My Fire Hydrant

An example of Bailey supervising.

So, a little over 24 hours have gone by since Dr. C advised me to hospitalize Bailey. I still think I made the right decision not to do it.

We had a relatively quiet day yesterday. I FINALLY took down our Christmas tree–that was the last of the holiday decorations. Bailey watched from the comfort of her bed or from the sofa. She is definitely drinking and peeing more than normal. She ate something at all four meal times–twice she dined on biscuits, twice on MiniChunks. Dr. C said as long as she’s eating, staying hydrated, and not vomiting than she’s OK to stay home. I’m doing all I can to pump up her liquids–she finds the beef broth very tasty.

She had a good sleep though the night–woke me only once for a drink and a pee. She certainly slept better than I did! I left the light on all night and slept in my glasses in prep for any emergencies. All my memories of doggie health crisis incidents seem to take place in the middle of the night. And the anticipation of a possible crisis made my sleep fitful.

It’s hard for me to say if her condition has worsened. Her tail is more at half-mast than at full up–which is a sign that she’s not feeling well. She follows me when I move from room to room–which is normal. But she’s not making her normal demands for cuddles. She is content to lay beside me on the same sofa where normally she would be demanding that I lay down so she can curl up in my legs. She’s alert and barks at noises (real and imaginary). But today she seems more reluctant to eat. She sniffs the MiniChunks and won’t touch them. She was less-than-enthusiastic to eat biscuits for both breakfast and lunch. But  she definitely wanted to share our pancakes this morning.

But I still am convinced it was right to keep her home. At the hospital she would be confined to a cage with nothing to engage her interest. At home she can supervise what we’re doing, get cuddles is she wants, be socially stimulated. At home, she can go outside to potty. At the hospital she would be peeing/pooing in her cage. And she doesn’t have to listen to all the other dogs, cats, and animals who would be vocalizing at the hospital. I’ve seen how she reacts to that when we go to the vet–the noise is very stressful  for her.

So I’m playing the situation hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute. My stomach is in knots, I’m distracted, but I think a little less of a basket case then I was yesterday. This is all subject to change, though. I’m going to go find a distraction…