# Charlie is at the ER…. Send good thoughts our way!



## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

Charlie has a stomach of steel; usually nothing bothers him (plus not aware he got into anything unusual) so I was surprised when he threw up once yesterday. A few hours later he seemed hungry snd wanted food, so w have him a small portion. He didn’t want his before bed treat (dried sweet potato chew) so I knew he must not be feeling well, and then woke me up vomiting several times overnight. He eventually let himself out of our bedroom, and in the morning we found more vomit in the dining room. Neither his current or former vet could take him today, so we took him into the ER bc i figured he’d need hydration and anti-nausea as it it was t letting up. vitals checked out fine so they sent us home as they anticipated a 4-6 hr wait. He just laid quietly napping all day, and he wouldn’t drink anything so I tried to dab his gums with a wet washcloth to get him a little hydration. Even the puppy seemed to ‘get’ that he wasn’t feeling well as she was giving him space.

Fast forward TEN hours to when they actually said they could see him. I’d called a bunch of times and kept getting told It would be ‘soon.’ ER vets have been totally slammed around here, and I guess they kept getting critical cases. Sure enough, the vet said he’s extremely dehydrated, his pulse is a little weak (probably from the dehydration), and has a sensitive abdomen, and swollen nodes. We brought in a sample of the vomit, so they’ll test for parasites, they’re doing a flood blood workup, and an x-ray in case he has some kind of blockage. She seemed concerned that it could be something worse than a bug, and referred a few times to his ‘advanced age’ which we corrected quickly because he’s not a Great Dane, and 9 is NOT old for a Havanese, as we all know well!

Updating in real time bc we just spoke to the vet. Looks like Pancreatitis and they are admitting him at least until he can get an ultrasound tomorrow afternoons and will give him fluids, slowly, because he has early stage mitral valve disease and they don’t want to stress his heart. No blockages, and all blood levels normal except pancreas. She said they won’t have a better idea of whether it’s acute or chronic (hopefully acute, though we’re not aware of him eating anything he shouldn’t the last few days).

My poor baby has never spent more than a few hours alone in the hospital— i think his neuter was the longest and that was only a half day— and I’m sick thinking about how scared he must be, and of course hoping that the treatment works well and quickly. Please send healing thoughts our way!


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## BoosDad (Mar 8, 2020)

Boo and I are sending healing thoughts your way. Wishing Charlie a speedy recovery.


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## BoosDad (Mar 8, 2020)

As for fluids, if Boo has vomited or had diarrhea, I always have the vet give subcutaneous fluids to be on the safe side. In my experience, it is really hard to keep a vomiting dog (more than once) hydrated at home, and subcutaneous fluids are very helpful.


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

BoosDad said:


> As for fluids, if Boo has vomited or had diarrhea, I always have the vet give subcutaneous fluids to be on the safe side. In my experience, it is really hard to keep a vomiting dog (more than once) hydrated at home, and subcutaneous fluids are very helpful.


Thank you for the well wishes. The subcutaneous fluid exactly what we hoped they would do as he’s had it a couple of times when he was younger and it worked wonders (and why it was so frustrating that it took all day to get him seen, since I thought it was a fairly quick fix). However, the vet on call seemed concerned about that approach for him given his heart murmur (early mitral valve disease) so definitely something we’ll need to check w the cardiologist about.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

Lisa, wishing Charlie and you the best. Keep us posted as you have more updates. I have some opinions about this but I am NOT a health care professional, so I will let the Vets do their job, 

My daughter's 9 y.o. Lab had a very bad case of pancreatitis a couple of years ago. He had an extensive stay in canine ER. The Vets fixed him up and today (just saw him yesterday) he is healthy with a YUGE appetite. Like a kid, he didn't want to get in the car and go home. He wanted to stay at our house! When an 80+ pound Lab puts on his brakes, there is no moving him! I had to coax him into the car with a few healthy treats. He reluctantly complied and I promised him we would see him again soon. He loves to come to our house where Ricky and I play games with him and take him on pack walks with us and I give him a little bit of Ricky's supercharger HK diet.

Wishing better days ahead for you two too to get well.


