I have to say I was not very impressed with the ER clinic I took Gretel to yesterday – Emerald City Emergency Clinic.
They said that she would have to stay 24 hours but then said she might be ready to come home earlier. I called today at 2 pm and they said she was totally fine and ready to come home. Uhhhh…thanks for calling. She would have sat there all day if I hadn’t of called.
They were rude when I got there to get her.
They didn’t have any helpful information for me. They said the cause of the bloating was “unknown” and gave me the standard line about feeding smaller kibble, feeding smaller meals, watching her water intake after eating, etc.
After much discussion with S, we determined that she bloated because she got into a loaf of moldy bread. None of those things they mentioned would have prevented that.
We weren’t negligent. The lawn guys had left a fence partially open so she was able to get through to the bread (which was sitting outside by the garbage can). S saw that something got into the bread but didn’t suspect Gretel because he didn’t think she could get through the fence and it looked like our resident crow had pecked at it.
Anyway, I was a but surprised (although I shouldn’t have been) that Gretel’s little legs were shaved when I went to pick her up. Her little leg was bandaged. She was on pain meds. She looked so pathetic. Poor baby.
We appreciate everyone’s thoughtful comments during this ordeal. Gretel is back to normal and been doing a lot of snuggling since she got home.
Sibyl says
Poor Gretel! I’m glad that you guys are all back together at home! Never doubt that you guys are great pet parents, you take great care of your babies 🙂 Doxies are sneaky little buggers and can get into more things that you think is really possible! I hope you guys have some good quality snuggle time to make up for the time apart!
AdventureJess says
Gretel and Chester and SUPER sneaky….and fast.
Pam Yates says
I am so glad Gretel is ok. That had to be so scary. I have mini dachshunds, female black and brown, and they are treated the same as my children were. They are our four legged children. I love them with all my heart.
AdventureJess says
Yeah, they ARE my children. I don’t have human children so all of my energy goes into them.
Dachshund Nola and Her Mom says
Poor baby! Doxies always look especially pitiful when they have the bandage around their short legs 🙁
I hate bad vert experiences
AdventureJess says
I know! They do 🙂
Linda says
Give her an extra hug for me. Glad she is doing better.
AdventureJess says
We already dote all over here but you can be assured she is getting extra attention tonight 🙂
Holly says
So happy little Gretel is ok! That emergency clinic is indeed terrible. A few years ago my parents beloved pomeranian Sam was hit by a car. My parents rushed Sam to Emerald City late at night only to have to pay to be told that he was brain dead and needed to be put down. Sam was clearly not brain dead. He was badly hurt but responsive, and in need of help. Against Emerald City’s insistence, they took Sam home and stayed up with him all night. In the morning our family vet took one look at Sam and sent him to the VCA Specialty Center of Seattle. They are located right off I-5 in Lynnwood and open 24/7/365. Sam ended up needing steel plates in one leg and is blind in one eye, but he is alive and the same dog he ever was. They explained to us that many 24 hour emergency vets just don’t have the facilities or expertise needed, but really just offer a place to have badly injured animals put down. If my parents hadn’t listened to their instincts and stood up took these “professionals”, they would have killed Sam. It breaks my heart to think how many people this has surely gone the other way for.
AdventureJess says
Yikes. That is a horrible story…well, at least between getting hit and the happy ending of a full recovery. What an emotional roller coaster that must have been. I guess I naively thought that an ER vet would have MORE experience than a regular vet. It’s weird – My regular vet is Aurora Veterinary Hospital and they are great. It is clear that they love animals. They are the ones that recommend Emerald City in an Emergency (maybe because close proximity only??). The feeling I got at this place is that they were disgruntled to be there, didn’t much care for people OR animals and were just there for the money (not necessarily a reflection of price but of attitude).
Vivian Queija says
I made the mistake of taking my old Magoo to Emerald City. They were horrible and did nothing for him. He seized half an hour after leaving. The only ER Vet I recommend is Acces in Lake City and Renton. They are tops. We just lost our little Tilly, a black and tan miniature we adopted last August (she was older). Acces folks were wonderful. Tilly had Cushings and cancer. They diagnosed everything immediately, always kept us appraised of the price and choices we could make. I’ve taken 3 dogs to them and will never take my dogs anywhere else.
