Eye Opening.....

People often ask me about Cuda's physical health.  We know that she behaves just like any other dog, running, jumping and playing.  Since she came into our lives we've been fortunate that we have not had any health scares whatsoever.  Last night brought a whole new concern and appreciation for our baby girl.

It started when we all turned in for the night.  Cuda seemed restless and kept jumping off the bed and going outside.  Since she can't jump back up on the bed, we had to pick her up each time, obviously realizing that something was up. At about 1am there was no denying something was terribly wrong.  We got up and accompanied her outside but she didn't seem to be doing anything...not throwing up, not...well, you know.  She came in and tried to settle down but seemed so uncomfortable. I was panicking that she was developing "bloat"- http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1571&aid=402  We contemplated running to the Emergency Vet but then she fell asleep, a little shaky, though.  This went on all night and by daylight we knew we had to take her to our Vet. 

As the sun rose so did her spirits.  One of our older Rat Terriers, Cisco, however, seemed to be taking her path.  While Cuda ate and drank and went outside for "her business", Cisco tried to get comfortable and was shaky, too....ahhhh, now two dogs to go to the Vet...scary! 

By 8:00am, Cuda was back to her normal self and Cisco is coming around nicely.  We had given the dogs a compressed cow hoof bone, split up among them yesterday.  We saw three of the dogs munch on them, but our little resilient Boston Terrier/Mini Pin mutt, Murphy was unfazed.  Rest assured, we will not be using those kind of treats again! We'll still see our Vet but I'm breathing great sighs of relief, at work unfortunately, after a sleepless night.

Will Cuda develop physical and physiological health problems in the near future?  She does have that tilted rib cage, so it's a distinct possibility she's at risk for gastric problems I would imagine.  It makes us realize how precious all of our dogs are to us but with Cuda's triumphant spirit, she's simply a miracle.

I posted about this early this morning on Facebook and Twitter and once again, her fans and friends proved to me that where the world is ugly, they are beautiful.  There are a lot of sites out there regarding safe dog treats, but I found this one particulary useful: http://www.dogguide.net/safe-dog-treats.php