On the upswing

He's getting better. Zaccheus had a pretty good night, all things considered. I fed him every hour up to his medication dose, and then I let us both have two hour segments of sleep for the last two feedings. I moved the heat lamp a little further from his bed. He seemed so hot, but when I turned it off entirely, he would shiver. That burns a lot of calories, and he needs to use them to grow. Moving the lamp proved to be a good move. He stopped crying out so much, but didn't get chilled. The heat made him pant, and his lungs probably hurt because of the pneumonia. All of this is speculation, of course. I'm not a vet. I'm just tuning into his needs.



He is stronger, and has put on a few tenths of an ounce. But imagine my surprise when I picked him up for his latest feeding, and looked him in the eye. One is open, and a little cloudy still. The other should follow pretty soon. If I didn't already love him with a fierceness, I do now.



Welcome to the family, Zaccheus. It's nice to meet you!


Guess I'm going to have to re-think my big plans for the little guy. Don't tell the kids, but I think he might have wiggled into my heart.

Who Cares?

The laundry is piling up.

Who cares?

The dishes need doing.

Who cares?

The kids have been feeding themselves.

Who cares?

I have not slept for days.

Who cares?

The helpless, blind, weak, very sick puppy who is fighting pneumonia cares.

That's who.

Trying something new

I read somewhere how to do this and I wanted to prove I'm not stupid see if I could do it.

Just checking!

What a day!

Oh, Zaccheus and I had a crazy, crazy day! I called first thing this morning about getting his tail docked, and they told me to bring him in at 10:30. So I did. Dr. Sandy, who happens to be married to Dr. Tim, was very surprised that Zacchie was even alive at this point. She said he was doing much better, and I told her all the things I had been doing to help him. So far so good. We talked about what his chances are for a good life, she looked at his cleft palate, and said it looks like it is healing over. It will still require surgery when he is bigger, but for now, he is doing okay.
Not great, but not badly. Much better than when my sister called out the S.O.S. that he was gasping for air and they didn't expect him to survive.
So she takes him to the back to do his procedure, and when she returns with him, she tells me to keep him quiet, only get him out of bed to feed him.
But when I got him home, looked under the blanket, and saw the blood, I kind of panicked. Called Sister. How much do they bleed???
Don't overreact, it will stop soon. Okay, Diane. Breathe.
I am usually good in crisis. I don't faint at the sight of blood. But helplessness freaks me out, and he looked pretty helpless. Called Dr. Sandy. He's still bleeding? they ask. Hold please.
*commercial for some veterinary medicine*
Mrs. Thomas, Dr. Sandy says if he is still bleeding, bring him back.
Is it time to panic yet???
Don't freak out the kids.
Deep breath.
Get in the car and drive 35 miles to the office.
One of his stitches came out. They fix him up and clean up the blood.
Good thing you called, say they. We're glad you brought him back.
Me too.
Sigh of relief, drive home.
He is sleeping off and on. The rest of the time he is crawling around his bed trying to get away from the pain. I hate myself for letting them do it to him. I don't care if he IS a Yorkie and they always dock Yorkie tails. He could have kept his tail, and I would have loved him, tail and all.

Revealed

Here's the Wee Little Man

What goes on in that head?

Caleb: Oh, man, I left my drink at McAlister's!

Mom: I'm sorry, honey! And it was full, too!

Caleb: I had great plans for that drink.

Mom: Plans? I didn't know you can have plans for a drink.

Caleb: You can if it's YOURS!

*Can't argue with that logic!*

A Chance

Doctor Tim looked at Zaccheus today. He said he has a chance, so I came home with him. It was emotional, because I had to warn the kids, who were waiting in the reception area that I might not bring him out of the exam room. They understood. But Doc held him and pulled on the skin behind his neck. He said Zacchie is strong and wants to live, so to keep up the good work.
The version I gave the kids was less hopeful because I don't want to break their hearts if he doesn't make it. I'd rather they were a little prepared, at least. Not that you can really be prepared for an animal to die.
He just ate, and I've been up several times the past two nights with him, so I'm going to lie down while he sleeps.
Feels like having a real baby!