Wished I could have warned you!
Glad she’s home, though.
AdventureJess says
I am sorry you had such a crappy experience. I looked at the Yelp reviews after and they are either really good or really bad. i am going to look into Access for next time. I am just afraid it is too far from my house. We will see. At least it was not life and death this time.
Robin says
Such a relief to have her home! Even more frustrating when you spend all that time and money on tests and nothing comes up! Did they seriously shave her to find a vein?? Not a very experienced tech in my opinion, time to switch to a new ER. But, she looks very happy now! Hope she continues to do well.
AdventureJess says
Yes. They actually shaved all 4 of her legs. I mean, it is not like she has much hair there. I guess maybe that is why I was a little surprised. I will look into going somewhere else next time. There is one that is the other direction from my house that is supposed to be good. I think it is farther though 🙁
Bassetmomma says
Awwwwe! Your poor baby! I’m so glad she’s home with her Momma! 🙂
houndstooth says
What an ordeal! I’m so sorry! I am glad she’s back home where she can rest and recover properly, though. Poor baby!
Jen says
I am so glad that Gretel is home with you and doing better! That sticks that you didn’t have a good experience at the emergency vet. It’s no excuse but I think that sometimes vets forget that not everyone knows what they know. I often wonder if some vets need to take classes on how to talk to people.
As far as the shaving goes, we always shave a leg when placing a cath, it is more sanitary so that dirt doesn’t go through the bloodstream. and it allows the tape to stick better to keep the cath in place. Not sure why they would shave all 4 legs though unless they couldn’t find a vein, which is sometimes pretty tough in a doxie with their cute little short legs!
Good investigation work on finding the bread!
AdventureJess says
She is so tiny they probably has to look around a bit 🙂
Jen says
I hope you didn’t think I was coming across as a know it all here. Just thought maybe they didn’t explain why they shaved her leg:) We always tell people that we are going to shave so that they are not surprised.
AdventureJess says
No, not at all. I understand it makes the tape stick better. The literally shaved of a millimeter of hair though. I am not sure how THAT helped them 🙂
Katie says
I’m so glad she’s back to normal and home! Sometimes emergency means emergency and we take her to the first place we find. We prefer one ER over the other here- maybe there is another option?
AdventureJess says
Yes. There is another option. It is about 5 minutes further but if I think I have the 5 minutes I will go there next time.
2 brwon dawgs says
Glad she is home and OK. I would say that they probably cannot give you an answer because they don’t know.
AdventureJess says
Yeah. I wasn’t criticizing them for not knowing. I know that sometimes you just can’t tell. I was just disappointed that it cost so much money to get absolutely nowhere. I took her in hoping for a solution.
Jen says
Poor little girl! I’m sorry they were so rude to you 🙁 It seems like there’s been an influx of holier than thou vet staff that I’m hearing about.
AdventureJess says
Yeah. I might just be extra sensitive because I have worked in customer service. They had zero bedside manner.
Schip Along says
Poor Gretel. I’m glad she’s okay. When my dog needed to have some blood drawn they couldn’t find a vein in both her front and back leg, so they shaved a small patch of her ruff and went in through the jugular. I was told ahead of time that might happen, but the little bare patches still look so sad.
Accidents happen to everyone, and having to take your dog to the vet doesn’t make you a bad owner. Last summer I had to take Suki in because she had a very large closed abscess or cyst between two of her back toes. She never complained about it or slowed down so I had no idea there was even a problem until the lump was huge, and I still don’t know where she picked up the infection (although I suspect it’s from running on barnacles). I had to take her into the vet, feeling the burn of neglect shame, with an abscess that looked like it had been ignored for weeks.
AdventureJess says
Yeah, we do the best we can. I don’t think any of us would knowingly ignore a problem.
PDogB says
Poor little G! Best wishes for a speedy recovery. (But she shouldn’t have to recover from the ER visit itself!)
Warm blanket and favorite treats(when ready),
-P. and M.
AdventureJess says
Yeah, I haven’t been feeding her much. I gave her few snacks and a tiny scoop of food thing morning. I wanted to go easy on her stomach.
Linda Klein says
We’ve gone to VCA in Lynnwood multiple times with different dogs and they have been wonderful. One dog was in there a week for HGE and another was diagnosed with cancer. Not cheap but worth it. We now have local animal hospital but will use VCA when needed.
