Gordon presented on August 11 for vomiting and dark, tarry stools. He had been sick for just one night at that point. He seemed to feel okay other than the vomiting, but Dr. Mike could feel something strange in his abdomen and he seemed to be a little dehydrated. Gordon's mom had given him a new treat a few days previous to this, so everyone thought that was his problem, but to make sure nothing more serious was going on, Gordon had bloodwork done. That confirmed that he was dehydrated and that his GI system was angry, but nothing more scary showed up. His liver and kidneys were working fine and his red and white blood cells were normal. So, Gordon was treated with some injections to help him feel better and sent home to recuperate.
In the morning, however, Gordon still didn't feel better. He was still vomiting. His dehydration had not corrected itself, either, because he couldn't keep any water down. So, Gordon had some x-rays taken. These showed a suspicious area that looked like a foreign body. We couldn't see the object, but something was definitely not right. It looked like Gordon was blocked up by something. Repeated bloodwork was still normal, and Gordon was stable for the moment, but because of the continued vomiting and the findings on the x-ray, Dr. Mike knew Gordon would probably need surgery to fix his problem.
We sent Gordon to the Animal Emergency Clinic in Portland to have this surgery because while we could have done the surgery here, Gordon was going to need follow-up care after hours and they are staffed twenty-four hours a day in order to provide full service care to patients like Gordon. Dogs don't only get sick during normal business hours, so we are glad to have their help for cases like this!
Gordon had surgery that same day and he presented everyone with a special surprise! Gordon had somehow managed to swallow a pair of his owner's underpants! How silly of him! After the panties were removed, Gordon recovered uneventfully. He stayed in the hospital in Portland overnight and received several medications and fluids to correct his dehydration. Then he went home to his owner, who was very glad to see him, despite his taste in snacks! Gordon has been home since August 13, and he is doing great!
