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Originally Posted by HShanks  LadyJane, you make an excellent point. You are right that the vet knows best; however, sometimes we know our babies better than anyone and I knew that the stress from being kept at the vet was not the best option for us. I want to stress that I DO NOT think this option is for everyone. I did forget to add that I am a critical care nurse and my doggy was eating and drinking well throughout the entire episode. I think this is the ONLY reason the vet agreed to release her to me.
Kudos to my vet as she asked all appropriate questions before letting her go home with me for the day. She made sure I was going to be with her for the entire day to monitor progress, she told me to encourage fluids to prevent the dehydration, made sure I knew the HGE signs and symptoms, and made me promise to bring her back in if I felt that she was getting worse. She even called late yesterday evening to check on her.
Pancreatitis can be a scary and even deadly thing and while I don't think this is an option for every owner this is what worked for us. |
I forgot to comment on your first paragraph. Yes, we do know our pups better than anyone; however, if a dog is dehydrated badly enough subcutaneous fluids will not fix the problem. Pancreatitis, if severe enough, will lead very quickly to dehydration. I am not saying this as much for you as for others who will read this and think that their vets don't know better than they do and take a pup home and maybe end up possibly losing their beloved pup.
I had a pup who absolutely would go bonkers on IVs and run his glucose down to where he was hypoglycemic. IF he were sick enough requiring IVs which sometimes did happen, I had to sit with him during the infusion or pay for someone else to do so. That, however, is rare. Most pups when that badly dehydrated will not have a problem on IVs at the vet ....once they start to bounce back is when the have a problem staying at the vet. Perhaps your little one had pretty decent hydration.
I again want to stress that pancreatitis can lead to dehydration quickly in small pups and they can die.