Roller Coaster

Thursday I thought we might have to put Lucy to sleep. She was so ill. Awful reverse sneezing to the point she couldn't maintain her balance; gagging on drinking or eating; hugely lethargic. I was constantly in tears. I wanted to wait, however, for my husband to return from out of town so that he could say goodbye. Coming in late Thursday night didn't give him the opportunity, so we chose to wait until Friday afternoon when he returned from work. But we couldn't do it then; we just didn't have the heart. We knew Kate wouldn't be at the clinic on Saturday, so we decided to wait until Monday.

I sent Kate a long email asking about the efficacy of some alternative treatments: acupuncture, homeopathy, herbs and if she'd be willing to try them or preferred I sought out another vet with whom she could work. Because Lucy's nose drips are green (indicating infection), did she think it was worth putting her back on antibiotics? I called several alternative vets, but those who were highly recommended had a full client list and I had not heard of the others.

Saturday afternoon Lucy rallied. Big time rally. No nose goobers, no reverse sneezing, no gagging, good energy. I was hesitant but willing to think that perhaps she'd been suffering from a huge sinus infection and was now on the road to mend. Sunday afternoon dissuaded me of that thinking as the sneezing and runny nose came back with a vengeance. But no gagging—for that I'm grateful.

I heard back from Kate this morning. Besides being a vet, she is a certified animal acupuncturist, so I knew she'd be willing to consider alternative treatments. She said she'd be more than happy to explore different care modalities though she preferred to first know what we're dealing with. Though my husband would like to start Lucy immediately on antibiotics, I'd rather wait until after the CT scan when we can make more informed decisions.

Lucy's health remains on the positive side. We're concerned how voracious her appetite is, but at least she's eating. We just returned from a three mile walk done at a fast clip. At one point she had a leaf hanging from her nose goo, but she didn't seem bothered, so I chose not to mop her up.

I'm hoping to post a picture of her, if not every post, then close to that. Here she is sleeping last night while we were listening to music. With that perked ear, it looks like she was listening too!