See Emily Play

My retriever, Emily, got sick last week. I woke up to find multiple regurgitations by the back door--she's a sweet girl, and she wanted to be sick outside but it was the middle of the night so I didn't know she wanted out. She was lethargic and didn't really want her morning treat, and after thinking about that all morning I took the afternoon off and came home to see how she was doing. She was not doing well. She hadn't eaten and was even more lethargic than she had been that morning, so Shauna made an appointment for her with the vet and I took her in the next day. They ran some tests and decided she had pancreatitis, and that she needed to stay the night at the vet's. They gave her pain meds (aparently it's a very painful condition) and gave her intravenous or subcutaneous fluids through the night--she needed to go at least 24 hours without taking any food or water by mouth. I picked her up the next afternoon, along with some no-fat dog food to give her for the next few days. She seemed to be feeling a little better, although she wasn't happy with the dog food. I've been feeding her small amounts at a time since then, and I'm thrilled to say she's just about back to normal. She was able to play with Peaches while Shauna was here for her (Shauna's) birthday, although with somewhat less than her usual vim and vigor. We couldn't take them to the dog park this time, since Emily wasn't supposed to get overheated, but they had a good time together. I didn't even mind the large vet bill too much--she's part of our family, after all.