A Dime In His Intestines
Sometime on Sunday evening, Bentley threw up and we blew it off as just a hairball or something that just didn't sit well with him. One Monday night, Amy found a few places where he'd thrown up again but she was convinced it was actually Grace since she's the one with all the digestive trouble. Then last night (Wednesday), I was sleeping at the house alone (Amy helping Carolyn and Tony out with baby Kate) and Bentley was puking every couple of hours. I called Amy on the way into work and said we definitely needed to take him to the doctor's today. Big Guy was acting otherwise normally though maybe not as vocal as he usually is. This, coupled with our busy schedules made us miss the signs that he was in big trouble.
Amy took him in earlier today and the diagnosis was that his stomach wasn't tolerating the high protein content of the premium kitty food we had him on (actually it was to help Grace lose some pounds) and Amy was given and prescription med that would help coat his stomach and some prescription food that would be easier for him to digest. By the time I'd come home, Amy had left again to go to Carolyn's and I was given instructions on how to feed him. Amy also said Bentley shouldn't get sick any more. I prepared his food and got ready to go for a short ride.
Just as I was getting my water bottle out of the fridge, I noticed Gracie was jumping up and down the patio door trying to get some kind of insect that was outside. I'd never know Beavis to not be with her when bugs are at stake. So instead of going out to the garage, I went to look for him even in my cycling cleats (A BIG NO NO). I found him hunched over in the living room dry heaving. I immediately called the vet and asked if I could bring him because he was getting sicker by the minute.
One hour, a million nervous heartbeats and a sweaty forehead later, the doc rushed out of the back room saying I needed to come back quickly. I'm not so tough- I immediately started to cry. She grabbed my arm and said it was ok but we had to get him to surgery right away to remove (she pointed to the x-ray on the wall) a dime in his intestines. I don't know if I felt better or worse but while she was trying to decide if it was a dime or a penny, I yelled that I just wanted it out. She called over to Alpine Veterinary Hospital and I was out the door within three minutes. Amy met me there and we reluctantly gave him to the doctor for surgery.
Dr. Rogers said we were lucky, that if we had waited another day, it would probably have killed him. He was probably in terrible pain since Sunday afternoon and most likely hadn't been able to digest any food since then as well. I feel absolutely terrible thinking that I left a shiny coin on the ground that he accidentally swallowed while playing with it.
They'll sedate him, open him up and pull the dime out of his intestines via a small incision. He'll probably be in their care for at least three days but I should know in a few hours how the surgery went. I'm a nervous wreck and it'll be a freakin' miracle if I'm actually able to finish this post. It will cost us around $3,700 but I don't care, I'll sell my damn bikes if I have to. He's more than worth that.
