UTI and chipping: Rough Day at the Vet!

[demitasse]

On Saturday a.m., I noticed Demi's pee was tinged with blood. Instead of freaking out, I came here and searched for 'bloody pee'. I learned that the problem could be a UTI or stones. I was still worried, but a total meltdown did not seem to be in order. Thanks, YTers!

We had our vet appt this morning. By that time, I figured the problem was a UTI because Demi has been squatting but not producing urine. Other than the symptoms I described, she's been acting perfectly normally.

Sure enough, the vet diagnosed a UTI. He palpated her and said her bladder did not feel swollen and he couldn't feel any stones. I was surprised by his comment and said, "You can feel stones?" He said, "In little dogs I can."

The vet tech handed me the antibiotics (Bactril). I said, "So this means she can't drink alcohol for two weeks?" He just stared at me.

While I was there, I had Demi chipped. My last dog was a huge Lab, and he didn't even notice when the vet stuck that giant needle in him. I was really afraid for Demi to go through this. Sure enough, when she was injected, she SCREAMED and her eyes got bigger than I've ever seen them. The vet went to check the chip, and it didn't show up on the reader. The chip was defective. So he had to do it again! Poor Demi.

Demi is on the Bactril for two weeks. The vet said that this should be enough, but if the UTI reoccurs, we will revisit treatment options.

Other than that, the vet said that Demi seems younger than her age. She's also lost the 1/2 lb she'd gained since our first visit to this vet, which is good because she has a low grade LP and the vet had told me last year that if she stayed at her then-weight of 5.5 lbs, it will probably not become a big problem.

So it was a rough morning for Demi, but I feel so relieved that she's on medication and that she's finally chipped.