Not Much Improvement

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

So...unfortunately the news for today isn't good. Ellie's kidneys are better, but we can't say the same for the rest of her. She has still refused any food given to her, and as of later this afternoon, she has started throwing up again...this time with blood in it.

The vet seems convinced that it must be some kind of blockage in her digestive system that is causing all of this; the kidney issue was just a byproduct of the dehydration. Long story short, and after much talking, we've decided that the best thing to do for Ellie is to put her under the knife and do exploratory surgery.

If she's no better tomorrow, they'll do the surgery. Hopefully they'll find what's causing the problem, and she can get on the road to recovery. If they don't find anything...well then we're just s.o.l. and out of ideas. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Visited Ellie at the Vet

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Travis went to see Ellie before work and said she wagged her tail a little, but that was about it. The vet wasn't there yet. He called the vet later at 10AM, but they were still running some tests to see if it's some kind of kidney disease. So still no word.........
• So we heard from the vet at around noon, and all they could say is it's not Addison's Disease. Which is good, but they still don't know what's causing the acute renal failure and they've run out of tests. Vet said Ellie will probably be there a few days. Her kidneys are improving but not as quickly as they should. Still a waiting game…
• The vet keeps asking if she has ingested anything poisonous (like antifreeze) that could be causing this. I just can't think of how she could've gotten ahold of anything that would do this!!! So frustrating.
• Lauren went to see Ellie after work. She's definitely better than yesterday but still very sluggish and weak. She was laying down when I came in but her head was up. She didn't react to me much so I was a little disappointed, but at least she's improving. She'll probably be there until Friday as they continue to pump fluids into her.... Vet seems to think it might have been severe dehydration that caused the kidney problems.

Ellie is Very Sick

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Ellie continues to have upset stomach.
• After work today, Travis came home to find Ellie listless and unmoving. She had had diarrhea but hadn’t moved at all. We took her to the vet ASAP.
• Vet tells us that Ellie was on the verge of death. It was kidney failure and her potassium levels were fatal. But they pumped her full of fluids and she somehow pulled through.
• I posted on facebook, “The vet called earlier this evening and told us that she was severely dehydrated and had nearly complete kidney failure. Still don't know what caused it (though a blockage has been ruled out), but we'll know by tomorrow morning whether her kidneys will be able to recover. They have her on IVs and said that she was acting better than when we first brought her in. Not out of the woods yet though, and only time will tell how things turn out...”

Ellie's Sick

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Ellie is vomiting up yellow bile for most of the night. She doesn’t feel well at all.

Still Stressed

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Ellie has had diarrhea off and on all month. We think it's still stress from people randomly shooting fireworks.

Ellie Hates the Fireworks

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 5 months old

• Ellie is having some diarrhea. We think it’s due to stress caused by the fireworks. She is apparently still very scared of them.

Ellie the Cuddle Bug

Ellie Stats: 1 year and 3-6 months old

• Over the past three months, Ellie hasn’t really chewed up anything. She’s really coming into her own and starting to act more like an adult. She is very affectionate and loving, and loves to get on the couch and snuggle even when there's obviously no room for her. lol She also sits her butt on the plush chair and couch in the livingroom; it’s very funny.

• Occasionally she acts as though she’s afraid of men. She wants to meet everybody, but she’s just a little slow to warm up to guys. She also still doesn’t like to be outside on her own.