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## Toffee170221 (Sep 10, 2021)

LWalks said:


> Charlie has a stomach of steel; usually nothing bothers him (plus not aware he got into anything unusual) so I was surprised when he threw up once yesterday. A few hours later he seemed hungry snd wanted food, so w have him a small portion. He didn’t want his before bed treat (dried sweet potato chew) so I knew he must not be feeling well, and then woke me up vomiting several times overnight. He eventually let himself out of our bedroom, and in the morning we found more vomit in the dining room. Neither his current or former vet could take him today, so we took him into the ER bc i figured he’d need hydration and anti-nausea as it it was t letting up. vitals checked out fine so they sent us home as they anticipated a 4-6 hr wait. He just laid quietly napping all day, and he wouldn’t drink anything so I tried to dab his gums with a wet washcloth to get him a little hydration. Even the puppy seemed to ‘get’ that he wasn’t feeling well as she was giving him space.
> 
> Fast forward TEN hours to when they actually said they could see him. I’d called a bunch of times and kept getting told It would be ‘soon.’ ER vets have been totally slammed around here, and I guess they kept getting critical cases. Sure enough, the vet said he’s extremely dehydrated, his pulse is a little weak (probably from the dehydration), and has a sensitive abdomen, and swollen nodes. We brought in a sample of the vomit, so they’ll test for parasites, they’re doing a flood blood workup, and an x-ray in case he has some kind of blockage. She seemed concerned that it could be something worse than a bug, and referred a few times to his ‘advanced age’ which we corrected quickly because he’s not a Great Dane, and 9 is NOT old for a Havanese, as we all know well!
> 
> ...


Dear Lisa, Toffee and me are sending loads of warm healing thoughts to Charlie and you, hoping for a speedy recovery 🌈🦋💐💕


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Sending best wishes and Havanese kisses for a speedy recovery for Charlie.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I am almost wondering if there is a "dog bug" going around causing these symptoms, since this is EXACTLY what happened with both Ducky, then 2 1/2 weeks later, Kodi. I've also heard of several other dogs with the same thing. The weird thing is no known ingestion of anything to cause it, and unlike with most "dog stomach bugs" that may START with vomiting, but then go south, with all these dogs, they never have gotten diarrhea.

If it's any consolation, both Ducky (who because he was a puppy, and so small, was QUITE dehydrated) and Kodi, who is even older than your guy, at 12 1/2, bounced back quite quickly! Oh, and a mild case of pancreatitis was also the differential DX for Kodi, though we decided to treat it conservatively, with fluids, Cerenia and a bland diet. That seemed to do the trick for him. But he also doesn't have the complicating factor of heart disease.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

Sending hugs and prayers your way for a quick recovery. Pancreatitis might be the vet’s quick assumption since cases of pancreatitis are high during the Thanksgiving holidays due to dogs getting into fatty foods. Hopefully they get to root cause or it is just a passing bug like Karen’s dogs had.


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## Ditto's Mom (Apr 29, 2007)

Sending healing wishes to your sweet Charlie.


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## BoosDad (Mar 8, 2020)

LWalks said:


> Thank you for the well wishes. The subcutaneous fluid exactly what we hoped they would do as he’s had it a couple of times when he was younger and it worked wonders (and why it was so frustrating that it took all day to get him seen, since I thought it was a fairly quick fix). However, the vet on call seemed concerned about that approach for him given his heart murmur (early mitral valve disease) so definitely something we’ll need to check w the cardiologist about.


If you are in California, there is a great animal cardiologist in Irvine. She is one of the top ones in the nation. My toy poodle was under her care for valvular disease for several years. Although he had a Stage V murmur, his heart disease never progressed to CHF. He succumbed at age 17 from kidney disease as opposed to heart disease. 

A cardiologist could better advise about the use of limited fluids, if necessary. I believe GP vets just automatically shy away from the use of fluids, if you tell them there is a cardiac issue.

Hope Charlie is all better soon.


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

Thank you all for the well wishes. The vet called a little while ago and said he was doing ok— seemed to be tolerating the IV fluids and BP was back to normal. He was anxious at first but eventually rested. Again confirmed that all of his levels were fine except Pancreatic levels elevated on two tests. Their ultrasound tech gets in this afternoon and they said we should get a call between 4 and 6. They should be able to tell whether it’s acute (hopefully) or chronic. Chronic would be surprising since he never has stomach issues. His food is fish based, which we started a few years ago bc of itchiness and dry skin, so s pretty low fat diet overall.

We have been racking our brains trying to figure out if he got into anything… I supposed it’s possible they he found a tiny scrap on the floor, especially bc we had kids here, but surprising that would be enough to make him so sicl, especially since he’s always had very solid GI system and not been bothered by anything he ate. I also wonder if it’s a bug like Karen mentioned, and the only other thing in my mind is that he had his 3 year rabies vax 10 days ago, so I wonder if there could be any relationship there… Mostly hoping we can get our boy home very soon!


