Too good to be true, Rabbit hole

When I picked up Elsa from her overnight stay at the emergency vet the clerk said it showed I was owed a $558 refund. That was the estimated charge for the night so it made no sense why it would be refunded but hey, I was not going to ask questions, maybe this was just a small stroke of good fortune in the midst of this mess. Of course when they reopened at 5PM I received a message that the refund was an error and I received a new request for payment which I fulfilled. So much for found money, of course it was too good to be true.

So Elsa spent the day once again at the vet, receiving IV fluids which were bringing down her high kidney related numbers. However early afternoon I received a call from the vet. She said she had to reduce the flow of fluids because Elsa’s blood pressure was getting high. She said that when you are doing intensive IV fluid rehydration a potential issue can be it stresses the dogs cardiac system, great. So they dialed back the fluids and I picked her up after work. They gave me two different types of prescription food that they wanted me to get her to eat. They said they got her to eat some of it during the day. They thought that she would be more willing to eat more of it at home. I told them right away that if she doesn’t like the way the food smells she will just not eat it, no matter how hungry she is.

So once I got Elsa home my girlfriend came over. We tried repeatedly to get Elsa to eat the special food. She absolutely refused. She was laying in the bed and just looked exhausted, probably partially because she has taken in so few calories over the last few days. She had some periods of shallow, rapid breathing which were worrisome as well.

I told my girlfriend we should just make her some chicken, she needed to eat something. We cooked some boneless chicken breast in a pan and then gave it to her on a plate. It needs to be on a plate because if it’s in her dog bowl it somehow means it’s not special. Yes Elsa can be that neurotic. Thankfully she ate the chicken, clearing the plate. After eating she seemed a little more normal as well. She also would eat some of the expensive freeze dried raw food I bought for her recently as well as her treats so she definitely got some calories in her. She also had her first small BM in a few days last night which is a positive. She had a good night of sleep outside of getting me up at 3AM to let her go pee.

So this morning I tried to give Elsa more chicken however it was not nicely grilled like last night. My girlfriend boiled the remainder so I cut it up and heated it briefly in the microwave. Elsa wouldn’t eat it. I was very frustrated. I even took the chicken and threw it in a pan to heat it up, thinking that extra step would convince her the food was “special”. Nope, she still walked away from it. The only thing she would eat this morning were her Blue Buffalo steak treats. So I know she is hungry, she just is so picky at this point it’s a crapshoot if she will actually eat or not.

I dropped her back off at the vet this morning. I told them how eating the special food was an absolute no go but that she did eat some chicken. I told them about the periods of erratic breathing which they said they need to keep an eye on. Today they will be monitoring her blood work numbers as well as administering more IV fluids if they feel they are necessary.

To be quite honest my state of mind is not good. I don’t see a clear path to resolution yet based on what I am being told by the vet. All I want is for Elsa to return to normal but instead I feel like we are currently in a rabbit hole of uncertainty, not only about how her numbers got so elevated but also how we fix it.