Mr Cooper on the mend

When we got home from Las Vegas, Mr Cooper was eating grass. He often eats grass on his walk and we didn't put a lot of thought into it.

Thursday he threw up. Oh well, such is life with a dog.

Then he threw up again.

Friday morning we called for a vet appointment. Cooper threw up. And then we we went to the vet.

He was given the once over, things seemed normal. We've had enough dogs to know that sometimes it takes time. He was given an anti-nausea shot and we took him home to monitor him.

He paced the night away. Wanting to throw up, but unable to throw up. Mostly drooling and standing over us both, then standing in the corner and drooling on the floor. MAJOR pukey-face.

We called the vet to have a follow up x-ray appointment. First available appointment was at 4:30 in the afternoon. We took it. The vet called back and said, "Let's change that to RIGHT NOW and I'll work him in earlier." I think that's when my heart flipped over and I began to panic.

My mind went immediately to the worst case "what if's" and my heart went straight to Lola passing away just two months ago. That was my state when we took him in.

Now Cooper is our "special" boy. He came from a shelter and he requires a lot of attention. That's the most polite way I can phrase that Cooper is the dog that parents warn their children about (except he is actually good with children). We got Cooper out of a cage. We've worked with Cooper to not bite first and ask questions later. We tell everyone who enters the house, "DO NOT PUT YOUR FACE IN HIS." On his own terms he is the most cuddly amazingly loving dog. But he is suspicious of everyone and everything.

So I was devastated that we would have to leave him at the vet where he would be placed in a kennel (since we got him we have made the effort to never board him, he always stays in his own home with a house sitter). He would be with strangers. He would be so sad. But he couldn't stay with us because he was also very sick.

The x-rays came back and showed us that all his food was stuck in his stomach. There was a blockage. The vet was hopeful that is it was in the stomach and not the intestines because the stomach is less easy to damage than the intestines. Cooper was scheduled to go into surgery that night (Saturday). His surgery went from the anticipated 2 hours to a longer 3 hours. The blockage was in the small intestine.

Luckily, it hadn't been there either too long or in there too solid as there was no damage and none of that needed to be cut out. But poor Mr. Cooper was cut open. 6"+ scar. I can't look at it. The vet thought possible corn cob. It was longer than your finger, but it had been inside long enough trying to be so digested that no one had any real idea what it may have started out as. I can't help, I won't look at it.

We've went to visit Cooper twice on Sunday and he was walking and stoned out of his mind on drugs. Since Cooper has a very tight grip on his world inside his mind, being drugged is not his best foot forward. He needs to stay sharp and stay focused on being a good dog. When he gets hazy, he reverts towards the untrained dog we got 6 years ago.

I visited him today (Monday) at noon and he was getting closer to his chatty grumbling self. He tried to jump up on me (not a good plan on a normal day) and he ate in front of me (he has a VERY healthy appetite).

Cooper is expected to come home tonight after 6 pm. We will need to keep him "calm" for a week or so. This should be a nearly impossible task.