Mortaine’s Blog

Hammer seems to be doing really well– they are continuing to monitor him for kidney function, which could have a delayed problem, but the internal medicine vet feels he should be able to come home tomorrow morning.

Thank you EVERYONE for kind thoughts and encouragement. It looks like our baby had a miracle hiding inside after all.

The internal medicine vet has not called back this morning, but I did get a quick update, earlier this morning and just now. Hammer ate 1/4 can of food this morning at about 4:30 AM, and he is doing “very well,” according to the vet, as passed along through the receptionist.

I still await a direct phone call so I can hear more details/information on his status.

Thanks for everyone’s positive thoughts and energy. Keep them coming– they seem to be doing some good; if nothing else, they are helping me stay sane.

Yesterday afternoon at 3:30, John and Hammer and I were hiking in Sibley Park. Hammer had been panting, and his back legs collapsed. At 4:30 we finally got him down to the car– until then, we were trying to get him to walk on his own, but eventually we got the sheet he’d been laying on in the car and used it as a litter.

When we got to my aunt and uncle’s house, he was still unable to walk. We carried him up the stairs to the backyard, where he threw up.

We called the vet, who told us to bring him in.

Hammer suffered heat stroke and began a condition known as DIC. Essentially, this is the state in which the body’s blood first blows a bunch of blood clots and then ceases to be able to coagulate. Organ failure follows. It is fatal in nearly all cases. Among members of the medical professions, DIC is also known as “Death is coming.”

The animal hospital gave him IV fluids and took blood tests, also gave him medicine to try to counteract some of the DIC, but the vet was very up-front about the treatment usually being ineffective. We debated the awful possibility of not coming home with him. The hospital was very nice and let us stay with him, even though owners are not permitted in the treatment area.

Last night at about 9:00, Hammer kept twitching and trembling, and eventually peed on the table he was strapped to. This is a good sign, as it indicates his kidneys are still passing fluid. He continued to tremble and pee in little bits, until I finally asked if there was some place he could go outside. The vet said she didn’t think he could get up and walk, but to go ahead and try.

We got him off the table and asked him to stand up. Boy, did he stand up! Took off the IVs and took him outside, where he peed like a racehorse. Came back inside, where he beelined for the surgeon’s office (which has carpeted floors, of course) to lie down.

With Hammer standing up and peeing and even wagging his tail, the decision became much harder. The vet advised us to give the treatment a try, so we left him there overnight to be given plasma and to try to keep his organs functional and to stabilize his blood chemistry, basically. The receptionist at the vet’s office said she had never seen a patient get up off the table after DIC.

It is possible that he will pull through, but it is at least as likely that he will not. I don’t believe in prayer, but if you have any encouraging thoughts to send, direct them at Hammer to heal, boy. Heal.