Update on Lenny

[Tayda_Lenny]

Well, I decided to take Lenny to the Emergency Vet. He was just acting too strangely and wouldn't eat anything. The vet did blood work (came back normal) and took some x-rays and it looks like there is something in Lenny's stomach. She said that if he has not eaten since wednesday, it is strange that there is something at "the beginning" of his stomach. So.... :(

apparently he is also quite pale.

Lenny is staying in the hospital tonight, and she is giving him barium and will be taking some films throughout the night to see if this thing in his stomach moves. I hated leaving him there. I cried all the way home.

[Quercus]

Oh shoot....fingers crossed that everything is fine. Keep us updated....

[Tayda_Lenny]

Just got a call from the vet... I've been gone 30 minutes and he has bitten one of the employees. ugh...

[Tayda_Lenny]

Ok, they took another x-rays and seems that whatever is in there seems to have moved. So they'll take another in the morning and hopefully it will keep going and get the heck outta there! and hopefully that is actually what the problem is.

[seko]

Poor Lenny, hope he is feeling better this morning.

[renaultf1]

Poor little guy...hope you hear good news soon. Hugs to you while you're waiting to hear!

[Tayda_Lenny]

The vet just called and apparently the barium has not gone all the way through Lenny's system and they are going to take another x-ray in about an hour. She said it doesn't appear that there is a complete obstruction, but the barium is moving slower than usual. ACK! My poor little Lenny. So, still just waiting...

Anyone have experience w/ this barium stuff?

[BasenjiDiva]

Oh my....saying a little prayer for Lenny and you.

Pat

[LiveWWSD]

OH good luck...Poor Lenny. Keep us updated. Keeping lenny in our thoughts.

[tanza]

Have they done an ultrasound yet? They could never find the "thing" in Kristii's belly with the Baruim and it has the same reaction as Lenny... it moved but not the way it should...

I would really wonder at this point if there was something in there ...... did you notice if he has gotten into anything?..

[MacPack]

I hope they can figure it out, if there is an object he has swallowed in there, hopefully they can scope him and get it out. He is obviously stressed and miserable. I think mine would totally freak out if they had to stay at the vets without one of us there!

Sending good thoughts to Lenny.

Anne in Tampa

[Tayda_Lenny]

Well i went this morning to see Lenny, the doc and x-rays. Some of the barium has moved through his system all the way to his colon but there is still some in his stomach that is not budging. There does seem to be some kind of density there... he was really weak and trembling a little and just a sad case all around. Still not eating or drinking. He's now on IV and nutrients so hopefully that will help give him some strength back.

I'm really not sure what he could have gotten into. It's always possible he swallowed part of a fuzzy toy - he has done it in the past, but it always has just made its way through... the vet gave me a little hassle about feeding them raw.... now i'm scared about it too. But the mass in his stomach was not clear white, so it doesn't seem like bones. There were other areas of his digestive tract where you could see little bones on their way out, and they were a lot whiter. And none of the barium leaked out of his digestive tract so it doesn't appear to have any perforations....

We'll be going back later this afternoon for another visit.... I suppose they may do surgery tomorrow or monday.

[Tayda_Lenny]

Have they done an ultrasound yet? They could never find the "thing" in Kristii's belly with the Baruim and it has the same reaction as Lenny... it moved but not the way it should...

I would really wonder at this point if there was something in there ...... did you notice if he has gotten into anything?..

What happened w/ Kristii? Had she stopped eating? How did you get her to start again?

[tanza]

What happened w/ Kristii? Had she stopped eating? How did you get her to start again?

She had to have surgery to remove the "whatever", we never could figure out what it was... very possible it had been in there for a while and the got lodged trying to get out.... She stopped eating, eat copious amounts of grass that she immediately barfed, drank copious amounts of water that she barfed (she was very dehydrated)... could not see anything for sure with the Barium or xray, finally the ultrasound showed it. Now my regular vet does do ultrasound, but is that that great at it.... had them refer me to a specialist clinic and their ultrasound specialist found it immediately. They did surgery that evening. Once removed she was fine...

So, if they are seeing something, ask if they do ultrasound? IMO, whatever is in there should have moved...

Oh and by the way... I seriously doubt it is from the raw food....

[Tayda_Lenny]

just got back from 4 hours at the vet! I asked about the ultrasound. vet said that with the barium in there, and lots of gas, it makes the ultrasound less likely to show what we are looking for. i wasn't a big fan of this lady. she gave me a hassle about the raw food and her bedside manner left a lot to be desired. Luckily she left right after i got there and the night lady came in again. the same lady from last night.

