To Try

We have decided not to put the dog asleep this day and instead try - tho' it may be windmills and tilting - to save Bolo. On Thursday it kept going thro' my mind that we couldn't just let him go, even tho his health may be so compromised that ...... it may just be a delay. But we are going to try.

So on Friday when I got home Sister.4 told me that we should wait and not put him to sleep until his health really deteriorated - but I had one better: it was gonna take lots of effort and money, but lets jut see. It seemed too much to let him go w/out a struggle. So, Friday afternoon, our mood lightened.

A big part of it was the money. My sister just couldn't afford the treatments - but I can - thanks to my new job (need to keep). On Friday, it looked like it would take about $3-4000 this year, and then maybe $1500-$200 after that. I got a break over the wkd as well - but later on that. However, he's gonna cost a tonne.

Another big part of it is that he is on so many meds, that they cancel each other out. The big trouble w. the dog up to now was his panoply of allergies: 100's of allergies to many things that keep him scratching each day. To combat that, he was put on Pretizone - which works ok, but has many side effects. Now that the dog has started to show signs of dishealth, one of the side effects is really troubling - the Pretizone really messes w. his (hopefully) upcoming insulin treatments. So, our choice, as we see it now (upcoming vet visit today) is to reduce his pret. - or maybe x it ouit completely - and hopefully the insulin will work. This may set him off to scratching all day long -but our choices are limited.

And then there are the insulin shots he needs. Twice a day we will have to stick him w. a needle (again, if the vet visit today goes well), and Mom can't do it. So that means @ the 7.30's twice a day he will get the needle - and we have to be around. We'll have to teach the kids to be able to do it as well since there will be days when we will not be able to do it. Say goodbye to any chance of me now getting a flat in Bucktown. And his diet - people have been flooding him w. treats and human food all day long - but this will have to stop.

It was nice Friday. Sister.4 determined to keep him as long as possible, and me saying lets do it. Good for us, a common cause. I called late Friday to his regular vet to see what we could do, and they said its a long and involved process, but the first step is to bring him in so he can do 48h overnites @ a pet hospital to stabilize him: then the next several steps can take hold.

So, on Saturday morning, I took him to one of the 'emergency' pet hospitals that open up when the regular vet places close. He was gonna have to stay overnite for the wkd, so he had to be taken here. But when the vet did some tests, the immediates danger had passed: Bolo had shed the very dangerous amount of stuff in his bloodstream and it was back to normal. This totally obviated the need for him to be in overnite for the 2 days. A good start (and a savings of anywhere from $800- $1,800) and a hopeful start.

On Monday, Bolo gets taken to the regular vet for an outlining of the course of treatment ahead. Will be very rough, but ....

So, we are happy, yet apprehensive. We are happy to have the pet still - but fearful of his delicate condition. We'll see.