A few years ago we found one of these little critters in our basement:
Cute, but totally uninvited. We were pretty sure it came in through the garage. It was fall, and we had been less than diligent about making sure the door that separates the house and garage was completely closed. Sometimes the pressure from closing the front door pops the garage door open. We gave the little rodent an eviction notice.
Fast forward three years. E Was out in the garage last night doing what a man does in the garage. Rearranging, or some other less than useful activity no doubt. The pups, being the little Velcro babies they are, love to be out there with him. They've got a decent set-up. E lays out a nice blanket for them and usually has a bully stick to keep them busy. They also have the freedom to run out the back door and wrestle in the yard.
On this particular evening, E noticed the pups were notably interested in a morsel of some unidentified object. Ezzie is usually the ringleader of all that is forbidden, so E pried her jaws open first and found a crumbled piece of this:
It was broken up, and had clearly been chomped on. It was every puppy parents' worst nightmare. Poison ingestion.
We learned from vet Cassie and also the Red River Animal Emergency Clinic that it wasn't going to be the end of the world, especially since we caught it early. This news was reassuring, but really doesn't make us any less scared.
We immediately gave both the pups hydrogen peroxide soaked in bread with a little ham to induce vomiting. Bear gave up his dinner almost immediately. No green stuff in his regurgitated supper. Ezzie, now known as iron belly, would not throw up. Off to the ER we went. The tech and vet at the weekend pet ER were wonderful. They only charged us one exam fee, an act of kindness that was greatly appreciated.
Because Bear had puked up a massive amount of food, and seriously, I would never have thought his belly could hold so much, he was in the clear with respect to further vomiting. Ezzie had to have a shot to make her sick. Bear was so worried about her. When the tech led Ezzie away, Bear was beside himself. He cried, and watched the door where Ezzie had been taken away.
Ezzie finally got sick and the vet found chunks of poison in the contents ejected out of her tummy. Is was a greenish blue color. Confirmed poison ingestion. My poor baby!
She was given yet another shot, this time to calm her tummy down. She was then reunited with Bear.
Bear checked her out to make sure she was ok. Then he snuggled up next to her and laid his head on her body.
They were both very tired by the end of the ordeal. The doctor sent them home with anti poison meds and instructions for follow up care. We were assured that they are going to be just fine. I will relax when I am positive the poison is out of their systems. We are all really worried about them. I can't believe they managed to find the one piece of mouse poison left in the garage. We were so careful about getting any dangerous chemicals out of their reach They've spent countless hours out in the garage with E. I'm just so glad we realized what had happened before symptoms appeared. All information indicates that it's too late to do much once that happens. Now we just watch. And wait.
Updates to follow.
