[Dailydrool] Ellie's Christmas eve-eve

[Sabrina]

Last Friday (Christmas eve-eve), we were having my husband's family 
for a fancy Christmas dinner and gift exchange. We were in the living 
room when we heard a rustle in the kitchen, and I immediately went to 
check on Ellie, #1 food thief. I went into the kitchen and saw the 
packaging on the floor. Oh, no! Ellie ate Hailey's chewable pain 
pills. The max dose is 1 1/4 pills; Ellie ate 10. It was 6:00, the 
vet had closed. I called the 24-hour emergency vet. This place has an 
outstanding reputation and experts in every field but is known to be 
expensive. They said to bring Ellie in. I asked if I could give her 
hydrogen peroxide and try to make her vomit; the vet gave me the 
dosage but said it doesn't always work; it didn't.

When I got to the vet, they got the info about the pills she'd eaten 
and took her in back. After lots of paperwork and waiting awhile, I 
told them I had a house full of dinner guests and wanted to leave her 
and return later. They wanted me to speak to the vet, so they moved 
me to an exam room. I waited and waited. I finally flagged down a 
tech, and said I had to leave and would give them my credit card 
info. She said she'd get info for me. I waited. I was about to go to 
reception when she returned and said she was getting an estimate from 
the doctor.

Sit down for this. The estimate was $1200-1800! I thought the tech 
was talking to someone behind me. When I realized that she was 
talking to me, I told her that was out of the question; I couldn't 
afford it; I just wanted them to make Ellie vomit, then I'd pick her 
up. I asked if I could change my mind and move her elsewhere; she 
said no, treatment had begun - injection, activated charcoal to stop 
absorption, anti-nausea medication, IV to push fluids. The tech 
explained that they wanted to do blood work, this test, that test. I 
said no blood work, no tests, only treatment. I had to leave an $800 
deposit. Got home in time for a quick bite of dinner.

The vet called about an hour and a half after I left Ellie. Said they 
gave her an injection and she vomited; didn't see the pills but they 
could have dissolved. She said that I should get blood work done at 
my vet in 2-3 days to see if there was kidney damage. The bill was 
$531. Ellie came home with three meds, which are a real challenge: 
she needs to take one capsule daily without food and one large, 
chalky tablet three times a day without food, and one tablet twice a 
day with food. Ellie has sharp teeth; I have to cheat and put 
something around the large pill. And Ellie wet the bed that night. 
Our bed.  She seems fine now.

Sabrina, Ellie, Buddy, and Hailey