I basically camped out in the exam room with tayda and lenny. they hooked lenny up to a portable IV so we could all be together. saw the new xrays, the stomach appears to be clear of barium and of any obstruction. there is a "mass" right near the end of his colon that is SO close to being out, but I bet he's keeping it in, cause it sure looks like its gonna hurt by the size of it. that must be why the barium is still in his system, cause this mound of whatever, is holding everything up. I stayed in the room with them while they slept, tayda misses her buddy. She just kept cuddling up next to him, and sniffing all over him, even though he was out of it. they had just given him pain meds before i got there so he was all loopy. so i sat there with them for a few hours while he hydrated and then took lenny for a walk. he was a lot more energetic on his walk than he has been in a few days, so that was encouraging. he TRIED to poop, but very little came out. We went back and i got him to eat a few small bowls of baby food. she is going to do another x ray at midnight and see how it's going. she said she can probably reach in there and get it.... but she's gonna let him try to get it out on his own for a few hours and then help it along if she has to.

ack. but he was a lot more energetic today than yesterday.... so thats encouraging.... i wonder what this thing is???????!!!

[tanza]

Like I said, we could never figure out what was in Kristii... I still have it and it looks like a "brillo pad" (like for cleaning sinks???)... but since I don't use them.. that can't be it... and it has been over 3yrs now since that time... and no repeat.. along with the fact that she was 11yrs old at them time.... and really pretty past the time of eating strange things.... who knows... but sounds promising for Lenny... and glad that at least one of the Vets seems to be certainly better then the other... hopefully all will "pass"....

Good thoughts and hugs... that all passes tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tayda_Lenny]

I'm thinking now I should just tell the vet to grab the thing and get it outta there. then he can be on the IV overnight and hopefully be on the upswing in the morning for me to go get him. I mean, why do another x-ray if we already know where it is and that it is within reach? Maybe she wants more of the barium to move along to make sure there is nothing else?

im paranoid about vets "billing and waiting".... i'm already up to probably over 2k for all of this...

[Tayda_Lenny]

The radiologist has reported on the x-rays (they had to send it out and just got them back early this morning) and he says there is a partial blockage of the small intestine. They are doing another x-ray now to see what's happening w/ the barium and i'll decide to do surgery or not. i'm frustrated cause i hate just leaving him there, but he does need the IV and he is a lot perkier than when i brought him in on friday night. I guess he is eating more now too ... Just venting... i want my little lenny back ... i guess its the smart thing to do and wait to see if he gets rid of it on his own, but ACK.... well at least now i have a legitimate reason not to pay my last month's rent here!

[Quercus]

The radiologist has reported on the x-rays (they had to send it out and just got them back early this morning) and he says there is a partial blockage of the small intestine. They are doing another x-ray now to see what's happening w/ the barium and i'll decide to do surgery or not. i'm frustrated cause i hate just leaving him there, but he does need the IV and he is a lot perkier than when i brought him in on friday night. I guess he is eating more now too ... Just venting... i want my little lenny back ... i guess its the smart thing to do and wait to see if he gets rid of it on his own, but ACK.... well at least now i have a legitimate reason not to pay my last month's rent here!


I am so glad you took him in. I know it is frustrating to sit around and wait...but if he can pass it on own, that would be great. Blockages are one of my greatest worries. Luckily, my Bs haven't had any yet, but I have had two cats that almost died due to eating things they shouldn't have (one was a piece of cellophane from a roast...they had to do exploratory to find that, it had already sawed holes in his intestine; and the other one ate a shoelace...idiot) And I have at least one B that has been a major consumer of hair scrunchies...usually those pass thru on their own...

Hang in there...and thanks for keeping us updated.

[Tayda_Lenny]

So this morning Lenny produced a large piece of cartiledge! Its size/shape seems consistent with a density on the x-ray from yesterday afternoon. If it is the same thing, it was in the small intestine yesterday and passed into the colon and out into the free world on its own this morning. I really hope that is it. they are going another xray tonight to see if the rest of the barium makes its way through and if so... he's coming home! If not.... ugh.

I'm officially scared away from a raw diet.... :(

[ComicDom1]

I feel for you. Maybe switching to something like the EV0 Food Diet would work out better for you.

Jason

[Rivermoon]

Oh, I hope that was it...how awful for you both to have to go through this all.

I had to take Dakota in once when he stopped eating and I found him laying in the bathroom the next morning looking awful. They couldn't find anything with the barium and were keeping him to run more tests and he ended up throwing up a HUGE hunk of cloth. About a week before that, some workers came into the yard without permission and I think he must have tore it off one of them. That's all I could ever come up with because he was 13 at the time and didn't get into things anymore.

[Tayda_Lenny]

Oh yeah, I went to the pet store yesterday in search of EVO and they didn't have it, so I picked up a bag of Merrick's until I can find a store that has it.

[mauigirl]

http://www.naturapet.com/where-to-buy/

I suggest calling ahead. I usually call a few places and compare prices.

