After a long night on the couch I was happy to discover that Nick looked better this morning. She was standing in her pen, waiting to go out.
After breakfast (she ate well) she made the attempt to play with Bell but I had to break it up after a few minutes. Bell doesn't understand that Nicki sitting still isn't an invitation to tackle her and engage in doggy wrestling. Poor Nick just didn't have the energy to keep up with Bell very long. Eventually Bell settled down a bit (at least she stopped jumping all over Nicki) and Nick sat down and just stared at a wall. That is a dog that doesn't feel well!
I gave Nicki another anti-inflammatory and about 30 mins later she was completely normal acting. I think she starts to feel bad again when the anti-inflammatory wears off. I know that means that I was just covering the symptoms but at this point I didn't have any other choice.
Eventually I got the results from Nicki's blood tests. The vet said (my normal vet; not the guy I saw last night) that her white blood count was up and her red blood count was down. She was also borderline anemic. He feels there's an infection going on there but is unable to nail it down. He also thinks it might be Lyme disease (or possibly some kind of parasite). I'm really hoping he's wrong about the Lyme.
I've already gone through years of treatment with a dog that had Lyme. It can be a reoccurring problem or it can be nipped in the bud. My Allie had several recurrences over the years and I was always able to help her feel better. But I lived in constant fear that she would have another episode as she got older and her health became more unstable.
So it was another trip back to the vet to pick up an antibiotic. This is the same antibiotic I used to give Allie...only now it mysteriously costs more. (I wonder if it would have been cheaper if I'd bought it at CVS?) And now we wait and see how she does. I don't like giving her antibiotics or any drugs for that matter. I've almost got them completely off commercial puppy food and now this will be another set back for the health of her digestive system. (I'm giving them yogurt also but that may not be enough). I also cooked them both some chicken livers and added it to their food tonight. You would have thought I was trying to kill Bell the way she picked at her food. She is not impressed with liver! (and strangely enough green beans kept showing up on the floor too) Nicki on the other hand ate every bit of her food so fast I doubt she even knew what it tasted like. The way they both eat grass; nuts; twigs and leaves you'd think they wouldn't be picky about liver.
They both will be seeing the vet in another week (Oh boy more money to him!) for the second Lyme vaccine. Nicki will be tested again at that time first. And a stool specimen will be needed too. No worries about gathering THAT specimen. Everything is working just fine at that end!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she still tests negative.
