I swear I am going to get back into blogging on a regular basis! I’ve become one of those once or twice a week bloggers...but I aspire to greater vistas. We will see what this coming week brings, my blogging friends. This past week was mostly non-monumental. However, I did have a frightening dog experience the other night. I know how people love reading about my dogs (because they are the most amazing dogs in the world!), so here we go…
We had a rough night on Tuesday (technically, early Wednesday morning). I bought the dogs some chew things from Target. They were beefhide chews (which I was somehow misled into believing are not as dangerous as regular rawhide). Both dogs have had stuff like that before and been fine—and it usually gives me time to get things done, while they are distracted with chewing. Somehow, though, Ariel got a piece stuck in her throat. It was awful: she kept choking and then she would vomit this frothy white stuff (aren’t you glad that I shared). She did that for 20 minutes. I opened her mouth and tried to see in there. I stuck my finger inside her mouth and tried to "fish" for the object. I patted her on the back and tried to rub her throat from the outside. Nothing!!! It was so awful. Poor Pepper was just looking at us like she had no idea what was happening! Ariel is so tiny (about 12 pounds) that I didn’t think I could give her the “doggie Heimlich” without crushing all her tiny bones. Finally, fearing for her life, I went to call the vet (at about 1:30am in the morning). Guess what: NO PHONE. That’s right, my only phone (my cell phone) was no where to be found. I dug through my purse. I looked in the car. All the while, my poor little doggie was looking at me like she was about to take her last breath (and making the most horrible sound I have ever heard!). You know, when I moved to Columbus this summer, I decided to just have a cell phone and no land line…thinking it was stupid to pay two phone bills. I am rethinking my position on that subject! It turns out that my cell phone was at Target. I had been shopping there just before they closed, earlier that night. I had to use the restroom and decided to check my voicemail at the same time (it is a female thing…must constantly be multi-tasking). All I can think is that I somehow left the phone in the bathroom at Target. I had to send my mom an email and have her call my phone and find out where it was (again, seriously thinking about getting a landline, at this point!). Anyway, back to little Ariel…
With no phone, I didn’t know what to do. So, I frantically picked Ariel up and we got in the car in search of some animal clinic that was open at almost 2am. There is one I had seen around the corner from my house, but I was not sure of their hours. Alas, no one was there. Finally, I drove out to my vet (about 15 minutes away), vainly hoping there might be someone "on call"...nothing...but, at least I got the number off their sign (I had their number stored in my missing cell phone…ugh!), drove to the nearest gas station and used the pay phone to call. By the way, what has happened to all the pay phones in the world? I pulled into three gas stations with NO PAYPHONE before I found one (curse our blasted dependence on the cell phone!!!).
The whole time I was driving around, Ariel was choking (you could see it and hear it). The vet was obviously asleep when he answered...since it was well past 2am by the time I got a hold of him. He told me to feed Ariel Vaseline--that it would lubricate her throat--and, if that didn't work, to call back and he would meet me at the office. So, off we went in search of a place to buy Vaseline. The whole time, little Ariel was making hideous choking noises and looking at me with her huge, expressive eyes, like she was saying, "Why don't you help me?" I was just trying not to cry. I knew if I started to cry, it would be over! I was actually annoyed that the vet told me to get Vaseline. I thought, “my dog looks like she is dying and now I have to shop for Vaseline in the middle of the night, with no phone, and my dog on death’s door”. I cannot even imagine what the cashier thought of me coming into the store at 2am, asking where the Vaseline was, and then buying that...and nothing else. I sat in the CVS parking lot, letting Ariel lick Vaseline off of my fingers (first, I had to pry her mouth open and shove it in, but she must have liked the taste because she stopped fighting me). The horrible choking noise got less intense, but it was still there. I decided to drive back to the pay phone, while I let the Vaseline do its magic. We sat in front of the pay phone for about 10 minutes. Ariel did seem better, like maybe she swallowed part of what was clogged, but not all of it. I didn't know what to do because I hated the thought of waking the vet up again, having him meet us at the clinic, and then having Ariel be fine and dandy. Since she was a little better (meaning there was actually some time in between horrible noises...and the noises were less intense), I decided to go home and see what happened. I got on the internet to find the closest all night animal emergency center; the closest one is probably about 20 minutes away. I thought I would watch her for a little longer and if it didn't stop, I would go see some people who were up all night whether or not I came in! Just as I found the emergency vet place online, Ariel threw up again (five times total)...this time with the piece of beefhide. It was huge: at least the size of a silver dollar! I cannot believe she could still breathe with that in there. Then—to my horror--she tried to eat that piece again! (which, I think is an object lesson for humans, as well…the way we return to the things that destroy us…perhaps that will the subject of another blog, on another day).
Neither Ariel or Pepper will EVER eat anything remotely related to "hide" of any kind again! In my mind, it is a miracle that Ariel is still alive. It was such a horrible night! I think I would die of a broken heart if anything happened to her. But, our fabulous God rescued my little Ariel! Interestingly enough, I was praying like a crazy person the whole time this was happening: “God, please help her be ok; show me what to do; help us find a clinic that is open; please let her cough up whatever she is choking on”, etc. Once Ariel was ok, I did thank God…for His leading, His help, and for rescuing my little angel-puppy. But, my thankful prayers were not as intense, fervent, or continual as my prayers for help were. I really dislike that about myself…and it has made me long for a heart that is continually thankful for God’s constant presence, help, and under-girding (isn’t that a great word?) in my life. God must get so tired of our ingratitude and inconsistency! Thank goodness God’s love and grace are not limited by our feeble responses! I do, however, give praise to God—right here on the blog—for being so awesome and for taking care of my little, furry baby (and for taking care of me). God is certainly good…all the time!
