i may have accidently killed chicklet..too freaking much going on around here now that several dogs have kennel cough.
so chicklet always coughs..she has a collapsing trachea. but last night she was coughing more than usual so i was thinking maybe the kennel cough had spread into her area. this morning she was a hot mess so i booked a vet appointment for this afternoon at one of our clinics. i gave her some good meds which helped..she was still panting heavy (it's hot!) but she was no longer coughing, wheezing and her color was good. we kept her in the house with a big fan blowing on her and by the time i had to disturb her to take her to the vet, she was sleeping and doing pretty good.
at three thirty this afternoon, it was boiling outside and my air conditioner in the car had a hard time, keeping it cool. in the 30 minute trip to the vets, chicklet started having real trouble breathing...i am now thinking not kennel cough but more likely heart failure. by the time we reached the clinic her temperature had risen to 104...the combination of not breathing well, therefore not able to cool herself off with effective panting and the too warm car, shot her temp up into the danger zone.
they quickly took xrays and her heart was just fine but the combination of her collapsing trachea and the heat and her inability to cool herself thru effective panting put her into crises mode. the clinic sedated her to calm her down, gave her meds to ease her breathing, put her on oxygen and stabilized her and sent us off to the emergency clinic another 30 minutes away and still in the extreme heat.
there was an accident on the freeway and it took us an hour and a half to reach the emergency clinic in the too hot cat. by the time we got there her temp was now over 105 and she was basically at risk of dying from heat stroke. she is now in an oxygen incubator packed in ice, on iv's and meds.
i signed the no CPR order because of the real danger of permanent brain damage from her extreme heat stroke, paid the initial deposit and now wait for the clinic to call with updates.
if i had known for sure it was just the collapsing trachea, exacerbated by the hot weather, i could have kept her here where she was stable and then if i was really worried, move her straight to emergency this evening when it was cooler.
i hate hindsight and no crystal balls.
fuck.
why does it have to be so hot? and tomorrow i am buying another air conditioner for her room.
please come home chicklet, i promise to make it cooler for you.
I think Carol, you did exactly what all of us would have done. You did not know. You were scared for her life, and you rushed her to her vet for care.
Plain and simple. You acted out of love, compassion and deep concern for her well being. Other than pack her on ice for the trip, what could you have done?
Keeping you and Chicklet in my prayers; and praying for cooler weather too. The heat is hard on all of us.