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

Well wishes and positive vibes to the universe coming from Perry and me!!


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

I would suspect a bug or the rabies vaccine, also.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Sending healing thoughts and hugs to Charlie. Hope he is feeling better today!


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## Mando's Mommy (Dec 8, 2020)

Sending Charlie (and you) hugs and positive thoughts!


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

LWalks said:


> Thank you all for the well wishes. The vet called a little while ago and said he was doing ok— seemed to be tolerating the IV fluids and BP was back to normal. He was anxious at first but eventually rested. Again confirmed that all of his levels were fine except Pancreatic levels elevated on two tests. Their ultrasound tech gets in this afternoon and they said we should get a call between 4 and 6. They should be able to tell whether it’s acute (hopefully) or chronic. Chronic would be surprising since he never has stomach issues. His food is fish based, which we started a few years ago bc of itchiness and dry skin, so s pretty low fat diet overall.
> 
> We have been racking our brains trying to figure out if he got into anything… I supposed it’s possible they he found a tiny scrap on the floor, especially bc we had kids here, but surprising that would be enough to make him so sicl, especially since he’s always had very solid GI system and not been bothered by anything he ate. I also wonder if it’s a bug like Karen mentioned, and the only other thing in my mind is that he had his 3 year rabies vax 10 days ago, so I wonder if there could be any relationship there… Mostly hoping we can get our boy home very soon!


I would make sure that the possible rabies vaccine connection is well documented in his records. Even if not a direct cause, it could have impacted his immune system indirectly causing him to succumb to something. It is sad that the authorities require dogs to be repeatedly vaccinated for rabies throughout their entire lives and into their senior years when a simple titer test is all that is necessary. Vaccines carry risk regardless but especially when given to dogs who are already immune to what they are being vaccinated for. Perhaps they will wise up so documenting this could be helpful.


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## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

I just remembered that Mikki recently mentioned that her dog Patti got super sick and had to spend a few nights in the ICU. They never did figure out was wrong but she did get better simply with some IV fluids I believe. So maybe there is some dog bug going around.


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

Great news— we just spoke to the vet, and we can pick him up at 7 (well, they said between 7 and 8 but you know we will be there at 6:59!) Ultrasound confirmed no blockages and nothing else bad going on with his pancreas or elsewhere in his GI system. It also didn’t show obvious pancreatitis; since the pancreatic test results on two tests w were high, they suspect it is a mild case. He apparently is drinking and wolfed down the bland diet they offered him. So long as he keeps that down for the next hour or so, he’ll come home with anti-nausea meds and bland diet for a few days. And honeslty, now that he’s rehydrated and drinking on his own, even if he did throw up again, I’d probably still push for him to come home and monitor him from here as I know how stressed he must be there. 

So relieved, and can’t wait to see our boy. A nice first night of Hanukkah gift for us!! 🕎 Appreciate all the healing wishes from so many of you— clearly they helped!


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## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

I know I’ll cringe when I take off that bandage and see how much they shaved for the IV but SO happy to have him home. Jolene is of course over the look so keeping her gated so he can get some rest without her pestering him!


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## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I’m glad he’s home! I’m relieved he’s feeling better, having caught this earlier when I was unable to finish reading. I’m glad you’re reunited, and that you’ll at least be able to worry about him from home where you can keep an eye on him while he’s recovering! Hope you are all able to sleep well tonight.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

LWalks said:


> View attachment 176351
> 
> 
> I know I’ll cringe when I take off that bandage and see how much they shaved for the IV but SO happy to have him home. Jolene is of course over the look so keeping her gated so he can get some rest without her pestering him!


Oh, Charlie! So happy to see you home, little guy!


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## Al99 (May 1, 2021)

We’re thinking of Charlie and relieved to hear he is home and feeling better!!!


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## Ditto's Mom (Apr 29, 2007)

Glad you're home sweet boy!


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## NotAMuggle (Dec 4, 2020)

Relieved to here he's back home and all cozy!


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## BoosDad (Mar 8, 2020)

Glad to hear that Charlie is doing much better.


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## Toffee170221 (Sep 10, 2021)

So pleased for you that Charlie’s back home with you all 🍾🥂


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## cundiyosa (10 mo ago)

I am happy to hear that he's doing okay.


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