Friday, January 21, 2022

When Is It Really An Emergency For Your Pet?

 This is just a funny story about how we non medical types can see a little blood and think we need to rush our dog or cat to the vet.  It was December 26.  I was just leaving a lovely party that Regina hosted for some neighbor friends, when I get a call from one of my neighbors.  She sounded panicked.  Her dog was bleeding from the rear end, and she didn't know what to do.  I was on my way to a bridge game, and cancelling was something I didn't want to do.

My neighbor Phyllis  sounded so scared, I decided taking her 1 1/2 pound dog to the vet was my first priority.  I cancelled bridge, raced home to take my mom home (she was visiting and was going to play bridge too).  I picked up my neighbor and her dog Precious, and off we went at 7pm on a holiday weekend to the emergency vet in Carlsbad.

My friend was so scared for her little Precious, she was not thinking clearly.  So, I called the vet as we drove, to see what the wait time, etc, would be.  As we're talking to the receptionist at the vet, she's asking a lot of questions.  Is the dog in pain?  No.  Is the dog acting normal?  Yes.  Has the dog been spayed?  No.

The answer to the last question set off an alarm in my head.  The dog (about 1 year old) is in heat.  I said to Phyllis, I think your dog is in heat.  She was positive that was not the case, that there was something terribly wrong, and told me to keep driving to the vet office.

We got there and the receptionist/ assistant took one look at the dog and said that she was sure the dog was in heat.  Phyllis said, "But she's been bleeding for three hours."  I said to Phyllis, "Do you remember, back in the day, when you got your period?  You bled for a lot longer that three hours!!"  With that comment, the two young girls at reception started laughing uncontrollably.  At that point Phyllis decided this was definitely NOT an emergency, and home we went.

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