We noticed Major was acting strangely Monday morning. He was lethargic and not eating, two qualities that are inconsistent with his normal behavior. By the afternoon, his food bowl was still full and he was spending a lot of time in the back yard eating grass. By the evening, he’d thrown up all the grass (in the house!) and attempted to eat some food. As Chuck and I readied ourselves for bed, we discovered areas of vomit all over the living room. None of Major’s food stayed down. Even worse, his vomit was bloody.
By Tuesday morning, I knew he was really sick. Lots of diarrhea, more vomiting, feeble… I took him to the vet mid-morning and after a round of blood tests, it was determined that he had a nasty bacterial infection that was tearing up his digestive system. Since he was weak from dehydration and needed antibiotics, Major stayed at the vet all day on an IV. I picked him up late in the evening so he could spend the night with us and not in the kennel. He had a cone around his neck to keep him from pulling out his IV catheter.
He slept in the crate all night, too weak to move around and seeping blood out his backside. I don’t want to be too descriptive here because it’s unpleasant, but the vet assistant described it well this morning when she asked me, “Is he still experiencing the strawberry jam in the back?” Yes, he is.
Major is spending another day at the vet for more medicine and fluids. So far he’s eaten a little wet food and has managed to keep it down. The diarrhea hasn’t completely cleared up but hopefully that will happen at some point throughout the day. The goal is to get him well enough to come home tonight and stay home.
As for what caused this, we aren’t entirely sure. The only thing we can pinpoint is from Sunday afternoon when we spent some time on a family member’s farm. Major drank from a small stream on the property and we’re guessing there could’ve been something in the water that made him ill.
Good luck Major! You need to get well soon so you can chase the butterflies outside.