[Dailydrool] An ER visit for one of Jennifer's dogs

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

Last night our friend Jennifer had to rush her beagle-boxer mix,  
Lola, to the ER. She'd been out in the backyard throwing up for who  
knows how long and was clearly in distress by the time Jennifer got  
home from work. By the time they got to the ER, blood was coming out  
of Lola's rear end and Lola was so weak she couldn't stand. The vet  
started hydrating her, did bloodwork and discovered a high red blood  
cell count, and did an x-ray and discovered way too much fluid in her  
intestines. So Lola stayed the night at the ER.

This morning Jennifer told me that the formal diagnosis is Hemorrhage  
Gastro Enteritis (HGE). No idea how Lola got this, but fortunately  
it's not contagious, so I don't need to worry about Jennifer's other  
two dogs, Chloe and Owen, catching it. Lola's still having bloody  
diarrhea, but at least she's walking and sitting up in her crate. The  
vet says Lola's progress has been slow, but she's no longer  
dehydrated. They'll keep her on antibiotics another day before  
retesting her blood to see how things stand.

Although Lola isn't a basset, her brother Owen is, and Lola is one of  
our young Charlie's favorite girlfriends. They especially enjoy lying  
in Jennifer's hallway and playing alligator mouth for long stretches  
of time. If Lola weren't to make it, Charlie would have no one to  
play alligator mouth with him anymore. We're all pulling for her  
here, and I'm relieved beyond words that it's not contagious and the  
condition wasn't caused by the ingestion of poison.

Elizabeth