Hunter's ER Visit

This last weekend Matt was at Nacimiento Lake with some friends for a bachelor party and Hunter and I were home alone. I picked up some extra hours at work on Saturday and Hunter was able to come along with me. The kids were great with him and he loved running, playing, and fetching balls in their backyard. We all went to the park together and the boys took turns walking him on his leash while the little girl and I played on the equipment and in the sand. His tummy got upset while we were there but it was a warm day and I figured he was overly tired from playing outside or he ate something on his walk. It wasn't unusual for our curious little dog to eat something his tummy didn't agree with. 

When we got home I did my workout, took a shower, and warmed up some leftover dinner. Hunter was tired and followed me around but I had left the back door open for him to go out after eating his dinner. After eating I settled in to catch up on the latest episode of So You Think You Can Dance around 9pm. That's when I noticed Hunter emerging from where he was napping under a blanket and his snout looked a little funny to me but I didn't think too much of it. A few minutes later I peeked over at him again and this time I became concerned when I saw his snout looking puffy and wrinkly and wider than usual. I picked him up to see if there was a bite or sting on his snout but couldn't find anything, and he then began itching his nose with his paws. "Poor little guy," I thought, "something must have gotten you," and switched my attention back to the results airing on TV. The next commercial came on and I looked over again and this time Hunter's eyes were red and swollen almost shut and his snout looked even bigger. He looked miserable. And that's when I freaked. Within 10-15 minutes he went from looking fine to looking like something was REALLY wrong. I called my friend Joanna, who also has a little wiener dog, and she gave me the number and address of an animal hospital which another friend, Lyndse, recommended to me at the same time via text and phone calls. I threw on some clothes, picked Hunter up, stuck his harness and leash on, and flew out the door. 

20 minutes later I arrived at the hospital and was rushed inside by a very sweet and friendly nurse. By this time Hunter had raspy breathing and was extremely lethargic. If you know our little dog then you know that's not like him. To say I was concerned would be an understatement. They gave him several shots and then we waited to be sure his swelling was going down before we could go home. We finally got home around 11:30 and headed to bed by midnight. 

Today he's been tired and napping most of the day but he's eaten all his meals (just rice and broth today), and he was very excited to see Matt when he got home. I'm so grateful for friends who helped me when I couldn't think straight and for the staff who was so caring and attentive to Hunter. I'd rather not repeat that experience ever again though. 

Some pictures from Adobe Animal Hospital's website. And no I don't have any pictures of Hunter- I was too busy making sure he was going to be okay :( 

Adobe Animal Hospital, Los Altos, CA

This lobby looked more like a hotel lobby than a doctor's office

This is the same table Hunter was on and where he received numerous shots