Problem dog strikes again

Remember when I wrote about my dog and his penchant for eating toys and how that affinity cost me close to $1000 and a trip to the emergency room at midnight the night before I had to leave for a trip to my parents’ house?

Well guess what? Problem dog strikes again.

For the past few days, Dobie has just not been himself. He’s been lethargic, incessantly licking one of his paws, heavily panting even when lying on an air conditioning vent (yes, I know that sounds weird. Our vents are on the floor. Oh, and yes, a dog lying on a vent is weird, too), hasn’t been eating, can’t walk up and down the stairs (or jump on the couch or the bed), and had accidents in the house. None of this is normal for him.

At first I thought it might be his arthritis acting up or the fact that his fur is matted from swimming (oh, right. He swims in my in-laws’ pool. You remember them? The ones with the corn in the dishwasher?) and he was just uncomfortable. But that wasn’t it. Because even when he’s uncomfortable, he still eats (mainly because he’s a fat ass who eats everything that’s not nailed down and a few things that are). He didn’t turn down treats or peanut butter (the true test) but he didn’t eat his kibble for 2 ½ days. Then came the crowning achievement. He woke me up at 3 AM because he had to throw up (I think I’m the only person whose dog gives a warning that he’s going to barf. It’s his barf signal! I know. I’m hilarious).

When he throws up, something is really, really wrong.

As soon as I knew they would answer the phone, I called the vet’s office to make an appointment. Of course, the appointment interfered with his grooming appointment which I had to cancel anyway and now the poor thing is still uncomfortable and smelly. Wait…where was I going? Right. The vet. Anyway, they were able to fit us in mid-afternoon while Barkley, my other dog, was off at his grooming appointment. Which I was grateful for because I really wanted to find out what was wrong with this dog before it got any worse (after what happened to the dog of someone I’m related to but not allowed to mention on this site, I’m extremely paranoid anytime one of my dogs looks like he’s in pain). As a result, I was not going to complain about the awfulness of a 3:15 PM appointment.

So, after our playdate at the park, we went to the vet’s office. Again.

The vet’s office is always interesting. Besides the inevitable wait, I always love to watch the other people in the waiting room interact with their pets. I also love to watch how people interact with the other owners’ pets. Today was especially interesting. There was a really cute, sweet pit bull in the waiting room. This gentleman and his daughter walked in and they basically snatched their dog up and refused to put him (her?) down until the pit bull left. It was kind of appalling, actually. I got a little angry and wanted to say something but I had my daughter with me and I didn’t want to say anything I wouldn’t want her repeating so I kept my mouth shut.

Sorry, I lost my place again.

Right. The vet’s office for the appointment to diagnose my dog. After waiting over ½ hour, they finally took us into the exam room where I proceeded to inform the vet tech of Dobie’s myriad of problems. She looked kind of puzzled at the symptoms because this, of course, was the time Dobie decided to act like himself again (I believe he just didn’t want to be poked and prodded so he was lying to the doctor). Since I’m human and can talk, she took my word over his and then talked to the vet about his issues. The vet then examined him and decided that running some test would be a good idea (of course it is) and $218.50 later, I learned that my dog possibly has a urinary tract infection.

Yup. That’s the diagnosis. Possible UTI. Not actual UTI. Possible.

Glad I spent that kind of money for a possibility.