called mommy a little while later and told her that Dr. Siebert said I could go home at noon!

Mommy and daddy arrived at the hospital and were overjoyed to see me! I looked so much better. I had even gained a little weight -- sometimes water weight is a good thing, kids! The doctors gave mommy and daddy a list of instructions:

1) feed special canned bland diet food 3x/day and then begin working in my Wellness kibble again
2) give 1/2 antibiotic pill 1x/day for 10 days
3) give 1/4 antacid pill 2x/day for 5 days
4) call immediately if I experience anymore vomiting or diarrhea

Mommy and daddy followed their instructions explicitly, of course. Saturday afternoon my friend, Bash, called from the hospital to tell mommy how wonderful I was.

Apparently, everyone had been speaking of this "very sick puppy" Friday evening so when Bash came to check on me around midnight, he didn't understand what all the hubub was about. I was awake, and playful, and ravenous! While I wasn't supposed to have any food, Bash saw that I was terribly hungry and felt that I should be able to eat a little so he fed me tiny bits of canned bland diet food off the end of a stick. I loved the stuff! Bash even took me for a walk so I could go potty and let me play with the hospital cats for a while before putting me back into my crate. And in the morning, I entertained the entire hospital staff by chasing the cats around the entire floor! I'm such a natural charmer. And mommy has taught me well. I always thank those that go above and beyond to help me so I took giant milk chocolate dog bones to all my human friends at the hospital as a "thank you" for their wonderful care and concern.

Since daddy was still on vacation through the 4th of July, he took care of me during the day so mommy could go to work. But on July 5th everyone's schedule changed. Everyone went back to work -- including me!

Tuesday, July 5, was my first day on the job at mommy's shop, Yummy Memories. Not to worry, mommy's retail shop is closed every July and August so it isn't like I'm running around licking all the sweets. It's quite the opposite, actually. Mommy keeps me on my leash at all times and even has a crate next to her desk. And I thought I was going to be able to run amok -- darn!

I worked with mommy all week and boy am I tired! It's tough spending my entire day at work. People are always coming up to me to give me kisses and hugs when I'm trying to chew on my bully stick. Don't they have any work to do? I know I do! I have to eat this entire stick ASAP because the faster I eat this one, the faster I get a new one!

Anyway, the week passed pretty quickly and having me around makes mommy very happy. Oh yes! Mommy's co-worker/friend, Miro, gives us a ride home every evening in his nice air-conditioned car so we don't have to take public transportation. He's such a nice man. I'm going to have to think of something nice to get him as a "thank you" at the end of August.

So, just this past Wednesday, July 6, I got my last vaccination booster and Dr. Depauw said I looked wonderful! I weighed exactly 7 lbs. which is still on the small end of the scale for male pugs, but I'm healthy so being small isn't a concern anymore. The doctor thinks that I will probably hover somewhere around 16 lbs. when I'm fully grown.

And now it is Saturday morning, July 9. Mommy and I are going to be very busy today. I get my rabies vaccine this morning at 9 a.m. and then I am cleared for complete canine socialization so we're headed to the UES (Upper East Side) for their July Pug Meetup at 10 a.m. And then mommy and I are going to take some things over to NY Dog Spa & Hotel in preparation for next week's NY City Pug Meetup event at which I am the host! And THEN, mommy promised to take me back to one of my favorite pet accessory shops, Scout, in the East Village for a visit with manager, Lisa, and possibly a stop at the small dog run in Tomkins Square Park if the ground isn't too wet from all of yesterday's rain.

And that brings us up to date! WHEW! It's definitely time for a quick nap before the day's activities begin.

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