Annie Swallowed a Rock and Chases the Snow!

Thursday night, I get in from work late. I feed the dogs and as usual take Annie for a walk. It was a cold night so I did the right thing and bundled her up in her bulky warm sweater. I think she hates wearing it but at least I knew she'd be warm. It was in the mid 20's, around 10pm and windy so she needed it. I bundled up too, I probably looked like a hood.

So, I decided to drive down to the local park to give her a change of scenery. We get out of the car and the place is deserted. Suited me fine because I was really self conscious about people seeing me walk this little dog with a big sweater on her. Cracks me up what I do for these dogs. The only other vehicle in the parking lot was a police car which was good. We started out on our walk and the cop pulls up to me and asks me what kind of dog Annie is.. "is that one of those Jack Russell's?" I tell him she is and then he says, "I really couldn't tell with that big sweater on her, nice dog though.." and he drives away. Amazing the attention that little dog gets. I might put her in commercials. I'll have to see about that!

So it is really dark, cold as I mentioned, wind is howling.. and after about a mile, it was time to go. We hustle back to the car and I'm unlocking the door when I feel a tug on the leash. I look and see Annie is trying to get to something on the ground, she wouldn't let up and before I know it, she's got it in her mouth and swallows it! It was BIG and it looked hard, like a rock. I actually think I heard it "clink" on her teeth, not sure. All I kept thinking was, this is going to mean a vet visit for sure. I told her to drop it, then try to pry her mouth open but she had locked her jaws so that was hopeless. I finally get her mouth open and whatever it was..rock or cigar butt or whatever.. is gone.

I get her in the car and drive home. In my driveway, I see this huge tow truck backing up and someone is at my door, knocking. They obviously are not getting an answer. Then, the cell phone is going off. I park the car and I realize this is the tow truck for the motorcycle I am donating to the local animal shelter. At 1045 pm? After about a half an hour, the motorcycle is driving down the road on the back of the tow truck and I wave good bye to any future motorcyle adventures. One bad spill was all it took to snap me out of it and besides, the Baltimore City Animal Shelter will benefit from it's sale proceeds. I used to have Bulldog club meetings there, those people are great and really care about helping the animals that are brought in. Worthy cause for sure.

Back in the house now, I go on the internet and did a web search what to do if "my dog swallows a ... rock, a candy bar, ...a cigarette.." There's all kind of information out there on the net. Good stuff. So I learned about how to make your dog throw up using hydrogen peroxcide but that had to be done in a certain time frame and I wasn't sure I wanted her to throw up something that might be sharp and damage her trying to throw it up. I finally decided to call the emergency vet in Annapolis. They were a big help, I told them what happened and they told me it would be best to watch Annie for different symptoms. So, I did. They told me if she started acting lethargic, in pain, distressed, lost her appetite or vomited to bring her in immediately.

Friday morning, she was fine. Ate a good breakfast, went out and did her business and all was good. I went to work leaving her plenty of water and her typical snacks. I came home just in time to see her wretching and getting sick. My heart sank and I picked up the phone and called the vet. I called the wrong vet and got Greater Annapolis Veterinary Hospital. My regular vet was already closed but GAVH still had appointments on Friday night. I put Annie in the car and felt really bad when I realized she was shaking. She's normally a little trooper in the car so I knew she wasn't feeling good at all. We get there and they take us right in. The intake tech was great, loved Annie and Annie loved the attention. Then the vet comes in and gives Annie a thorough check up. I explain to her what has happened and she gave me a great deal of comfort telling me that she does not believe Annie has a blockage but ate something that didn't agree with her. She did not recommend an Xray but told me she could do one if I needed peace of mind. I asked her what she would do if it was her dog and she said, just watch her for the next 24 hours, she should be fine. She precribed pepcid and off we went. I slept well that night.

We woke up the next morning just in time to see the snow start falling down. I put the dogs out when there was about 2 inches of snow, remember we were only supposed to get a "dusting" .. yeah right we ended up getting 8 inches. Anyway, Annie runs out, steps in the snow looks up, starts barking hysterically and runs back inside. I cracked up. Funny dog. I need to remember she's spent her previous year and a half down in the south, Texas and Florida. She's seen it before but only after it's fallen, she hasn't really seen snowfall yet so I guess it took her by surprise. I put Tiger out, her Beagle sister and she followed. She watched Tiger and then decided the snow was something to play with than be afraid of. She had a blast. Ran around like a little nut, rolling in the snow, digging in the snow, just a little wack. I let her play in it until she came back to the door to be let in. She had to be cold but she had a good time.

All's well that ends well. Annie is happy. I keep thinking.. how could this little dog spend almost a year between a high kill shelter and the rescue kennel? I guess I shouldn't complain, she could either have been killed as she did have a "put to sleep" date assigned or she could have been adopted by someone else. I hope she thinks that I was worth the wait. I will spend her entire life time trying to prove to her that I was. She sure was. All of my dogs have been special in their own way, Annie is no exception. She's a wonderful little dog full of personality. A month ago I was worried I made the wrong decision, I know now that I didn't, I truly believe now that she was meant to be here, she's a perfect fit.

More next week!