Troubled Times for Ticket

For those who know Ticket, who rarely shows any pain and had never been sick or injured (dare I say that again!) the last week has been a bit of a shock! Friday last (13th June) she was very lethargic, however she had been for Bowen Therapy the day before and this could have been a common reaction after her first Bowen treatment so we thought it 'normal'. From there on she went downhill ... not eating, then throwing up what she did try to eat, increasingly lethargic and at times, looking almost drowsy. At times she perked up, but reverted back to the somber, sluggish composure and walking around very carefully.

By Monday she looked much worse and it was definitely NOT related to the Bowen Therapy. It was so gradual that it was hard to pick when things actually started to go wrong.

We spent Monday evening at the vet (till about 9pm) and had urine, bloods, x-rays, etc., and after finding a large lump in her abdomen she went for ultrasound first thing Tuesday morning and subsequently operated on that afternoon to remove the lump, an obstruction, from her intestine and along with about 10cm of dead intestine!

The "lump" in question turned out to be some kind of material ... don't ask me where she got it or how! Ticket rarely eats anything other than food, she doesn't chew up toys (nor does she care for them) and for her to eat a foreign object is quite out of character ... besides, she is rarely loose in the house, or unsupervised, and her exercise areas are all paved, fully fenced with no gardens and her free-run time is always WITH me.

Just goes to show - doesn't matter how careful you are, things can still go wrong.
Good news is that it is/was nothing nasty (now it's out!) … tough little cookie she is, as she rarely shows pain and they say she would have been in quite a bit of pain.

She spent the next few days in hospital, on a drip as she hadn’t actually digested any food for some 4-5 days ... she coped incredibly well, staying in a strange place and being handled by total strangers and fortunately we had some very nice, understanding nurses to put our trust in.

We visited her the next day, Wednesday afternoon. I was surprised at just how well she had adapted, she actually liked the nurses and would go to them ... funny what these creatures do when they have to, hey? She was happy for them to handle her and I do think that she trusted them.

I called in to see her again on Thursday during my lunch break and she was up and about, without her drip now and very happy to see me. I couldn’t see why she had to stay another night at the vet but I couldn’t convince him otherwise so she had another night to go. I took her back to her bed before leaving and she was quite willing and happy to go, leading the way thru the operating theatre to her temporary home … I had to wonder if she thought that this was her life now, seeing she was so accepting of it all.

Anyways, other than looking pretty lean and a little tired, she was quite perky when I said "are you ready?" she answered me ... "ready" is her cue to come play/training with me and in response she answers me with an instant drop flat on the ground with her tail wagging.

Ticket came home on Friday. I have to wonder if she'd started to think that the surgery was going to be her new home as she'd settled in so well with the nurses and their routine, and she certainly wasn't stressed when she left. Maybe some good will come from all of this – it may have taught her that she CAN trust other people?

The only remaining concern was that the first lot of solid food that she had eaten, that morning, came out the right end ... and the momentous occasion was just after lunch time when Ticket finally did a poo!

Now, sporting a 16cm scar, she's enjoying all the attention, three meals a day and a free pass to use Cash's lounge chair near the heater!

Today, Sunday (nearly a week since this ordeal started), she's almost back to her usual self ... ready to go. She came to the show with us this morning for a short walk and mingle amongst the humans ... resting now, on the back patio in the sunshine, looking adoringly at the agility equipment in the backyard ... now, how do I tell her no jumping or running for at least 2 to 3 weeks?

She will be on soft food for while, rested for a couple of weeks till the insides heal, starting light exercise in the 3rd/4th week and gradually building up back to normal by the 5th week ...

Just wondering ... did she hear me talking about going to the Nationals? Well there’s still no excuse for her not to be able to go (but I’m not telling her that yet!). I’m sure she’ll be fighting fit and raring to go sooner rather than later.