Christmas Miracle, the 2012 Edition -- UPDATE with Pic

Remember last Year's Christmas miracle? When Moogie left her purse sitting in the middle of an aisle at the grocery store and no one stole, or even ransacked, it? That was pretty unbelievable.

This year's miracle makes 2011's pale by comparison.

We still have Bouie, and he's healthy, thanks be to God and a couple of skilled, kind veterinarians.

We arrived at Elder Daughter's home last Saturday and got to play with Baby Jack while ED's family, both canine and human, got to know Mysti. Bouie had fun playing with ED's pups, Tyson and Pippi. Sunday was pretty uneventful, until Pepper and Bouie came back from their evening walk at about 8:30. Bouie was not himself.

Halfway through their walk, Bouie began to get shaky. By the time they got back to the house, he could barely hold his head up and could hardly stand.

SIL#1 had treated an ant hill in the front yard that morning and Bouie had seemed very interested in it. We wondered whether he had gotten into the poison, so I called the emergency number noted on the container. I got some information from their hotline, but that didn't seem to be the source of Bou's problem. After he could barely get up, we decided to head to the emergency vet clinic across the river ASAP. And thank God we did as quickly as we did!

Vet#1 examined him and ran some blood work.

The tests revealed that he had ingested antifreeze!

50 to 70% of dogs who ingest antifreeze do not survive, especially when the levels are as high as Bouie's were. Their kidneys and liver are destroyed.

Treatment for antifreeze poisoning includes oral administration of activated charcoal to coat the intestines and IV administration of, in essence, pure grain alcohol. The PGA chemically binds with the antifreeze and causes it to be eliminated through the urine.

We had to leave our Bouie in a strange place that night, in the care of strangers.

I slept maybe 1 1/2 hours.

He did well overnight, and his kidney and liver values were strong at 6:00 Monday morning when Pepper picked him up, but he wasn't out of the woods yet.

When our former Vet's office opened at 8:00, I called to explain what had happened, and they said to bring him in, along with any records we had from Vet#1. We took our drunken sweetheart in before 9:00 and, once again, left him among strangers.

We had a very quiet breakfast, and both of us spent most of the day trying to stay occupied.  I called the vet at midday, and he told me that Bouie was doing well, and could probably be discharged Tuesday afternoon, barring complications.

Complications, thy name is Bouie.

Monday night, he pulled out his IV.  Vet#2 didn't know how much of the drip he had gotten, so, to be safe rather than sorry, they kept him another night to keep the drip going.

Then, Wednesday -- which just happened to be Pepper's birthday -- dawned, and Pepper got a call while he was in the duck blind from the vet. Bouie's blood work was great, and he could be released at 2:00 in the afternoon!

I arrived at Vet#2's at approximately 2:01.

My boy looked pretty rough, and he had a blood alcohol content of about 80 proof, but he was happy and alive!

 

Vet#2 took pictures to share with colleagues who were very interested in the lab who beat antifreeze, and let us leave after advising me to bring him back in a week to double check his kidney function, just to be on the safe side. And, also advising that Bouie would likely have the mother of all hangovers for a day or so.

I have never been so happy to have a dog in my backseat in my whole life.

There are other heartwarming details, but the upshot of this post is that I got everything I could ever want for Christmas when Bouie staggered through the door that afternoon, and to see the expression on Pepper's face when he got home from a Bouie-less hunt to find his bestest buddy waiting for him.

There are good, and miraculous, times in Moogie's World. And I wish the same for all of you.