It was a hard no

Yesterday at the end of the day I headed to the vet to pick up Elsa, expecting to get further care instructions once I took her home. They told me they had her on IV fluids all day and as a result one of the two bad numbers had started to drop but they recommended that I admit her to the emergency vet to continue IV fluids all night as well.

The recommendation took me by surprise and my knee jerk reaction mentally was a hard no. Elsa is very nervous and gets freaked out easily so the idea of leaving her at the emergency vet overnight sounded very unappealing. My vet is very understanding and nice. She said that the IV fluid has started getting her numbers down and allowing them to continue overnight would keep that progress going. So I eventually agreed to follow their advice as it was the best thing for her health even though it is not ideal as far as her comfort and anxiety goes.

After stopping at the house I loaded her back up in the truck. My girlfriend and I got to the emergency vet which is only open 5PM to 8AM around 6PM. We were surprised to see a very full parking lot. We sat around for close to an hour before getting put in a room. While waiting we saw some animals in sad shape, the saddest being a small older dog that evidently had a heart attack and was eventually put down.

My regular vet had already sent over instructions for Elsa’s care but even so we had to go through the song and dance of the new vet doing yet another exam of her before they admitted her. I guess procedurally they have to. Elsa was surprisingly chill during most of the process, a byproduct of some meds she was given earlier. It wasn’t fun allowing the lady to lead Elsa back to the kennel area. She has never stayed anywhere overnight away from me or others I have trusted to babysit her during her lifetime. So the plan was to come back first thing in the morning to pick her back up and then take her back to my regular vet for another full day of getting IV fluids.

I woke up before the alarm I set which was already an hour earlier than normal. I was eager to pick up Elsa. They said she did well outside of not being interested in eating the special bland food my vet wants her to eat for now. Elsa was glad to see me but also still a bit disoriented. I covered her with one of her favorite fuzzy blankets for the ride to my vet since the temps were in the 40s this morning.

When I dropped her off my vet said that the plan is hopefully to allow Elsa to come home with me tonight as long as there is more progress in getting the bad numbers down. The effort however will continue as there is going to have to be careful monitoring going forward to make sure she does not fall into kidney failure. We also have to ensure there are no opportunities for her to eat foreign objects going forward. I just want her to be healthy and happy so life can get back to normal.