We had a rough night on Tuesday (technically, early Wednesday morning). I bought the dogs some chew things from Target. They were beefhide chews (which I was somehow misled into believing are not as dangerous as regular rawhide). Both dogs have had stuff like that before and been fine—and it usually gives me time to get things done, while they are distracted with chewing. Somehow, though, Ariel got a piece stuck in her throat. It was awful: she kept choking and then she would vomit this frothy white stuff (aren’t you glad that I shared). She did that for 20 minutes. I opened her mouth and tried to see in there. I stuck my finger inside her mouth and tried to "fish" for the object. I patted her on the back and tried to rub her throat from the outside. Nothing!!! It was so awful. Poor Pepper was just looking at us like she had no idea what was happening! Ariel is so tiny (about 12 pounds) that I didn’t think I could give her the “doggie Heimlich” without crushing all her tiny bones. Finally, fearing for her life, I went to call the vet (at about 1:30am in the morning). Guess what: NO PHONE. That’s right, my only phone (my cell phone) was no where to be found. I dug through my purse. I looked in the car. All the while, my poor little doggie was looking at me like she was about to take her last breath (and making the most horrible sound I have ever heard!). You know, when I moved to Columbus this summer, I decided to just have a cell phone and no land line…thinking it was stupid to pay two phone bills. I am rethinking my position on that subject! It turns out that my cell phone was at Target. I had been shopping there just before they closed, earlier that night. I had to use the restroom and decided to check my voicemail at the same time (it is a female thing…must constantly be multi-tasking). All I can think is that I somehow left the phone in the bathroom at Target. I had to send my mom an email and have her call my phone and find out where it was (again, seriously thinking about getting a landline, at this point!). Anyway, back to little Ariel…
With no phone, I didn’t know what to do. So, I frantically picked Ariel up and we got in the car in search of some animal clinic that was open at almost 2am. There is one I had seen around the corner from my house, but I was not sure of their hours. Alas, no one was there. Finally, I drove out to my vet (about 15 minutes away), vainly hoping there might be someone "on call"...nothing...but, at least I got the number off their sign (I had their number stored in my missing cell phone…ugh!), drove to the nearest gas station and used the pay phone to call. By the way, what has happened to all the pay phones in the world? I pulled into three gas stations with NO PAYPHONE before I found one (curse our blasted dependence on the cell phone!!!).
The whole time I was driving around, Ariel was choking (you could see it and hear it). The vet was obviously asleep when he answered...since it was well past 2am by the time I got a hold of him. He told me to feed Ariel Vaseline--that it would lubricate her throat--and, if that didn't work, to call back and he would meet me at the office. So, off we went in search of a place to buy Vaseline. The whole time, little Ariel was making hideous choking noises and looking at me with her huge, expressive eyes, like she was saying, "Why don't you help me?" I was just trying not to cry. I knew if I started to cry, it would be over! I was actually annoyed that the vet told me to get Vaseline. I thought, “my dog looks like she is dying and now I have to shop for Vaseline in the middle of the night, with no phone, and my dog on death’s door”. I cannot even imagine what the cashier thought of me coming into the store at 2am, asking where the Vaseline was, and then buying that...and nothing else. I sat in the CVS parking lot, letting Ariel lick Vaseline off of my fingers (first, I had to pry her mouth open and shove it in, but she must have liked the taste because she stopped fighting me). The horrible choking noise got less intense, but it was still there. I decided to drive back to the pay phone, while I let the Vaseline do its magic. We sat in front of the pay phone for about 10 minutes. Ariel did seem better, like maybe she swallowed part of what was clogged, but not all of it. I didn't know what to do because I hated the thought of waking the vet up again, having him meet us at the clinic, and then having Ariel be fine and dandy. Since she was a little better (meaning there was actually some time in between horrible noises...and the noises were less intense), I decided to go home and see what happened. I got on the internet to find the closest all night animal emergency center; the closest one is probably about 20 minutes away. I thought I would watch her for a little longer and if it didn't stop, I would go see some people who were up all night whether or not I came in! Just as I found the emergency vet place online, Ariel threw up again (five times total)...this time with the piece of beefhide. It was huge: at least the size of a silver dollar! I cannot believe she could still breathe with that in there. Then—to my horror--she tried to eat that piece again! (which, I think is an object lesson for humans, as well…the way we return to the things that destroy us…perhaps that will the subject of another blog, on another day).
Neither Ariel or Pepper will EVER eat anything remotely related to "hide" of any kind again! In my mind, it is a miracle that Ariel is still alive. It was such a horrible night! I think I would die of a broken heart if anything happened to her. But, our fabulous God rescued my little Ariel! Interestingly enough, I was praying like a crazy person the whole time this was happening: “God, please help her be ok; show me what to do; help us find a clinic that is open; please let her cough up whatever she is choking on”, etc. Once Ariel was ok, I did thank God…for His leading, His help, and for rescuing my little angel-puppy. But, my thankful prayers were not as intense, fervent, or continual as my prayers for help were. I really dislike that about myself…and it has made me long for a heart that is continually thankful for God’s constant presence, help, and under-girding (isn’t that a great word?) in my life. God must get so tired of our ingratitude and inconsistency! Thank goodness God’s love and grace are not limited by our feeble responses! I do, however, give praise to God—right here on the blog—for being so awesome and for taking care of my little, furry baby (and for taking care of me). God is certainly good…all the time!
1 comment:
Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.
Bless her little heart - and yours for all your freaking-out! (and I don't mean that in a Sarah Holsinger kind of way!) I'm so glad she of the long tongue is OK. I can't wait to see her in March.
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