What a weekend!

So, I took all of your advice and my brother's advice and my friend (who's a vet) advice, and we left to go up north Friday afternoon. About 1 1/2 hrs into the drive, guess who pukes again??? Yuppers, Junebug! We had to pull over on the expressway, clean up the back seat (thank goodness I had brought stuff "just in case"), and get her to drink something. She didn't throw up again, but she did spend the rest of the drive coughing and hacking up clear phlegm (which meant I climbed to the back of the car each time to see if it was puke or phlegm and to clean it up). Needless to say, the 6 hr drive was NOT fun.

I dropped B off at the bachelor party and finished the drive to my mom's. Junie B still wouldn't drink much and was coughing all the time. She wouldn't even go into the bedroom to lay down on her bed, instead she settled in on the living room floor. I ended up sleeping on the couch next to her because I was too nervous to leave her. Do I sound like a mom or what??? I slept from about 11-1 ish when she had another coughing fit with tons of phlegm all over the floor (I am so thankful that my mom was so kind about her carpet- I felt SO bad!). She settled down and slept, but I couldn't. Then at 3:30 she coughed up some phlegm that was blood tinged. Of course I totally freaked and woke my mom up to come see it. She was concerned but didn't think I needed to call the emergency vet number. I REALLY couldn't sleep at that point, so at 6 a.m. I called the vet's office and found out they opened at 8. She did the bloody phlegm one more time before we left for the vet's office. Oh, by the way, I'm also sobbing hysterically more than one time throughout the night as I was convinced that she was dying of something. The vet's office got me right in even though I didn't have an appt. I think it was because she was coughing up the same stuff all over their floor and I was crying and snotty myself. I'm sure it was quite a site to see!! The vet tech asked me right away if she was my first pet- obvious???

We got Junebug onto the table and got her all checked out. Guess what was wrong???? Oh yes, just a frickin virus!!! My dog has a cold. Did I feel stupid or what????????? What is so funny/amusing/wrong about this situation is that I always have parents who come in with their first child with similar symptoms and they are as upset as I was and I often pooh pooh their visits. Well, no more! This was a great learning experience for me. Had this been a baby, I would have known that it was just sick and needed some clear liquids and lots of rest, etc. But, since I have little dog experience, I totally freak and become that parent. He said that the puke was probably just because she didn't feel well (yup), the eye drainage was part of the virus, and the coughing and phlegm were the cold. He said it was probably blood tinged due to the fact that she was slightly dehydrated and had been coughing so much her throat became irritated. So, we're now on an eye ointment, robitussin for the cough, and an antibiotic. Viruses aren't affected by the antibiotic (as we all should know), but since she just was in a shelter, he wanted to cover any secondary infection that she could possibly have. The vet didn't make me feel stupid at all, and I felt so glad that I had gone, if only to learn so many things! So, Saturday she got fed chicken and rice soup and saltines all day to make sure her stomach was okay, and today she is totally back to normal! Thank goodness!!!!!!!!!

More weekend update to come but I simply must go to bed. The lack of sleep on Friday night is still affecting me. Tomorrow (Monday) I am at the hospital for a double- 16 hrs total! Hopefully there will be some down time so I can catch up on your weekends. I'll be able to post some pics on Tuesday from Gram's 85th birthday party. Later, ladies!