dogs.

at 3 am i woke up because i heard something.

and i walked into my office and i found Bear Dog in convulsions, foaming at the mouth, underneath the couch.
not the first time, but also, unusually severe. i try to get him outside but he can't even move towards anything.
[he doesn't like to be sick in front of us so he hides or goes out right away.]

but the convulsions are getting worse so i scream for maggie to wake up because Bear looks like a demon is about to posses him. or like the heartworm medicine we gave him at 9:30 is killing him.

i think, he can't have heartworms. no way. we've never missed a dose since we got here. he was tested clean in SF.

[if you give heartworm meds to a dog with heartworms you kill the worms but you also kill the dog.]

i call the emergency room because 1.1% of dogs have convulsions as a side-effect and i figure... maybe there is something we can do to help him while he's convulsing... but they just say, "I can't help you over the phone. Bring him in. But it will be 100."

[see, but for US... it is really 800... always. every time we go to emergency it is at least 800.]

so we put a blanket on him because he is all too willing and able to eat his sweet potatoes for a dog who is dying.

and we give him a Pepcid because he has acid reflux and this is actually a severe version of his acid reflux attack.

and then he slowly calms down. all the while percy is crying because he thinks Bear is getting all the good stuff and he tries to hump Bear because he thinks that will solve everything... humping Bear.

and so, two things you should know:

1/ dogs can get acid reflux and it is terrifying.

2/ i don't know that children are really in the cards because we spend all our money on Dogs.

[percy had to go in earlier in the week for his collapsing trachea.]

now i have to go to work.

dogwalking.