Pamela says
Glad this story ended well. Do you think it will teach Gretel not to scrounge for scraps?
We were lucky that Honey had such a good experience when she needed emergency surgery. I almost think she was sorry to go home. 🙂
AdventureJess says
You hope it would don’t you. But Nope 🙂 Both Chester and Gretel have eaten stuff that made them violently sick but that never stopped them from going back. It sure teaches (trains) us better though. ha, ha.
lexy says
So happy to hear that everything is ok! I had a bloat scare with Gwynn, though less his stomach swelling, and more that he was behaving very very strangely. It’s a scary thing, and there really aren’t any solid solutions/causes/preventative measures out there… just a lot of horror stories.
AdventureJess says
I know – all you hear about is the horror stories and not “my dog had a bloated stomach and was fine”. I have heard that Pepcid or Malox can help if you are reasonably sure it is just a bloated belly and not a twisted stomach (like with Gretel and her history).
Jackie Bouchard says
Glad you found the source! She looks like such a sweetpea all cuddled up.
My pup, Rita, is a scrounger. She survived on the beach in Mexico on her own for a while before being rescued so I guess she comes by it from her background. It’s hard to be vigilent all the time and accidents do happen.
Hope she is feeling better!
AdventureJess says
Yeah. We are pretty vigilant but accidents do happen. You can’t beat yourself up about it. I bet scrounging is all Rita knew.
Beth & 4Doxies says
When Baylee had her Lepto reaction, after everything was under control, I realized that I had no idea where the closest Vet ER was to my house. Fortunately that day the vet stayed open late to wait for me to get there with Baylee. The vet’s office gave me a list of recommended clinics in our area. I have this list in a handy place, just in case I need to have quick care. Pet owners don’t think about it, but it is important to know where a good ER is!
Alison says
Poor Gretel! I’m glad she is doing better now. Give her lots of hugs and kisses!!
AdventureJess says
I think if I have her more she would drown in my drool 🙂
Kristine says
Poor Gretel. I am so glad she is back home now and will be okay. What a terrifying ordeal for you all. Bloat is something that is always at the back of my mind and so far I haven’t really found any conclusive methods of prevention. 🙁 It’s really too bad the vet was not more helpful or understanding. Hopefully she won’t ever need to go back there again.
susan says
I also have a bad story to share about Emerald City Emergency Clinic–it happened about ten years ago. Our dachschund/beagle mix was a young guy then and had a back injury. He was inflamed, in massive pain, and unable to move. The vests at Emerald City suggested a horribly expensive surgery on his back, or the only other resort would be to put him down, which was their recommendation. We left with my daughter in tears.
The next day we went to the vet that is across from the animal shelter on 15th west between Ballard and downtown. A very sensible female veterinarian gave the following advice which we followed to the T. She put him on a strict diet so he would lose some weight, gave him some medicine to reduce inflammation, and had us immobolize him COMPLETELY for a month. My daughte fashioned diapers for him and carried him outside and set him on the ground to do his business. She gave him fresh air by taking him for rides in a stroller. One month later we had our old dog back, better than ever. He is still alive today at age 12 and has never had another issue with his back. Sure glad we got a second opinion!!!
AdventureJess says
That is horrible that happened! I am glad it had a happy ending though.
snoopy@snoopysdogblog says
Yay!!
So happy little Gretel is back home and feeling well again!! I’m sure she’s gonna get a few extra cuddles to make up for her ordeal 🙂
Big Wags to all
Your pal Snoopy 🙂
AdventureJess says
Thanks. We are glad to have her home. I can tell the whole thing shook her up because she has been extra needy since she has been home 🙁
cyndiann says
Just so you know, kibble does cause bloating. Another great reason it should not be fed to our dogs and cats.
AdventureJess says
Thanks. As I said, I am educated on this debate and am aware. However, millions of dogs eat kibble every day with no incident. Kibble does not equal imminent bloat. Each dog is unique in how they can digest kibble (or not). Gretel’s kibble had nothing to do with this bloat incident. It was determined that her tummy was stuffed to the roof with bread because she snuk into our garbage and ate part of a loaf.
So, do you have your own blog? Just curious because you didn’t share one when you commented. I will add it to my Feedreader if you do.