[Dailydrool] having a bad day

[Barbara]

It may be because I am exhausted from lack of sleep , but I am beginning to doubt my pet parenting ability. I work nights and this morning when I got home I let the girls out of their crates to go do their business. I noticed Maggie, our 10 yr. old basset hound kept getting into the "pee" position but nothing was coming out. This went on for about 15 minutes...walk a few steps, squat, nothing...walk a few steps, squat, nothing....So, I called my husband who had left for work about an hour before I got home to ask him if he noticed anything strange with Maggie during the night. He said she had gotten him up at least a dozen times. So, this had been going on all night. She did not want to eat her breakfast and had not slept all night. I called the vet as soon as they opened and was told to bring her in. They took blood but we will not have any results until Monday. In the meantime she has started antibiotics. They could not get a urine sample as her bladder was empty. The doctor examined her...normal temperature, she did not flinch at all when he pressed on her tummy...but, he said she has a grade three heart murmur. We go back on Monday because all three of the girls originally had appointments scheduled for then. Maggie and Molly were to have their anal glands expressed and toenails cut and Sophie the cat needs her thyroid checked again.
Which brings me to Sophie, the cat. She has been on this thyroid medicine for three months and has had diarhea for three months. It is very frustrating cleaning the very messy litterboxes for the past three months.
Now for Molly, the rather round beagle...she also has a thyroid condition for which she is on medication, It just doesn't seem to be helping. She is still very round despite the low calorie dog food, no treats, and increased exercise. All this together is making me think I'm not a very good pet parent. I try to give them the best I can and nobody seems to be getting any better. Very frustrating. I was going to ask for drool for them, but so many need it so much more than we do....maybe we just need a good nights sleep and things will look better in the morning. Sometimes you just need to vent...I thank you all for letting me do that. I think sometimes "when it rains, it pours" but my problems are just "sprinkles" compared to a lot of folks. So Maggie, Molly, Sophie and I would like to send out all the extra drool we have to all the hounds and parents in need tonight. Thank-you for taking the time to read this and have a good night.
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