[BasenjiByTheBay]

Poor Lenny! Glad you finally found the answer.

We switched Fiji to Merricks BG recently as she seemed to be having some allergy symptoms and she's doing great on it so far. You think EVO is better, though?

And...cloth, brillo pads, etc - are basenjis part *goat*?:rolleyes:

[tanza]

So this morning Lenny produced a large piece of cartiledge! Its size/shape seems consistent with a density on the x-ray from yesterday afternoon. If it is the same thing, it was in the small intestine yesterday and passed into the colon and out into the free world on its own this morning. I really hope that is it. they are going another xray tonight to see if the rest of the barium makes its way through and if so... he's coming home! If not.... ugh.

I'm officially scared away from a raw diet.... :(

Glad that he passed it... and while I can understand your being "scared" about the raw diet... you know it could happen with anything...

But that said, I am really happy with the EVO red meat diet... but I will give mine raw meaty bones a couple times a week....

[jmcduff]

We feed all three of our B's raw food and never had a problem. Like Pat said it could happen with anything. Hang in there.

Jenny

[Duke]

So glad to hear Lenny passed that thing. I've been checking in waiting and hoping for some good luck to you both. Surgery wouldn't have been good. Hope Lenny goes home asap and that you're feeling a li'l better now too.

[sharronhurlbut]

I just caught up on these posts..
Glad your b didn't need surgery.
I don't feed raw, but those folks who do swear by it.
Hugs to you and your b...

[Tayda_Lenny]

LENNY IS HOME!!!! YAY!

We were waiting in the room and Lenny stormed in like the Lenny he always is.... we saw the x-rays and all the barium had gone into his large intestine and he was FULL of energy! The doc said the new x-rays show that something might still be in his stomach, but could not be sure and said we could keep him there another night and do more x-rays. I said "he looks great, even if there was more conclusive evidance that there was something in his stomach, I would not authorize operating on a dog that was looking and acting as healthy as he was acting tonight.

I brought him home and if he starts acting weird, i'll bring him in right away. Now I definitely know what to look for.

I brought the cartiledge home with me, but I no longer think it is cartiledge... My boyfriend and I are going to do some forensics on it... but he thinks its too big to be cartiledge. He saw it and said something like "cartiledge? what did you feed them, a cow?". ha ha. BUT, About a month ago or so, i came home and found tayda (in the crate) chewing on a piece of something EXACTLY like the thing we got from Lenny today. It looked like she (or lenny) had just puked it up. I remember walking around the apartment trying to figure out where she got it from. I never figured it out. Its like a plastic-y, rubber-y thing. Weird to think it could have been in there for over a month....

Anyway, I"ll figure it out later... i'm gonna go play w/ the B's!!!!

Thanks everyone for the support this weekend. My boyfriend was out of town (on a "guys weekend" in Vermont) and was even out of cell phone contact... and I don't really know many people in NY so I felt pretty alone going through this. Except for the other B owners at the dog park I go to... they were so concerned and offered to take Tayda for me if I needed to attend to things at the vet. But i wanted to keep her w/ me.... B people are the best!

[Duke]

Glad he's home with you and lots perkier! Thinking of wierd things dogs eat...Daisy likes to eat my head bands. I used to have 6 or 8 of them - and somehow, no matter how vigilant I try to be keeping them out of her sight, she gets them - one by one they've been ruined - only one left. I hope you figure out what was in Lenny's belly.

Have fun and relax with your T & L tonight.

[Tayda_Lenny]

look at the big mass between his femurs that needed to come out!!!!!

Geez, you'd think he'd given birth!

1647

[Duke]

Oh my - OW-OW! What the ... The shape is huge! What ever could it be? I hope you and your BF can solve the mystery. (solid rubber ball - hickory nut??)

Poor baby...

[tanza]

Like I said with Kristii, we never ever figured out what it was that she had... it looked like a steel wool cleaning pad, but we don't use them... ???

[mauigirl]

I'm glad he's acting like his normal self again and best of luck in the forensics department.

[Rivermoon]

I'm glad he's home with you and feeling more himself now.

MY GOSH..that thing is HUGE! I hope you can figure out what it is.

[BasenjiDiva]

I'm so glad Lenny is home and feeling better. It will be interesting hearing what he got into. Why are these B's such billly goats!!?

Pat

[renaultf1]

WOW...that thing was HUGE!!! Glad poor Lenny didn't need surgery and glad he is home with you. Hopefully he's all done with this episode. You definitely have to post what the item was if you figure it out.

[Eli_and_Me]

I'm glad Lenny is home and feeling better!

I feed my boys a raw diet but use Evo sometimes too. It's hard to find where I live, but if you google Evo you can find their website. From there you can click on the link to see who sells it in your area.