My journey through life on South Dakota Ranch
Here are the new cats, Reeses and Turtle. Reeses is the tortise shell looking cat, and Turtle is the gray tabby with the orange splotches on her back.
And the best part of yesterday? I finally saw a porcupine and I happened to have my camera with me! So lucky us, I got photos. One of the cutest little creatures ever!!!!
This will be post 450 on my blog. Sad that it’s one about how depressed I am.
Tex first and most…
And I guess I might should fill everyone in- I had spotty, at best, cell service where I was last week. I knew Tex was going in to the clinic for them to look at him. But I didn’t know what they’d find. I knew they were running a blood test. But the calls that were made to me to ask me what I wanted to do about him didn’t make it through to me. My dad had to make the call. My sister couldn’t do it.
I got back today; Higgins has been looking for his friend. That breaks my heart. I’m about to find myself staring at this screen through tears. For up until now, I’ve been too busy and surrounded by too many people to catch my breath long enough to contemplate the event of his death. Oh, I’ve cried sure. I cried myself to sleep Friday night. Branding was Saturday and I just didn’t have time to think too much. That was a 16 hour day. I cried that night too. I cried yesterday. I cried today. I’m crying now.
I can’t fix it if I don’t know it’s broken *insert sob here*. He quit wanting to eat when it got hot. But he didn’t stop eating entirely. He ran and played and was still being his rambunctious self *insert sob here*. The vet said he was impacted for too long and it damaged his kidneys *insert sob here*.
I don’t have a big, red, dog to hug anymore *insert sob here*. He’s not around to sit on my foot *insert sniffle here*. He’s not around to wag his big tail at me and shake his ears anymore *insert sniffle here*. He can’t give me five, or ten, or play dead anymore *insert sob here*. He isn’t here to get his lips caught on his canines *insert teary-eyed smile here*.
I’m so sorry Texas.
Shuttle Second.
Doc called today and is referring her out to a surgical clinic. He says she’s way too sore, and that the joint is flushing clean, and that there isn’t any infection left and he’s puzzled. He wants to send her out to someone else that has the facility and tools to endoscope the joint so we can make sure he’s not missing something. It could be something as easy as just giving her room to roam and time to heal; or it might be more complicated than that. We don’t know *insert sniffle here*. I do know that she’s not here; I can’t ride her; and I’m minus one super pretty, red mare.
*sniffle*
*sniffle*
Sigh.
Friday, Tex lost his battle. A blood test showed that his kidneys gave out.
My sister took him in, as he still wasn’t wanting to eat.
I haven’t really found out or discussed with my sister or my dad who got to be there. I just know I wasn’t as I was in South Dakota discussing a job and branding cows- more on that to come soon enough; it’s funness! And there are photos!
I digressed.
I don’t know what is worse- that I wasn’t there, or that he had to be put down. Either way it pretty much sucks. That dog was the best dog I’ve ever had. He was my loyal companion for 8 years and he will be dearly missed.
Shuttle is also not better. The joint is flushing clean, but she’s still awful sore and isn’t moving really well on it. I have no idea what I’m going to do about that. I know she’s still at the vet clinic and I’m running up a nice bill.
Shuttle is walking- with a limp, but at least she’s walking and doing a decent job of it.
The dog is doing much better. He actually asked for a hamburger today! He didn’t get it of course, but he’s now holding down all his food. Thank you MedHelp and Megan for researching some things that helped to settle his stomach.
I’m on a vacation of sorts this week. I went to see my grandmother last night, in Kansas, and now I’m in South Dakota, with my mare Sonora, and her baby, Dolce. Sonora is going to meet a new beau and we’ll have another pretty baby next year!
While I’m here, I’m going to attend a couple brandings. They’ll be fun; there should be photos and more on that to come.
I need a vacation after all I’ve been through lately.
And I’m Super Glad! If he makes it to tomorrow, the vet says he will pull through. They always do, he says, if they make it to day four.
He was doing better- and then John called this afternoon- after swinging by to pick up some boiled chicken and rice for him- to say that he was really lethargic and that the vet had done a new blood test and his white blood cell count was nearly double what it had been prior to the surgery. The doctor offered to open him back up to see if his stitches were holding and John told him not to. He was worried he’d not make it through another surgery. Good call on that. So the vet removed the food- he had hard, soft and the chicken/rice mixture (btw- the dog did eat some cheese but he’s NEVER turned that down- next to bones it’s his favorite thing!) and shoved some liquid dog food down his throat via a syringe. Doc said that he could be so weak, he just doesn’t wanna eat, so we just have to play it by ear now.
I’m getting a substitute teacher for lessons in the morning- and my helper will assist the shoer, and I’m going, first thing, to see that red dog of mine. It will lift his spirits to see me. I’m sort of numb at the moment about the whole ordeal. I don’t know why. I can’t bring myself to cry about it though. It’s out of my hands. If he lives it’s his choice now. We’ve done all that we can do.
I watched Tex’s surgery today, and that was a wonderful experience. I got to breathe for him, and I got to be there when they took him back, and when he woke up, and tell him goodbye when I had to leave for the day and you could tell that he recognized my voice. He basically had an impaction- he’s probably going to be fine. (We just removed a section of his intestine- it was clogged up due to horse manure he’d eaten and due to a hole in the mesenteric wall). Doc said that is the first time in 40 years he’s seen that (the hole- not the crap eating!). The issue now is that he doesn’t die from renal failure due to an infection from the toxins. I love my Texas! This afternoon they told me that he had been quite perky and knew that he was going to get to go outside and knew that he was going to go back to his kennel.
Shuttle got really bad lame yesterday afternoon with her sore right stifle. So I had to take her to the vet today too- I think her stifle is infected. I hate it.
She certainly has an infection in her right stifle joint. We don’t know what it is from, and the odds of it happening are 1 in about 200,000 horses. The doctor, has only had 2 in his lifetime prior to my horse. Apparently what happens is that there is some form of bacteria in the horse’s system to begin with, and the cortisone reacts with that. I guess that what we’ll do from now on is make sure she’s on an antibiotic prior to/ or at the same time as the injections.
Anyway, she’s at his clinic for the week, as he’ll need to lay her down to flush the joint- so we’ll use some Rompum mixed with another drug that escapes me right now, and he’ll put her down for about 30 minutes and flush the joint a few times this week. He sent off the nasty red joint fluid he got out of the joint to the lab so they can tell him what’s in it.
My Poor Shuttle!
I have been to see a vet 9 times in the last 17 days. I’ve seen 6 different doctors and the same doctor 4 times.
I hope the coast is now clear. 
Many, many thanks to the complete strangers that prayed for and thought of my dog and me, and much thanks to John for his supporting me and Tex.
